What does the CARES act mean for small businesses?
The full name is Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which was put into action on Friday, March 27th. The purpose is to help Americans deal with the financial destruction brought on by the current Coronavirus pandemic. There are so many factors to this act that will help citizens and business owners, among other things the act is providing aid for small businesses in the form of a few options:
Paycheck Protection Program is a loan program to help current small businesses keep employees on their payroll during this time. The best part about this program is that it includes sole proprietors and companies that use 1099 contractors. The SBA says "You can apply through any existing SBA 7(a) lender or through any federally insured depository institution, federally insured credit union, and Farm Credit System institution that is participating. Other regulated lenders will be available to make these loans once they are approved and enrolled in the program. You should consult with your local lender as to whether it is participating in the program" The application can be found here https://www.sba.gov/document/sba-form--paycheck-protection-program-borrower-application-form
SBA Express Bridge Loans is for businesses that already have a SBA related loan to get a quick $25,000 loan which can in turn be paid back from another program if needed.
SBA Debt Relief program will defer current SBA loans as follows:
The SBA will automatically pay the principal, interest, and fees of current 7(a), 504, and microloans for a period of six months.
The SBA will also automatically pay the principal, interest, and fees of new 7(a), 504, and microloans issued prior to September 27, 2020
EIDL Loans and Advance is for small businesses with less than 500 employees to receive a grant of $10,000 and additional cash flow to offset loss of business income. The application can be found here https://covid19relief.sba.gov/#/
So get out those reports and submit all the applications that you can to get some help for yourself and your employees/contractors. Right now everyone can use assistance and luckily the CARES act is there to provide it.
The Small Business Association is an amazing tool for entrepreneurs, so please review the information they have available. If you haven't already, fill out the help link. To be counted by the SBA, please fill out the form at https://forms.gle/xSypP72jCT91LFNR9 This allows the SBA to have an accurate count of the number of businesses affected by the pandemic which in turn they use to request additional help.