Posted: 10 August 2020

JobKeeper Changes And Crowd Sourced Funding Highlights

Empowering SMEs (Issue 070)

Greetings from ESS Small Business – Calculation of turnover reduction for JobKeeper changed.

The Prime Minister and Treasurer have announced significant changes to the JobKeeper program:

From 28th September 2020, businesses will be required to reassess their eligibility for JobKeeper with reference to their actual GST turnover in the September quarter 2020, as compared to the September quarter in 2019, to be eligible for the JobKeeper payment from 28th September 2020 to 3rd January 2021.

To be eligible for JobKeeper payments under the extension, businesses will need to demonstrate that they have experienced a 30% decline in turnover.

This changes the original scheme which was that the business had to have experienced, at least, a 30% drop in turnover in the June quarter as well as the September quarter.

This change will assist businesses in Victoria which might not have been eligible under the original rules because they did not qualify for JobKeeper in the June 2020 quarter, but with the severe lockdown now in place, many businesses will probably be showing a turnover reduction of more than 30% in the September 2020 quarter.

The Prime Minister has indicated that JobKeeper is a national program and therefore these changes will be effected Australia wide.

Update on Crowd Sourced Funding

Anna Guenther, Director of PledgeMe, a Crowd Sourced Funding Intermediary, operating in New Zealand and Australia, has supplied an interesting insight into the development of the crowd Sourced Funding market in Australasia:

PledgeMe has assisted companies to raise $50 million.
80% of investors are under 35 years of age.
There has been some spectacular capital raises – one company raised $500,000 in 30 minutes, while another company raised $1 million in 10 minutes.
Experts are forecasting that in 2025 $300 billion will be raised by Crowd Sourced Funding Equity Raising worldwide.
In companies that PledgeMe has assisted, 50% of the founders are female.
Great Crowd Sourced Funding campaigns feature:
- Articulate how the money they are going to raise will be spent.
- Companies wanting to use Crowd Sourced Funding need to have a good 'crowd'.
- 80% of investors in the companies were current customers.
- There is a need for good communication, using social media and traditional media, to promote the company’s activities.
- Directors and the leadership team need to know their crowd.
- Some companies have discovered that their local community might be interested in investing in their company, if the local community 'get it'.
- It’s a good idea to encourage people to register their interest in the company’s products and services so that they can be kept informed by newsletters and other promotions.
- The company should set a date when it is going to go live with their Crowd Sourced Funding Offer Document.
- The company should always have a 'launch event'.
- There is a lot of hard work involved in getting all the documentation prepared, but have some fun!

If you are interested in obtaining more details on the opportunities for companies and even businesses that are not currently companies, to be able to raise capital by utilising the legislation that enables private companies to raise up to $5 million in a 12 month period from the public by utilising Crowd Sourced Funding Equity Raising, you are welcome to contact us. Please telephone 1800 232 088.

In the next COVID-19 Survival Panel webinar for SMEs to be presented on 12th August 2020 at 12-noon AEST, Priscilla Bea Smith, Director, Cloud Nine Associates will be one of the keynote speakers with a presentation titled - "The Latest News: JobKeeper, Asset Write Off, Loans & Government Grants".

The other presenter will be Peter Towers, Managing Director, ESS Small Business, who will discuss the benefits for businesses from engaging in “Enterprise Mentoring Workshops”.

You can register for the free webinar on Wednesday, 12th August 2020 at 12-noon AEST by clicking here or logging on to the ESS Small Business website > Webinars.

In the last COVID-19 Survival Panel webinar for SMEs, Amanda Gascoigne, Director, Amanda Gascoigne Consulting, made some interesting observations on “Utilising Your Accountant To Add Value To Your Business” and Peter Towers, Managing Director, ESS Small Business gave an overview of “Government Grants That Can Assist You In Your Business”.

You can view the recording of this webinar by clicking here.

You can view the PowerPoint slides that were utilised by Amanda Gascoigne and Peter Towers by clicking here.

We would like to invite you to visit the ESS Small Business website > Survival in Difficult Times > Learn More where you will find details of the products ESS Small Business has developed to assist small businesses and medium-sized enterprises to gain a better understanding of strategies which will assist you to survive in your business during 2020/21.

If you are interested in looking at the additional services that your accountant could provide to you, why not have a discussion with your accountant.

If you are interested in accepting our invitation or wish to obtain any further information about the services that ESS Small Business, or our affiliated accountants offer, please contact me: