Help & support
"You've got to have great support around you. I rely heavily on the expertise of those around me - my suppliers, bank manager, financial planner, lawyer, and hairdresser!"
-Christine, Chorus Executive and Peeplcoach, Melbourne
"It helps to have a very switched-on accountant, my banker at CommBank has been great throughout the pandemic and being part of the Motor Traders Association takes a fair bit of the pressure off."
-Peter, Kennedy’s Auto Repairs, Nowra
Barry started his accounting firm in Coffs Harbour in 2002. Today he manages a team of 5 while running the business and taking care of clients from a wide range of industries.
"Keeping up to date with financial support was not only a matter of survival for our business, but also for our clients. It’s my job to make sure that no one miss out on something they could be eligible for.
Getting across all the support available was challenging at first because there were so many announcements. The first thing was to go through the Treasury factsheets, ATO website and updates from my industry body. We really worked as a team to stay across all of it.
What I’ve also seen is that you really need to have your books up to date and on a cloud-based accounting system. Those on the front foot have been able to access support from government and banks more easily and quickly than those who haven’t."
Barry Hockey, Barry Hockey Accountants, Coffs Harbour
CommBank customers can find and apply for business and personal benefits, rebates and concessions through Benefits Finder on the CommBank app.
For the latest Coronavirus CommBank and government support, visit the dedicated Coronavirus support hub.
For the latest official Coronavirus news, updates and advice from the Australian Government, visit their dedicated website.
We have a range of support available for customers in financial difficulty.
"We do contactless delivery, which I think has really shaped how our business works and how we're going to be able to deliver for years to come."
-Nip, GG’s Flowers & Hampers, Canberra
"We only see one patient at a time. Team members are always wearing a mask. We pre-screen patients, take their temperatures, have sanitisers in place, and use antibacterial mouthwash."
-Dr Patel, Timeless Smiles Dental, Pennant Hills
Melanie and her husband own and operate Kevlec Group –an electrician and property services company in Melbourne. They have grown their business steadily over the last 10 years and now employ 8 technicians and an apprentice.
"When Coronavirus hit, we had to re-assess, reprioritise and redistribute work amongst as our employees and contractors to keep them employed. The biggest predicament for us was, is it safe for our workers and customers? We care about their wellbeing.
We’ve had to train our tradies to social distance, wear masks and constantly sanitise. We had to stop car-pooling which is more expensive for us but just something we have to do.
Telling customers that we comply with the regulations has helped them feel comfortable. We have a lot of elderly and vulnerable customers, so we need to make sure we’re doing everything we can to make sure they’re safe."
Melanie, Kevlec Group, an electrical and property services company, Melbourne
We’ve partnered with Deloitte to bring business owners a workbook to help you better adapt and plan for the future.
Read the latest information for businesses from the Australian government
If you’ve been considering how best to move your business online, there are a few things to consider before making the leap.
Now that you’ve decided to take your business online, selecting the right eCommerce platform among the many out there is a key part of the puzzle.
"We’ve integrated our accounting software with NetBank so I’m on top of our daily position and I know what's going on in the accounts."
Melanie, Kevlec Group, electrical and home services, Melbourne
"It is critical to know exactly what your cash flow position is. For me, my accountant is critical. From a business management perspective it is important to have a robust forecasting and expense management process."
-Christine, Chorus Executive and Peeplcoach, Melbourne
Kennedy’s Auto Repairs started 45 years ago in Nowra on the New South Wales south coast. Peter started as a manager in 1993 and became the owner in 2012. Today he manages 8 employees and has a loyal customer base in the community.
"Some of our customers we’ve had since the ‘70s when we first opened, and it's a bit of a joke around town that once you start working at Kennedy’s, you don't leave.
Bushfires impacted our business heavily and then we rolled straight into Coronavirus but we’ve gotten through it by changing how we do things.
We have an ageing customer base and many people needed to get their cars serviced, but were afraid to leave their homes. So we created a new contactless pick-up and drop-off process so we could keep doing business safely.
As well as adapting our services, this year has really brought how we manage cash flow to the forefront. I now check my cash flow position daily and take more notice of where we could be saving. I’ve also spoken with some larger customers and shortened payment windows from 30 to 7 days to better manage cash flow."
Peter, Kennedy's Auto Repairs, Nowra
We’ve partnered with Deloitte to bring business owners a workbook to help you better manage cash flow during uncertain times.
Learn more about managing your cash flow with our latest video series.
Daily IQ is a free business insights tool for eligible CommBank business customers that can help optimise cash flow.
See our 10 top tips for managing cash flow.
Set up alerts for your Business Transaction Account and know if your balance is low, high, overdrawn or if you've just been paid.
"We sent customers a text message letting them know we had safety measures in place to reassure them our practice was safe. Staying connected to my patients and proactively communicating was a very high priority."
-Dr Patel, Timeless Smiles, Sydney
"There are fewer flower options due to supply issues so we ask our customers to trust us to put together a beautiful arrangement with the available options. Delivery has just taken off and everyone will happily pay $10 for delivery to not leave the house."
