How Your Business Can Survive the COVID-19 Pandemic

It seems like there is no better time to jump in and reach your customers, right? How do you stay in front of them? First of all, if your business is lucky enough to be considered “essential,” then you are probably busy trying to keep it running with a new sense of normal.

However, if your business is currently closed for selling or providing non-essential goods or services, then you want to keep in touch with your customers now more than ever. It seems like every day, there are new challenges for business owners, so this should be no different, right? But it is very unusual for you, your employees and your customers.

Let’s start with staying in front of your customers. How do you do that if you can’t welcome them into your store? If your business has a website or social media accounts, now would be the time to focus on those. You want to send messages of support and gratitude to your customers, neighbors, and friends. Everyone sees enough lousy news and statistics each day, and any chance they get for a break from the media cycle is a good one. Many businesses have invested in hanging banners or signs, sharing messages of hope, or praise for the local medical professionals and first responders.

The Paycheck Protection Program has been making news a lot lately. From its initial stages as a government proposal to the more recent media blitz, there is a dizzying amount of information to digest. Recently, the Small Business Administration has even begun telling American business owners that it would no longer accept applications.

What is “PPP”? It is a loan program from your SBA approved bank, designed to get extremely low-interest cash in the hands of Business owners who employ less than 500 employees. Millions of Americans are receiving Stimulus checks in their accounts this week, and the Treasury will be mailing paper checks out, to the tune of 5 million per week, over the coming months. As part of the CARES Act, The “PPP” is a way for business owners to receive the funds they desperately need to keep making payroll, paying their utilities, rent, or mortgage payments. The exciting part of the “PPP” loan is the high possibility of loan forgiveness if the loan proceeds are used as intended above. Since the loan program is meant to keep the small businesses of America running, the SBA does not require any principal or interest payments for several months.

If your financial institution is still allowing you to apply for a “PPP” loan, go ahead and try. The process takes less than 10 minutes and will require you to substantiate the amount you are requesting. Take your average monthly payroll number from 2019 and multiply that by 2.5x (capping any individuals that make more than $100,000 annually). The loan amount should allow you to pay your employees through the immediate period and postpone or prevent any layoffs. You will need to provide documents such as your Form 940, Form 941.

We know you need help navigating your business through this time of crisis. We are at your service. Contact us today!