March 31, 2020
COVID-19 Impact on Small Business
UPDATE and INFORMATION
SC Small Business Chamber Leading
Advocacy and Education on Covid-19
For the past two weeks the South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce (SCSBCC) has been beating the drum for Congress to quickly pass a stimulus law to get small business the checks they need to survive. We have also been providing accurate information about the Protecting Paychecks Act passed by Congress last Friday.
“Congress passed and the President signed the CARES Act, which includes the promise of forgivable loans to all small businesses. But the job isn’t done until that promise is kept,’ said Frank Knapp Jr., president and CEO of the SCSBCC.
Webinar on Federal Policy Update
Coronavirus & Small Business
Tuesday, March 31, 6pm E T/3pm PT
This FREE webinar is sponsored by Businesses for Responsible Tax Reform and will cover:
–The SBA program soon to be released to provide forgivable loans to small businesses
–Tax provisions that are outside the scope of the SBA
–Views from small business leaders across the country
Get Ready for Small Business SBA Forgivable Loans
Private lenders almost ready for delivering for small business
Soon, hopefully very soon, the SBA will release the directions to enable private lenders to start taking loan applications from businesses with 500 or fewer employees. These loans could be the difference between survival and going out of business.
The $2.2 trillion CARES Act is now the law and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) in that law sets aside $377 billion for small businesses.
The most promising aspect of the PPP is for small business loans (maximum being 2.5 times the average monthly payroll) that can be completely forgivable if the small business uses the funds primarily for payroll but also for rent, utilities or mortgage interest. General overviews of the PPP can be found here and here.
“Banks have capacity for this new type of SBA loan,” said Fred Green, president and CEO of the South Carolina Bankers Association. “We’re just waiting for directions from the SBA.” Green expects demand for the loans to be very high.
What can a small business do to get ready?
–Go online to the financial institution you currently use and find out if they are approved to do SBA loans. If they aren’t approved, find another private lender that is approved to make SBA loans. –If your small business uses a payroll service, contact that service and let them know of your interest in applying for a PPP loan. They should be ready to help you with the payroll information that you will need for your PPP application.
–If your small business is doing its own payroll, contact a CPA for assistance in completing the information on payroll and full-time equivalent employees that you will need to complete the PPP loan application.
–Have a complete understanding of how to use the PPP loan to insure that the loan will be 100% forgiven by the SBA. Be prepared to state on the loan application that you will use the money so that it is 100% forgivable.
The South Carolina Small Business Chamber in The News
California restaurants plead for insurance help during coronavirus closures 3-24-20
Small business survival is our economic survival 3-25-20
Small Business Community in Shock 3-25-20
Column: Small business is key to our economic survival 3-25-20
Struggling Pee Dee businesses to receive help if $2 trillion relief package passes 3-25-20
The ways small business owners may benefit from the $2 trillion federal aid package 3-26-20
Columbia wants to know how badly coronavirus is affecting local businesses 3-26-20
SC Small Business Chamber exec on SC ETV 3-27-20
Help is available for small businesses 3-27-20
Small Business Chamber CEO calls for swift SBA loan allocation 3-27-20
Opinion: It will be SC’s small businesses that will lead us out of this recession 3-27-20
Opinion: S.C. economy will survive if small businesses survive 3-27-20
COMMENTARY: Saving small businesses 3-30-20
Instructions for getting impacted workers money faster
Local economy will benefit.
Your employees who have had their hours reduced or who have been laid off due to the COVID-19 crisis are eligible for SC Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits.
You can speed up the process of getting UI checks to them and help reduce fraud by using the SC Dept. of Employment & Workforce process of Employer Filed Claims.
Your tax rating will not be impacted due to COVID-19 related claims.
Please take advantage of the Employer Filed Claims process. Getting money into the hands of impacted workers as fast as possible will help stabilize our economy for the benefit of all small businesses.