Solved: Re: Live Q&A: Restaurant Revitalization Fund for S... - Page 27

Ani_ · ‎04-22-2021

Hi Seller Community!

I'm excited to announce the Small Business Administration has developed a partnership with Square to distribute the Restaurants Revitalization Fund (RRF) relief to the food and drink industry. The Restaurants Revitalization Fund (RRF) is part of the U.S. Government’s American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. This plan includes a $28.6B fund for awards to eligible food and beverage business owners, administered by the Small Business Administration (SBA).

On Thursday, April 29th at 1:30-2:30 PM PST /4:30 PM-5:30 EST, we'll host a Live Q&A with the Small Business Administration (SBA) to answer any of your questions about the application process. Please make sure to ask any questions directly on this thread below. Keep in mind, the SBA will only be addressing questions related to the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF), not PPP.

How does the application process work?

We expect to start enabling applications for the Restaurants Revitalization Fund (RRF) on Monday, May 3rd at 12:00 PM EST. The award application program is owned by the SBA, and they are finalizing the process. We know how important these funds are to you and your business, so we are working as quickly as possible to get the application ready!

Unlike the PPP program, the Restaurant Revitalization Fund are awards and are not loans. They are not serviced as loans, and have no forgiveness component. There are no intermediary banks involved. Awards are determined by and allocated by the Small Business Administration (SBA) and not Square.

If you qualify for a Restaurant Revitalization Fund grant, you’ll have the option to apply Monday, May 3rd on Square Dashboard or through the SBA’s secure website. To help support applicants throughout the process, the SBA will offer phone and district office support.

Call center hotline (844-279-8898): Applicants can call this number for multi-lingual application or program support.
SBA District Offices: Applicants can reach out to their local District Office for tailored regional SBA support.

For more information about eligibility or to start your application, please visit the SBA Portal. You can also find more information about the Restaurant Revitalization Fund on the Support Center. Let us know if you have any questions for the SBA below!

Note: The SBA has announced that they will officially stop accepting applications for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) on Monday, May 24, at 8 p.m. ET.

Ani
Gestora de la Comunidad de Vendedores / Seller Community Manager, Square

Ani_ · ‎04-30-2021

On Thursday 5/29, we hosted a Q&A with the US Small Business Administration about the Restaurant Revitalization Fund.

In the Q&A, the SBA and Square answered questions about the application process — from general eligibility requirements to more specific information that applied to individual sellers.

Here’s some important information that applies to most sellers:

When can you apply:
- Applications start on Monday 5/3 at 12:00 p.m EST / 9:00 a.m. PST.
- The SBA has a registration window open on Friday 4/30, but if you plan to apply through Square you do not need to register with the SBA.

Who can apply through Square:
- To determine if you are an eligible business type, you’ll need to visit SBA’s website (sba.gov/restaurants).
- If you processed with Square in 2019 and 2020 (Table 1 or 2 in the RRF application), you can apply through Square’s dashboard or the SBA. If you used multiple POS providers during that period or had supplemental income e.g. from online ordering apps, you can still apply with Square. You’ll be able to add supplementary income information — but the SBA may require you to provide additional documentation before you e-sign your application.
- If you began processing with Square in 2020 or 2021 (Table 3 in the RRF application), then you will need to apply through the SBA. You can get useful information from your Square account to include in your application — to learn how, please take a look at our Support Center.

Why you should or should not apply with Square:
- If you apply through Square can save time completing and submitting your application with pre filled data from your Square account.
- Submitting through Square can help you get your application in front of the SBA quickly — before the RRF funds run out.
- Square will enable you to add supplemental revenue information in your application for either Table 1 or Table 2 applicant. However, if you are a Table 3 applicant, you will need to apply via SBA because Square will not let you upload supporting documentation for eligible expenses.

How can you apply with Square:
- If you are eligible to apply through Square, you’ll need to log in to your dashboard when the application window opens, using the owner’s login. From there, you’ll find a specific RRF module from where you can start your application.
- Square will have pre-filled your application with the information we know about your business. That said, there is information we do not have access to. To complete your application as fast as possible we recommend to have the following information handy:
  - The date (day, month, and year) you began operations.
  - How many months you operate in every location. This is especially important if you operate a seasonal business.
  - Any additional income you may have earned in 2019 and 2020 that was not processed through Square. Ideally you are tracking this income by location. If this information is not available feel free to distribute this across locations ensuring the total revenue by location (through Square and other sources)stays under $5M.
  - Your PPP loan information — especially if you did not process these loans with Square.
- After submitting your award application through your Square Dashboard, you’ll need to eSign your application. Here’s how it works:
  - Open an email from Square with the title “Your RRF award application is not yet complete.” Follow the link in the email to visit the SBA portal.
  - If you see a page with the title “Third Party Signup,” you are in the right spot. Enter the text you see in the grey pixelated image in the appropriate field and click Complete Sign Up.
  - You’ll then receive an email from SBA with the title “SBA Restaurant Revitalization Fund - Password Reset E-mail.” Click the link included in the email to reset your password.
  - Once you complete your password reset, scroll to the bottom of the page and click Sign and Submit Application to sign your application via DocuSign.
  - The SBA may also require additional documentation for your application if you indicated revenue outside of Square. From the SBA portal, you will be able to upload supporting documentation to the Additional Info Needed section if required by the SBA.

