• Sat, Mar 28, 2020
  • The Small Business Owner’s Guide to the CARES Act
  • The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act that was just passed by Congress is loaded with options to assist small business owners, including self-employed proprietors and contractors.  Below are highlights of the key provisions of the CARES Act.  For more details, review the full guide issued by the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship.

    Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loans
    The program would provide cash-flow assistance through 100 percent federally guaranteed loans to employers who maintain their payroll during this emergency. If employers maintain their payroll, the loans would be forgiven, which would help workers remain employed, as well as help affected small businesses and our economy snap-back quicker after the crisis. PPP has a host of attractive features, such as forgiveness of up to 8 weeks of payroll based on employee retention and salary levels, no SBA fees, and at least six months of deferral with maximum deferrals of up to a year. Small businesses and other eligible entities will be able to apply if they were harmed by COVID-19 between February 15, 2020 and June 30, 2020. This program would be retroactive to February 15, 2020, in order to help bring workers who may have already been laid off back onto payrolls. Loans are available through June 30, 2020.

    Small Business Debt Relief Program
    This program will provide immediate relief to small businesses with non-disaster SBA loans, in particular 7(a), 504, and microloans. Under it, SBA will cover all loan payments on these SBA loans, including principal, interest, and fees, for six months. This relief will also be available to new borrowers who take out loans within six months of the President signing the bill into law. 

    Economic Injury Disaster Loans & Emergency Economic Injury Grants
    These grants provide an emergency advance of up to $10,000 to small businesses and private non-profits harmed by COVID-19 within three days of applying for an SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL). To access the advance, you first apply for an EIDL and then request the advance. The advance does not need to be repaid under any circumstance, and may be used to keep employees on payroll, to pay for sick leave, meet increased production costs due to supply chain disruptions, or pay business obligations, including debts, rent and mortgage payments.

    Counseling & Training
    If you, like many small business owners, need a business counselor to help guide you through this uncertain time, you can turn to your local Small Business Development Center (SBDC) or SCORE mentorship chapter. These resource partners, and the associations that represent them, will receive additional funds to expand their reach and better support small business owners with counseling and up-to-date information regarding COVID-19. 

    Be sure to learn about your options and take advantage of the helpful resources available to you.  Our economy needs you, the small business owner! 

    LINK for more information.