Getting your business Brexit ready

As you are by no doubt aware, Britain is due to exit the European Union on October 31st next. While there is still uncertainty as to how Britain will exit the European Union all businesses, be they sole traders, SME’s or Multinationals, need to take the necessary steps to ensure that their business is ready to deal with the impact of Brexit.

 

The impact on businesses has the potential to be significant, in particular those businesses who rely on goods traded with the UK be they imports or exports. Goods will become subject to customs duties and there will be increased paperwork requirements and checks, which will have a knock on impact for delivery timelines and cashflow.

 

Those businesses who are unsure as to how Brexit will impact on them should take a look at the Brexit Scorecard for their business which is supplied by Enterprise Ireland.

 

Those businesses who are trading in goods with/through the UK should immediately register for an EORI number with Revenue details of which can be found here

 

They should also give consideration to appointing a customs agent/broker to manage the customs paperwork and declarations.

 

As already mentioned above, cashflow could be negatively impacted by Brexit and the Government are encouraging all eligible businesses to avail of the various government supports which include the Brexit Loan scheme and the Future Growth Loan Scheme amongst many others.

 

Details of the full list of Government supports available can be found at www.gov.ie/brexit

 

You should also take the time to review any contracts you have with UK based suppliers and customers to see if any changes are necessary to the contracts.

 

Communication is key in this instance and you should be having conversations with your UK based customers/suppliers to come up with a joint plan on how to manage your relationship during Brexit.

 

 

We realise that this is an uncertain time for many businesses due to the impacts of Brexit but rest assured that we in TaxAssist Accountants are constantly monitoring the situation and stand ready to provide you with advice and support.