Tools available for Sage customers [podcast]

This episode of the Sage Advice podcast features Sage’s senior manager of accountant solutions Rafael Casas, CPA, who highlights the resources available to Sage customers and how we’re supporting small businesses and accountants during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Below is an edited transcript of our interview.

Can you share current situations and resources that are available to our audience?

Rafael Casas: Yeah, absolutely. We’ve just launched our Sage Covid-19 resources page. There’s a ton of advice and support for all businesses, our customers, clients and partners. Not only how we’re maintaining, progressing and supporting everyone globally but also lots of information from CDC, small business guidance, SBA loans…really everything under the sun to make sure that you have one congregated place to find all the information to have business continuity.

We also have something within Sage City called Sage Accountants Network. It’s a Sage City group where we have additional content that’s specific to accountants, bookkeepers, and firms. Also, additional content from some beneficial survival guides. SOS Business Planning–that’s something that I’ve seen that is been great from Laura Lynn Wilson, CPA and Collected PC out of Pacific Northwest. SWK just did a great survival guide that they’ll be sharing with us and we’ll be doing some work with them. These are all extremely valuable pieces that give small and mid-sized businesses, and firms the guidance to not just survive, but thrive.

Let’s talk the SOS Business Planning from Laura Lynn Wilson. Do you want to talk about some of her thoughts?

Rafael Casas: Yeah, absolutely. She pointed out some things that firms, accountants, or bookkeepers maybe didn’t have time to look at prior [to the pandemic] because they were so incredibly busy. Now they’ve been forced to look these things. She has some great points for small businesses to think creatively about their overhead costs and to look at setting up extended payment plans to help control cash flow and expenses.

Additionally, [small businesses] should look at pushing vendor payments to later dates. If you have small business loans that you’re currently paying each month, what is the cash outlay of those loans? Look at ways where some of those can be deferred. A lot of businesses, banks and even landlords are extending a hand to be able to support small businesses, or their clients through this time, whether it be one to several months of deferred payment.