Some Tips For Your Business During COVID-19 Crisis

As you may know, the CARES Act has made money available to businesses to cover basic operating costs during the COVID-19 crisis through the creation of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Please see this brief 2-page information fact sheet released by the Treasury Department here: https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/PPP--Fact-Sheet.pdf

There is a lot of information out there about how to access these loans/grants. Some information is good and reliable while others may simply be rumours or even scams, so we wanted to provide some resources we’ve used as a guide and to share some of our knowledge.

The first step we advise is to try to contact your bank where you already have an open business account. The government has chosen to administer the funds through private banks so in theory, funds are available more quickly. The federal government is guaranteeing the loan funds so banks are willing to provide funds in these extraordinary circumstances.

The first question you need to ask your bank is if they are participating in the program. Ask them for their application and if they already have experience with SBA loan programs. It will be ideal to find a bank that has prior experience issuing SBA loans, since they can leverage their knowledge to help you get funding more quickly. Please keep in mind that most banks will not have the staff or resources to handle the volume of requests immediately.

The key is proper preparation to submit complete information on your PPP loan application:

1. Have your monthly payroll expenses (including benefits) documented so you can determine how much loan money you qualify for
2. Document your expenses for Rent, Utilities, Interest on Mortgages
3. Legal documents, including business structure, tax returns, and other incorporating documents

Congress wants to minimize how much the pandemic cripples the U.S. economy, and passed the CARES Act very quickly, so a lot of the implementation of the actual process has fallen to the banks. Help the banks and loan officers working to implement the program by being as prepared and educated as possible.

During these difficult times, we’re here to do what we can to help your business continue operating by providing competitive prices, product and parts support, and other helpful information and tips we have. We ask for your continued patience with our team as we collectively work through the COVID-19 crisis together.