Veronica Xue CPA Inc.
837 W Hastings St #206 V6C 3N9 Vancouver, BC, Canada

Black Friday is coming up, and the shopping atmosphere is usually heated when the shoppers see discounts offered their saved products. Black Friday is one of the most profitable seasons for the retailers, but when most of the population have either undergone a loss of wage or reduced working hours, the shoppers are looking for more price deductions. Since it has not been a typical year for everyone, enterprises are wondering, did the economic shock given by the COVID-19 on th...e population deduct any fever of the shoppers? According to the Finder statistics, nearly 1 in 3 Canadians (32%) require deep discounts of 50% or more to buy on Black Friday". Let us take a look at pinpoints regarding shoppers during the pandemic from the statistics: "4 in 10 Canadians says no discount will make them make them buy something this Black Friday. 34% of women want deeper discounts (of 50% to 90%) as compared to just 30% of men. 32% of Canadians are looking for significant discounts of 50% to 90% off to buy something on Black Friday. Popular retailers such as Best Buy, Walmart are offering discounts on their merchandise. There is also news about the discounts offered by other beauty brands and IT shops. https://dailyhive.com//black-friday-cyber-monday-deals-can https://ca.style.yahoo.com/cyber-week-black-friday-deals-ca https://www.finder.com/ca/black-friday-statistics

Employment and business operation is a big concern since beginning of the COVID pandemic. Canada Revenue Agency started CERB(Canada Emergency Response Benefit) from March and ended it last month. It provides financial support to eligible works who stopped working or reduced working hours. We want to give insights to other benefits that assist local business and their workers within the firm. 1. Extension of CEWS(Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy) until June 2021. CEWS helps to c...over a portion of their employees’ wages for eligible employers. It enables firms to keep and re-hire employees avoiding layoffs. 2. Maximum duration of the Work-Sharing program is extended from 38 weeks to 76 weeks for employers who were affected by the COVID pandemic. The program helps the firms by providing income support to employees who are eligible for Employment Insurance who agree to reduce their working hours. 3. The temporary lay-off periods in Canada Labour Standards Regulations is extended up to six month. This temporary change support firms facing economic hardships during the pandemic and protect jobs of their employees. 4. Government also provide target support to women entrepreneur by providing $15 million in new funding through WES(Women Entrepreneurship Strategy). This funding allows WES to provide financial supports and advices to female entrepreneurs who are facing hardships during the pandemic. For other benefits, please scan through the CRA website. https://www.canada.ca//depart/economic-response-plan.html

Employment and business operation is a big concern since the beginning of the COVID pandemic. Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) started Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) in March and ended it October; however, there are still a number of other benefits/supports available to the local businesses and their employees, we summarized a few below: 1. Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) is now also available to businesses operating out of a non-business bank account. The CEBA...Continue reading

Small and medium enterprises have found their opportunities out of the COVID-19 challenge The local enterprises have been struggling since the beginning of the year, especially the small and medium enterprises(SMEs), who are the major clients of our firm. As the cornerstone of the development of the national economy, SMEs have been playing vital roles. Employment in the BC district experienced fluctuation due to the COVID. The unemployment rate in the BC district reached ...a peak of 13.4% during May, and approximately 4,800 jobs for young people disappeared within July and August(globalnews). The main reason for this fluctuation was not only layoffs of workers in the big firms but also SMEs' weakened capability bearing decreasing profit margins. The Canadian government has been introducing benefits to provide financial support to small businesses at this point. One example would be the extension of the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy until June 2021, which helps the businesses to keep their current employees on the payroll while encouraging the re-hiring of their workers. Nevertheless, the decline of economic activity created a limitation on the expansion and operation of SMEs to an extensive degree. Few enterprises were closed to ensure that they reduce the risk to the lowest point. However, while some enterprises regarded the pandemic as a challenge, others might transform the issue into opportunities. COVID-19 pandemic affected the majority of our clients negatively, but at the same time, we are seeing a lot of them looking for the right set of circumstances. One of our clients, a firm that was running a hotel business has been cooperating with BC housing and provides quarantine services. Also, adaptation to the virtual working environment has become a new standard valuing capability of the enterprises. SMEs that are adaptable to offer goods and services online would find more ways to survive in the market, relatively compared to enterprises that did not. For instance, our clients who are catering companies are now available for online food ordering, and they have been focused more on food delivery services. See more

Happy Halloween Mask has become an everyday necessity for our outdoor activities. It is mandatory to wear masks in indoor places such as restaurants, supermarkets, shopping malls, and even in taxis. Canada has been striving to recover from the COVID-19 in the past few months. However, the second peak reached this month due to returning to work and resuming daily activities, and this brought communities' attention to the second wave of COVID-19.... We are all aware of the importance of wearing a mask. One way the coronavirus spread is through droplet transmission occurs when the infected person sneeze, talking, cough, or breath heavily. When we are talking to people who have exposed to the virus, it is essential to find a way to protect ourselves. Mask is not only for medical professionals but for every one of us who are seeking an effective way of protecting ourselves. The most convenient method of doing protection is wearing a mask. Understandably, many people dislike wearing a mask for multiple reasons. A good example would be our principal Veronica Xue, who disfavored the idea of wearing a facial mask at the beginning. However, now she’s a big fan of wearing a fabric one when she discovered some benefits of wearing a mask, such as keeping your facial skin moisturized and sun blocked more effectively than applying moisturizer and or sunscreen. A big thanks to our client, a craft and fine artist Lana Lambert, who has designed her easy-washing fabric face masks with pop-art elements. She is providing safety to their customers in a way that enlightens the oppressive mood caused by the pandemic. She has donated several colorful designed masks to Union Gospel Mission. We all love the Halloween design masks (see the pic below) that are lovely and fun to wear, Christmas and New Year design is coming out soon.

Have you tried online grocery shopping to avoid the crowds and lineups during this pandemic? What if there was another way to shop that allowed you to browse openly in the supermarket while still avoiding contact with others? The latest developments in AI are Smart Carts, grocery carts that include their own scanner so customers can scan items and weigh them before placing them in the cart. The appeal is evident shoppers are in full control of how long a shopping trip takes... them while avoiding any unnecessary contact with the cashiers. The Smart Cart also gives access to the cost of the items as they pile up which is a great way to keep within your budget. This trend of seamless purchasing is being made popular with Amazon with their Amazon Go Grocery, as well as Walmart, where you can use the My Walmart app to scan products as you shop and pay via smartphone. Other AI projects include technologies that alert employees when to open additional checkout lanes or restock produce depending on the ripeness. Will AI supermarkets be the new future of shopping? Source: Nineteen Eighty Fork, Charlene Rooke for Pivot Magazine, July/Aug 2020