Surviving the downturn

In the current economic climate, our aim is to support small and medium-sized businesses so that they can survive the downturn. We are working closely with government departments and other organisations to ensure smaller firms are getting the support they need. Find out more below about what we are doing and the support available to you and your business.

Government support
NEW guide - Get your bank manager to say 'YES'!
How we are helping our members
Our campaigning activities

Government support

Guaranteed loan finance - Earlier this year, the Government launched the Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme to ensure that viable businesses can get the working capital and investment that they need by guaranteeing loans. This means that loans can be secured for sound propositions that may otherwise be declined due to a lack of security. From 1 October 2009, the scheme has been extended to include 'top-up' guarantees on invoice discounting and overdraft facilities.

Trade credit insurance top-up scheme - This scheme covers businesses against the risk of bad debt due to the insolvency or non-payment of their buyers. It can provide a replacement of working capital when bad debts and late payment impact on cash flow.

HMRC's Business Payment Support Service - If you are struggling to make ends meet, you can now arrange a deferral of your tax payments, including corporation tax, VAT, PAYE, income tax and National Insurance Contributions.

Credit management - The Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Institute of Credit Management (ICM), with support from the FPB, have produced a series of guides on best practice in credit management.

NEW guide - Get your bank manager to say 'YES'!

Accessing finance in today's financial climate is even tougher than usual. So, we've put together a practical 'how to' guide to tell you what you really need to know to get your bank manager to say 'YES'. Non-members can sign up for the guide here. Members sign in to the website to access your copy from the BusinessBuilder area of the website.

How we are helping our members

We are doing everything we can to help those of our members struggling to survive the downturn.

Helpline

As a member of the FPB, you can call our helpline to discuss any business issue. Our friendly team is here Monday to Friday between 8am and 6pm on 0845 130 1722 or via email at helpline@fpb.org.

Alternatively, use our 'live help' feature on this website, which connects members to our helpline advisers online in 'real time'.

Benefits of membership

Maintaining a healthy cash flow is vital for small and medium-sized businesses and is even more important during a downturn. Our suite of financial products and services, including credit reporting, business status monitoring and debt recovery, can help you manage your cash flow more effectively and are available to all members.

Saving money on essential business services is a great way to make more of your money. We have negotiated discounted rates on a wide range of business services, from card processing and insurance to purchasing and utilities. View all benefits of FPB membership here.

Business continuity management

In response to the economic downturn and the threat of pandemic flu, we produced a practical business continuity management survival guide. Simply follow the questions and assess your final score to see whether your business is prepared for the worst. Download your copy here.

Our campaigning activities

Our members tell us that restoring business and consumer confidence are their key concerns in the downturn, so our current campaigning activities revolve around improving economic activity and access to finance, and reducing cost burdens and late payment.

The FPB was also involved in the introduction of the Prompt Payment Code. We are calling on all FTSE 100 companies to set an example by showing their commitment to paying their suppliers on time by signing up to the Code.

We also continue to name and shame businesses which make retrospective changes to payment terms, effectively squeezing their suppliers by entering them into our Hall of Shame.

To find out more about our latest campaigning activities, click here.

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