Advivo Business Advisors and Accountants explore how your business may be impacted by the state borders reopening.
The impact of border restrictions has been quite severe on many industries, with businesses in hospitality, tourism and travel struggling even more so. As Queensland reaches its 80% double-vax milestone, the state government and Federal Cabinet have announced several relaxations to existing restrictions and policies to assist economic recovery, including the reopening of borders. These eased travel and business restrictions will come into effect from 1 am Monday 13 December 2021.
For many businesses and venues, the easing of restrictions will mean that they will be able to return to operating at near to full capacity. Businesses have already endured significant cost increases as a result of COVID-19. Other than the costs imposed by lockdowns, these include increased logistics costs, additional cleaning, signage, and social distancing costs. Going forward, we understand that the ongoing requirements that differentiate those who are double-vaxxed and those who are not will add additional time and costs to business operations.
We can only hope people will come out and spend with vigour as the new norm takes effect!
What does this mean for my business?
For some businesses, the state borders reopening will mean more traffic and, therefore, an increase in revenue. For many, this may also result in increased debtors due to business owners either having to fund costs with savings or overdraft. However, what we are experiencing as the biggest challenge in the market is the access to trained and capable staff to handle the increased activity. This is a major problem in many industries, and we are hearing stories of hospitality venues restricting their hours of trade purely because they do not have sufficient staff. This labour shortage will undoubtedly influence the actual cost of wages; we are already seeing increases in many sectors.
For businesses that have been more heavily impacted resulting in long shutdowns, the costs of gearing up to relaunch recruiting staff and taking on additional finance cannot be underestimated.
At Advivo, we strongly recommend that all business owners plan for this next stage of the pandemic. While there may be more changes to come, a clear contingency plan will help greatly as we go forward into the ‘new norm.’ It is also advisable to have a clear and concise budget and forecast, which you should monitor on a monthly basis, as we do not know what the future will deliver.
What’s new with check-in procedures and signage in your business?
If your business is required to use the Check In Qld app, you must still ensure all customers, staff and visitors to your premises are checking in. Vaccination certificates can now be linked into the Check In Qld app to make it simple for your customers to prove vaccination status.
You will also be required to display these signs to clearly show if proof of vaccination is required to enter your business:
- From 17 December – Proof of vaccination will be required sign
- Proof of vaccination required sign
- Proof of vaccination not required sign
To read more about the proposed changes as of 13 December, click here. Please note that this is a dynamic space. While this was current at the time of writing, procedures and requirements may change after the publication of this blog.
As the country slowly returns to business as usual, planning out the future of your business is no small task. Advivo’s team of Business Advisors and Accountants have the resources and skills available to help your business move forward with confidence. Contact us today or call us on 3226 1800 to speak to one of our trusted advisors.
