COVID-19 wage subsidy scheme eligibility
                                         This spreadsheet can help you better understand your eligibility for the COVID-19 wage subsidy scheme. This is a simplistic version to calculate eligibility. If you are unsure of the numbers, talk to your bank, 
                                         accountant or business advisor.
                                         Businesses older than 12 months old: wage subsidies will be available for those who can show a 30% decline in revenue, attributable to COVID-19, for any four weeks between January and June 2020 
                                         compared to the year before. This includes forecasting future months.
                                         Businesses less than 12 months old: the wage subsidy will be available for those who can show a 30% decline in revenue, attributable to COVID-19, against a similar time period (ie 30% loss of income 
                                         when comparing January 2020 to March 2020).
                                         Businesses that have had a significant increase in revenue over the past year are eligible, where they can show a 30% decline in revenue, attributable to COVID-19, against a similar time period (ie 
                                         30% loss of income when comparing January 2020 to March 2020).
                                         People who are self-employed and have variable monthly incomes are eligible if they can show a 30% decline in revenue, attributable to COVID-19, against the previous years’ monthly average (ie 
                                         30% loss of income comparing March 2020 to the average monthly income in the period March 2019 to March 2020).
                                         Key
                                                Tip or explanation                                    1) In the grey columns, enter the revenue you                                2) Enter expected revenue for each remaining month in 2020. 
                                                      Steps                                          have received for each month from Jan 2019 to                             These are predictions (forecast). They won't be perfect but they should 
                                                                                                     now. You can get this data from your profit and                              be logical. Add a comment on why you think there is a change in 
                                                     Forecast                                        loss statement or your business bank account.                                              revenue, eg 20 cancelled bookings. 
                                                                              January (example)             January                  February                  March                    April                   May
                                                                              2019         2020        2019         2020        2019         2020        2019         2020       2019         2020        2019        2020        2019        2020
                                                                                                                                                                   Comment                  Comment                Comment                  Comment 
                                           Past and future revenues                                                                                                 for why?                for why?                for why?                for why?
                                                    Revenue 1                  260,000      200,000
                                                    Revenue 2                  190,000      120,000
                                                    Revenue 3                  150,000       90,000
                                                  Total revenues               600,000      410,000            0            0           0           0            0           0           0           0           0           0           0           0
                                                Change in revenue                         -32%                       0%                       0%                       0%                      0%                      0%                      0%
                                              These are your revenue                                                                                  For businesses that don't want to compare 2019                3) Keep this sheet as part of your 
                                          streams. You might only have                  'Change in revenue' will be highlighted red when              revenue - replace the 2019 columns with a four-                     application for audit. 
                                           one. Some businesses have                   your actual or forecasted revenue falls below 30%.             week period that you would like to compare your 
                                          more. If you are self-employed               At least one of the cells needs to be red for you to              impacted revenue against. For example, to 
                                         with variable monthly incomes,                 become eligible for the COVID-19 wage subsidy.                 compare March 2020 to Jan 2020 replace March                      APPLY HERE - Employer
                                         you can use the previous years                                                                                             2019 with Jan 2020.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      APPLY HERE - Self-employed
                                          monthly average as revenue. 
                                         Tips on forecasting revenue
                                         Predicting income
                                         This needs careful thought. You’ll have to make an informed judgement call on how much income you think you’ll generate. It doesn’t have to be perfect, use what information you have. For example:
                                         - Has there been a change in demand from your customers and now you expect to sell less? 
                                         - Will there be a change to the supply of your goods or services and you'll have less to sell?
                                         - Have your staff been impacted and you can't do as much business in the coming months?
                                         Recording these reasons is just as important as recording the numbers.
                                         Predicting income for established businesses
                                         Use your past financial data to help predict your future income.
                                         Include any expected bumps or hits to your income, eg periods of growth or cancelled bookings. 
                                         Predicting income for new businesses
                                         Those new to business won’t have long-term existing sales data to go on. But you can still make informed predictions using benchmarking data and expert advice. 
                                         Here are some resources that might help:
                                          - Speak to an accountant with experience in your industry.
                                          - Use Stats New Zealand’s Industry Profile tools to get an idea of your potential sales (http://businesstoolbox.stats.govt.nz/IndustryProfilerBrowse.aspx).
                                          - Use Inland Revenue’s industry benchmark figures (http://www.ird.govt.nz/industry-benchmarks/bm-find-your-benchmark/).
                                          - Use the Employee Cost Calculator (http://www.business.govt.nz/employeecostcalculator/).
                                          - Consider paying for expert assessments of the economic performance of your industry.
                                          - Get a mentor, or a director if you have a board, with start-up experience to guide your predictions.
                                         Predicting income for contractors
                                         If you’re new to contracting, you may have trouble getting a feel for what rates to charge. You can find tips on how to do this in the business.govt.nz contracting section (https://www.business.govt.nz/getting-
                                         started/advice-for-contractors/what-to-think-about-before-you-start-contracting/).