Many businesses faced with impact of restrictions and limitations due to the COVID-19 pandemic proliferation. How to deal in quarantine terms to keep the business and avoid losses?

First of all, you should remember crises change the work conditions down to the loss of clients and business in general. Crisis situation means reconsidering the action algorithm, break the pattern, make to look for new opportunities and development ways.

    The crisis could provide new possibilities in the right way, as well as increase market share, streamline processes and find new business partners. Besides, newly imposed restrictions would not last forever, someday that's going to canceled.

    A few important rules let you protect your business against fatal loss:

1. To reduce at maximum the cost, to plan the business activities on short-terms ahead.

    You do not have to start any repairs, marketing research or make expensive purchases. It is better to lay all of this off for a certainty time. 

    Having analysed the competition and provider's prices, you could find a profitable option to save your funds. 

    To evaluate the staff efficiency for keeping the business on track, with further transfer of other staff members on remote and part-time work terms. It is important if you have a warehouse, store or other offline platforms with the obligatory presence. 

    For example, the packers and collectors could be at work in turn to gather orders in time and to avoid intersecting with one another. Thus the work would proceed as planned, with a chance of becoming infected minimized. 

    You should give up long - term planning since a daily turbulent situation. 

    Only the consistency and an exact calculation would reduce losses from price fluctuations and the quarantine possible consequences. 

    2.  The finance saves and organises, the assets preserving, risk reduction. 

    You should reduce the length of credits, when possible, if product demand is weak so far. Try arrange with the bank of the early repayment of the currency loans or even transfer to loans in rubles. Choose the banks with low rates if you have to take a new loan, anyway. 

    Do review the debtors to reconsider course of dealing not to make things worse.

    Do refocus for domestic analogues of items if you deal with import or do insure foreign exchange risks by the forward exchange contract with fixed rate. That will protect against losses. 

    It is necessary to streamline the financial reporting, make it transparent for further successful negotiations with potential business investors, as well as for supervisory authorities. 

    Make valuation of your current assets for its further sale, rent out or mortgage if the situation gets worse. Real-estate, cars, equipment are suitable for this purpose or debts repayment. 

    3. The strategy review. 

    The latitude opportunity is possible if you have correct assess of your business on market place. Remember, people cut consumption more in crisis, so low - cost producers have always benefited. Pay attention to the state procurement and larger companies tenders to find new customers and markets.  Pay special attention to sale system for its target market correction. Provide your customers with a wide range of delivery services for shopping remotely in quarantine terms. Very good decision is to make delivery conditions cheaper or free of a certain amount. 

    Use internet advertising opportunities to provide the customers with special offers to find new ones. Think of cost reduction for your products, if it is possible. 

    4. Reassignment and force - majeure 

    In a case of falling demand, think of other market position you could take and of reprofiling in short time. For example, instead of tailoring, provide clothes repair.     

It will help to get through the crisis and economic austerity. 

    Carefully examine your contracts to accommodate the law requirements of ban on crowding and "stay at home". There may be supply possible problems, many stores and catering entities forced to stop working. To perform the contract obligations in full, take into account the force - majeure terms emerged, that always have been indicated in contracts and enshrined by part 3 of article 401 of Civil Code of Russian Federation. This rule applies to all contracts. Thus, you may, for example, do not pay the rent during pandemic period to reduce losses as a result of enforced delays. 

    Immediately after the quarantine announcement, give the notice to your lessor to avoid the responsibility in a case of force-majeure raised. 

Always Remember! 

    The most important thing is do not panic. Crisis and epidemic cannot last forever, sooner or later, it would be over, surely.  The range extending, reprofiling and new activities development would be new force for business preservation and promoting. The most organised and disciplined entrepreneurs will be successful, despite everything.