-Nip, GG’s Flowers & Hampers, Canberra
Christine has run Chorus Executive for 20 years, her executive coaching and recruitment company based out of Melbourne. In 2018, she established Peeplcoach – an online career coaching service, which is disrupting the coaching industry ensuring that coaching is accessible to anyone, anytime.
"At the beginning of Coronavirus, new business disappeared overnight. Literally, investment in coaching, training and development stopped overnight. As a team, we spent a lot of time working out how we could continue to support our customers and adding value to them. Personally, I used that time to be very creative - to problem solve, to talk to customers, to pivot a little bit, to create new products. I am excited about what the future brings.
I’ve been doing a lot of qualitative research - deep diving with our customers, understanding what they need, what their problems are and then being open enough to change our processes and our product to suit them. You can’t be too precious, you need to listen to what the customer wants and adapt."
Christine, Chorus Executive and Peeplcoach, Melbourne
We’ve partnered with Deloitte to bring business owners a workbook to help better adapt to changing customer behaviour.
Daily IQ is a free business insights tool for eligible CommBank businesses better understand their customers.
Vonto is a free business insights app that can help you better understand customers, available to everyone.
Discover our range of industry and economic reports to help businesses meet changing demand and plan for the future.
"We ask for over the phone or tap and go card payments. We’re taking very little cash now."
-Peter, Kennedy’s Auto Repairs, Nowra
"We have to have a really good website because that’s our shop front. We also use apps to make sure our business runs effectively."
- Nip, GG’s Flowers & Hampers, Canberra
Dr Nimesh Patel established Timeless Smiles Dental in Pennant Hills, a tight knit community in Sydney in 2011. As principal dentist, he oversees a team of 8 while also managing the business and seeing patients.
"Being a dentist is the easiest thing on any given day, being a business owner is the most challenging part.
Throughout the different levels of restrictions, we always had to stay in touch with customers and find new ways to help them. During April and May, we could only do emergency appointments so I was doing consultations for my braces patients over video-calls to check their teeth and guide them if needed.
We also got software to get in touch with patients through text messaging and email. We use social media to make sure we were reaching out to our clients through YouTube, Facebook videos and Instagram.
Digital technologies have really helped us keep patients informed and educated throughout all of this."
Dr Nimesh Patel, Timeless Smiles Dental, Sydney
We’ve partnered with Deloitte to bring business owners a workbook on using digital tools to adapt.
"We plan stuff for the weekend. We make sure that we knock off at a certain time and we have space in the day. With 4 kids and running a business I have to be careful that I’m not the last in line."
Melanie, Kevlec Group, electrical and property services, Melbourne
"I understand my team needs time off. I’m a flexible boss and if you want to keep staff for a long time, it’s what you need to do."
-Peter, Kennedy’s Auto Repairs, Nowra
Nip’s family started GG's Flowers & Hampers - a florist and social enterprise - seven years ago in Canberra.
Starting with small bouquets, GG’s expanded into hampers and recently became and NDIS employer, providing people with disabilities with meaningful employment.
"We had a massive increase in demand. When people can’t visit their loved ones, they send more flowers.
So there’s a lot of work, but some staff haven’t felt comfortable to work and we’ve been understanding of that. Striking the right balance between managing staff and meeting demand has been fundamental for us.
We make sure that our staff have a safe, compassionate and caring workplace with free assistance programs. We do a training session every month on personal development and self-care. We have a big commitment to self-care because at the end of the day, our business is only as good as our staff."
Nip, GG's Flowers & Hampers, Canberra
Manage your day-to-day finances, be ready for the unexpected, and make your one day goals a reality.
We have a range of support available for customers in financial difficulty.
The CommBank Connects campaign highlights business customers' learnings and solutions to common challenges. The content on this site is for general information and business customer purposes only and is current as at time of recording. Business owners featured were CBA customers at the time of the recording and are speaking from their personal experiences only. The insights conveyed by business owners and other references linked to this site has been prepared without considering your objectives, financial situation or needs. You should, before acting on the advice, consider its appropriateness to your circumstances and consider seeking independent, tax and professional advice before making any decision. Deloitte’s workbooks for business owners – The Commonwealth Bank has partnered with Deloitte to deliver workbooks to help business owners better adapt and plan for the future and are available for download on this site. The content in all workbooks is Deloitte’s. These workbooks are intended to be a framework for small business owners and a starting point that should be adapted to each unique environment —not all of the questions within the workbooks will apply to every business. While comprehensive, this workbook is not intended to be exhaustive, nor is it meant as advice and will evolve as circumstances change. The Commonwealth Bank is not responsible for the currency and accuracy of third party information, such as available Government support, contained in this workbook. Business owners who visit this site are encouraged to contact Deloitte directly (contacts are enclosed) for inquiries about the workbooks or visit the designated third party site for more information. |
© 2020 Commonwealth Bank of Australia ABN 48 123 123 124 AFSL and Australian credit licence 234945