How can you get help if you have more questions?
- We will try to answer as many additional questions as possible here through the weekend.
- Call the SBA call center hotline (844-279-8898): Applicants can call this number for multilingual application or program support.

Reach out to your SBA District Office: Applicants can reach out to their local District Office for tailored regional SBA support.

Ani
Gestora de la Comunidad de Vendedores / Seller Community Manager, Square

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aacole · ‎04-29-2021

I think you will get a direct email with the answer to your individual questions. What happens later to allow the community to see answers to questions, I am not sure of.

patika · ‎04-29-2021

@Ani_ Is this true? There are questions I've wanted to know but haven't asked, because they were already asked by other folks, and I was hoping to just read their answers here or hear about them during a "Live Q&A".

Ani_ · ‎04-29-2021

@patika @aacole is correct! You'll get an email notification to your individual answer. You will also see the answer right below your question.

Ani
Gestora de la Comunidad de Vendedores / Seller Community Manager, Square

Bloomcafe · ‎04-29-2021

My business only uses Square for online sales, and we use another platform (Touch Bistro) for our regular POS. Can I still use the square platform to submit my application?

Can you also provide some clarity on "women owned" vs "women controlled" on who is eligible to apply on May 1?

Thank you!

Ani_ · ‎05-02-2021

@Bloomcafe If you have processed with Square in 2019, you are going to be able to apply through Square. You can include supplementary income information from your regular POS in your application but the SBA may require additional documentation before you can e-sign it, so we recommend having this information available in case you need it.

Ani
Gestora de la Comunidad de Vendedores / Seller Community Manager, Square

JimG1026 · ‎04-29-2021

is the 4506-T used for your personal SS Authorization or for the EIN of the business?

NmontaSBA · ‎05-02-2021

@JimG1026 It's the EIN of the business.

Nicola
SBA Guest Speaker
sba.gov/restaurants

OntheBeach · ‎04-29-2021

How do we see the SBA/Square answers on this thread?

Tom · ‎04-29-2021

Hey @OntheBeach, we're addressing the questions now. Due to the high number of posts, it may take a few days before we've reached everyone. Sorry for the delay — keep watch for email notifications as we publish answers to this thread.

️ Tom | he/him
Seller Community Manager | Square, Inc.
Find step-by-step help in our Support Center

fogro · ‎04-29-2021

Questions:

1) where in the Square Dashboard will the online application link be located?

2) The benefit of using the Square Portal is that the our 2019 and 2020 gross receipts will be provided by Square POS, or will we be entering the gross receipt numbers and Square will be validating the numbers?

3) Should we also register with the SBA site tomorrow, as a backup, in case there are issues on Monday logging into the Square POS site?

Ani_ · ‎05-02-2021

@fogro

1. If you are eligible to apply with Square, there will be a specific module on the page you immediately see after you login on your dashboard.

2. Square will pre-fill the information we have on your account. You will be able to make changes as needed and add any supplementary income not captured in your Square account.

3. You do not need to but you have the option to do so.

Ani
Gestora de la Comunidad de Vendedores / Seller Community Manager, Square

CoffeeCo2005 · ‎04-29-2021

How do I find out if I'm eligible to apply through square? Where via square could I apply for RRF (will it be a separate link or portal, etc)?

Ani_ · ‎05-02-2021

Hey @CoffeeCo2005, If you have processed with Square in 2019, you will be able to apply through Square. If that is the case you will see a link on your dashboard.

Ani
Gestora de la Comunidad de Vendedores / Seller Community Manager, Square

PitMasterSean · ‎04-29-2021

Same question re: Square as POS with Delivery service income not in Square.

cupzcoffeeaz · ‎04-29-2021

where can I join the live Q/A

ThirdPlaceJen · ‎04-29-2021

There is no live or webinar. Questions will be answered here in this format beginning 4:30 pm EDT.

xgolftc · ‎04-29-2021

Is there any disadvantage to registering tomorrow and trying to use Square on Monday? Not seeing a lot of answers here yet only more questions and I am quite concerned about the possibility that we will not get in like previous grants and assistance.

Ani_ · ‎05-02-2021

No there is no disadvantage @xgolftc.

Ani
Gestora de la Comunidad de Vendedores / Seller Community Manager, Square

BCN16 · ‎04-29-2021

Is there a benefit to registering as soon as the window opens tomorrow? Is there a benefit to going through square vs. SBA direct?

Ani_ · ‎05-02-2021

Hey @BCN16 - If you decide to apply through Square you did not need to register with the SBA on Friday 4/30. Square will pre-fill your application with the information we have on your Square account saving you time and effort - which could be useful as we expect RRF funds to be allocated very fast. However keep in mind that if you apply with Square you will not be able to add supplementary information that is not in your Square account (e.g. some eligible expenses) so that may decrease the size of your potential award.

Ani
Gestora de la Comunidad de Vendedores / Seller Community Manager, Square

aacole · ‎04-29-2021

Do you recommend preregistering on the Square site as well on Friday, Apr 30? I heard it opens at 10:00EDT.

Live Q&A: Restaurant Revitalization Fund for Square Food and Beverage Sellers

When can you apply:

Who can apply through Square:

Why you should or should not apply with Square:

How can you apply with Square:

How can you get help if you have more questions?

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