Having left the EU, a Brexit Support Fund has been set up to help SMEs overcome the new challenges associated with importing and exporting.

Qualifying for the SME Brexit Support Fund

In order to qualify for up to £2,000 of funding, your business must:

• be established in the UK, and have been so for at least the 12 months prior to submitting the application (or currently hold Authorised Economic Operator status);
• not have neglected to meet previous tax, or customs obligations;
• have no more than 500 employees and turnover not exceeding £100 million;
• import or export goods between Great Britain and the EU, or between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Importantly, your business must also either complete import or export declarations internally for its own goods or, where using someone else to complete declarations, it must require extra capability to import or export effectively.

The grant can be used to facilitate training within your business; in particular, training in respect of customs declarations, software and other related aspects (VAT, for example).

The cost of engaging professionals to support you with meeting your declaration obligations can also be covered by the funding.

You must apply by 30 June 2021, or the date funding runs out if earlier. Applications can be submitted here.

Post-Brexit business advice

Despite the changes, we know it’s important that your business doesn’t miss a beat. As trusted chartered accountants and business advisers, post-Brexit support is certainly within our remit. Whether it is VAT, or strategy that you need help with, we would love to hear from you.

If you need the support of a professional to ensure your accounting and tax obligations are met, post-Brexit, then please contact us by phone, or by filling in one of our online enquiry forms.

If you’re looking for training opportunities, your local Chambers of Commerce could be a good place to start – here, for example, is some of the training on offer from the Cambridgeshire Chamber of Commerce.