Representing over 70,000 small businesses, the letter voices the  concerns and questions posed by small businesses, which accountants are  hearing day in day out.
  
250 accountancy firms contributed, and put their name to the letter, over the  bank holiday weekend. The letter, published at covid19.countingup.com,  states that, “More urgency is needed to award grants today. Many businesses  face collapse today. “ It also states, “Entrepreneurs face their business being  crushed.”
 
The letter highlights two broad themes: 
1. Support those businesses left behind by the Job Retention Scheme  (JRS) and Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS).  2. Provide more clarity on the process and timings of JRS and SEISS  grants.
 
The letter sets out how limited companies with directors who remunerate  themselves via dividends, sole traders who started trading since 6th April 2019 and sole traders with previous trading profits over £50,000 are all being  unfairly left behind by the JRS and SEISS grants. 

It also asks for clarity on when grants will be provided, that this process needs  to be sped up, and certain wording used such as “trading profits” for the  SEISS needs to be better defined. 

Tim Fouracre, Countingup’s CEO, comments, “We welcome the government  support that’s being made available to sole traders and limited companies.  We simply appeal for it to be provided equitably across the range of small  businesses represented in the UK.” 
 
The full letter is set out on Countingup’s covid-19 microsite,  covid19.countingup.com, which also offers calculators to help interpret the  support and grants available to small businesses.