COVID-19 RELIEF AND RECOVERY
IT’S A GOOD IDEA IF BUSINESS OWNERS APPLY
6
FOR SBA STIMULUS LOANS RIGHT AWAY
3D PRINTING
TCBusiness.com
If you’re a Florida business owner struggling
financially right now, the way so
many are thanks to COVID-19, you know
the future is uncertain for us all. If you’ve
even toyed with the idea of applying for
one of the Small Business Administration
stimulus loans, I encourage you to go
ahead and do so now.
While, yes, there is $367 billion green lit
to aid small businesses impacted by the
coronavirus pandemic, the fact is: We don’t
know how long it will last. An unprecedented
number of businesses have shut
down or have seen a slowdown in sales.
And those business owners are lining up
to apply for the Paycheck Protection Program
(PPP) or the Economic Injury Disaster
Loan (EIDL).
LOAN DIFFERENCES
If you aren’t clear on the differences between
these two loans the SBA is offering
to businesses, here’s a breakdown.
The EIDL provides up to $2 million per
business, including an emergency grant of
up to $10,000 that doesn’t have to be paid
back. This loan can be used to:
• Provide paid sick leave to employees
unable to work because of COVID-19
• Maintain payroll to retain employees
during business disruptions or slowdowns
• Cover increased costs to purchase
materials unavailable from your original
source because of interrupted supply
chains
• Pay rent or mortgage
• Repay obligations that can’t be met
due to revenue losses
The PPP provides you with 2.5 times
your average monthly payroll expenses in
the form of a low-interest loan. You can request
forgiveness of the principal amount
of the loan for the eight-week period after
you receive it if you use it to:
• Cover payroll
• Pay rent, interest on mortgage and
utilities
Note: Nonpayroll expenses cannot exceed
25% for purposes of loan forgiveness.
WHERE TO APPLY
The only place to apply for the EIDL is directly
through the SBA’s online portal. The
SBA makes the disaster loans, not banks.
For the PPP, you should start at the bank
you do business with because many banks
are choosing to prioritize approving loans
for current customers and you could be
fast-tracked through the process.
When possible, it’s great to keep that
working relationship with your local bank
and previous lenders. However, these are
unprecedented times and not every SBA
lender is going to be capable of lending
the dollars that are needed by business
owners. Reasons for this might include:
too many applicants versus funds avail-
>>
BY GERI DETWEILER
/www.rapidps.com
/TCBusiness.com