The government has announced that from the 9th of April, everyone in England can access free and regular COVID 19 tests twice a week. As society begins to reopen and people return to work, it is important that we get tested to help stop the spread of the virus. What is happening and why is testing important? Currently, rapid testing has only been available to those most in need – frontline...

As we start to have some restrictions lifted and with businesses starting to reopen, things are finally starting to look up! The government has announced the 'Coronavirus Restart Grant' to help support businesses through these times so that they can grow and recover from the effects of the pandemic. This blog post will give you an overview of these new measures. What is it? This scheme supports...

On Wednesday 3rd March, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced his new annual budget. This blog post will summarise the key points and new changes to schemes in relation to businesses. Recovery Loan Scheme This is a new scheme that ensures that businesses can continue to access any loans and types of finance after existing COVID-19 loan schemes close. Businesses of any size can use the scheme. Finance...

Like all of us here at O’Brien Media, you have probably been following all the news regarding the latest lockdown. On Wednesday 24th February, the government published their official guidance detailing the steps in which the UK will progress from this lockdown. This blog post will summarise each of the steps and the key points that each involves in regard to the reopening of businesses and...

On the 8th February, the government announced that businesses that have taken out the government=backed Bounce Back Loans to help deal with the COVID-19 impact, now have greater flexibility in terms of repayment. What has the chancellor announced? The key aspect of the Chancellor’s announcement is that loan borrowers will be able to delay all repayments for a further six months. There is also...

As you guide your business through the lockdown, you can ease the effects while continuing to reach customers with the proper tools, including payment services by Square. Pause your Square subscriptions. Square know that your spending decisions are more important than ever. Pause any Square subscription you have for up to three months. Learn more here. New online payment rates. Online payment...

We here at O’Brien Media have asked our customers how they have found 2020 to be. Through the various lockdowns and guidelines, Danny Kimber shares how he and his team at Responsive Personnel have coped throughout these testing and unprecedented times. They also share how we here at O’Brien Media have helped them throughout the 2020. Who would of thought that 2020 would pan out the way it has...

In recent weeks a number of attempted COVID-19 related scams have emerged across the country, including: people receiving text messages informing them that they are ‘eligible’ to apply for a vaccine and then asking them to provide bank details people receiving text messages that claim to be from the HMRC inviting them to claim for a ‘grant’ scammers looking to take advantage of...