
Coronavirus lockdown: 10 ways Tide is supporting you

We now have over 157,000 members and all of you have been affected in some way by coronavirus, whether it’s been positive or negative. Whatever is happening with your business, you need support you can rely on.
Here at Tide, we switched to remote working almost overnight so we could carry on supporting you and looking after your business accounts and finance admin. It’s been business as usual for us, but with the added bonus of being able to work in our pyjamas.
In case you missed anything, here are some of the ways you can take up the support we’ve been offering during lockdown:
1. Ask our eligibility checker chatbot
What coronavirus help are you eligible for? Ask our chatbot and you’ll get helpful links to more detailed information.
Tideans Kento, Alex, Sooze and Martyna built our checker two weeks before the Government launched their ‘business support finder‘. We like to stay ahead of the curve.
2. Join our dedicated email group
Up and running since lockdown began, anyone can join our coronavirus mailing list to be among the first to know how to access Government aid and help from Tide.
Tideans Hussein and Alice look after the group and only send the most useful and up-to-date information. If you’re not already in the group, join now.
3. Sign up for a free webinar
We can’t host our Masterclasses in our London HQ at the moment so instead we swapped to hosting them online. Our webinars are FREE and open to everyone, not just Tide members.
Tidean Cuan looks after our speakers and introduces the webinars. To find out what topics are coming up, bookmark our Events page and follow us on Twitter.
Missed a Masterclass? These webinars are available to watch again:
- Listen again: How to ride out lockdown
- Listen again: How to navigate a crisis with creative confidence
4. Follow our campaigns for small businesses
Our CEO Oliver Prill regularly writes to his contacts in government to urge them to keep small businesses at the top of their priorities.
Oliver is regularly featured in the media, commenting and campaigning on behalf of SMEs. Recently, he was interviewed on Sky News and wrote this opinion piece which was published in City AM.
Follow our research and Oliver’s campaigning on Twitter and in our blog.
5. Read and share our blog posts
We monitor Government announcements and reliable media sources, and talk to experts and Tide members to publish articles worth reading and sharing.
Tidean Sooze collates everything – it’s all at tide.co/blog. If you’re not sure where to start, head to the coronavirus hub and read our series called How to run a business on lockdown.
6. Connect with us on social media
Just like our blog, everything we post is with you in mind. Tideans Ali and Val look after our social channels. Here’s where you can connect with us:
7. Order Expense Cards
Did you know you can get company expenses cards for up to 35 co-workers, per Tide account?
If you’re now working remotely, expense cards can save you and your staff the hassle of processing expenses. Your co-workers can use their team card to make purchases so they don’t need to fork out from their own finances and then claim. And you don’t need to process claims or manage petty cash.
As the main user, you manage expense cards. You can freeze and cancel cards, as well as share and hold PIN codes. And of course, you can see who spent what.
You can order expense cards in the Tide app. Not sure how? Read our post
8. Spend more via contactless payment
The contactless payment limit has been increased to £45 (previously it was £30).
OK, it wasn’t us who made this change, it was Mastercard, our card provider. But we let you know about this sensible initiative because it means fewer transactions require people to touch the number keypad. Nice one, Mastercard.
9. Call our 24/7 legal helpline
Our Plus and Premium memberships come with a legal helpline so if you have questions about how your business is affected by coronavirus, or any other legal matter, you can call the helpline anytime, 24 hours a day, any day of the year.
Still on our free membership plan? Take a look at what else we offer our Plus and Premium members and when you’re ready to upgrade, open your Tide app, go to More and then Upgrade.
10. Ask our Member Support team
Our team are working as usual to make sure all your queries are answered. The friendly agents answer as soon as they can, and know who to ask if they’re not sure. With us, you won’t get stuck on hold or in an infinite loop of button presses – we’re here for you.
To get in touch, ping us a message in your Tide app or email hello@tide.co
Have your say
How is the coronavirus affecting you and your small business? We’re keen to hear from you – get in touch with us on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter.
Be among the first to know how to access Government aid and help from Tide.
For updates direct to your inbox, join our mailing group.
Photo by Oliver Sjöström on Unsplash