A West Midlands accountancy firm has helped businesses claim a staggering £13.6 million in furlough payments since April 2020.
Prime Accountants Group, which has offices in Solihull, Birmingham and Coventry, helped local employers with more than 2,600 claims which substantially helped keep their businesses afloat during a period of acute uncertainty.
At the height of the pandemic, the UK Government announced a series of wide-ranging measures to assist businesses and employees through the COVID-19 crisis, including the Coronavirus job retention scheme, otherwise known as the furlough scheme.
Many businesses in the region signed up to the scheme and most required assistance with submitting claims, particularly at the beginning.
Kerrie Given, senior payroll manager at Prime Accountants Group, said a lot of research went into understanding the process so the business would be in the best position to submit claims on behalf of its clients as quickly and efficiently as possible.
“The scheme was introduced at a time when there was a lot of change and uncertainty going on around us," said Kerrie. “The country was effectively shut down and we wanted to assist our clientele as much as possible to make sure they didn’t have to close down their business permanently.
“When we were approached with a request to help with furlough, our entire team went above and beyond to provide the client with as much advice and information as possible to make the submission of a claim easier.
“We made a total of 2,666 claims resulting in £13,599,999 being claimed from the Government to help several businesses in the Midlands survive.”
Prime director, Jamie Skelding, who oversees Prime’s payroll department said: “We are so incredibly proud of our team who really pushed themselves at a particularly difficult time to make sure our clients were well looked after.
“There were several occasions where we answered calls and helped clients out very early in the morning or late at night to make sure they met the right procedures in the right time frames. It is this commitment to client success that helps us stand out in the crowd and we are humbled to have been able to provide the right help to deserving businesses in the region.”
