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

[Ani_]

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_]

Hey @ThirdPlaceJen! By applying through Square, information from you account will be prefilled, including processing data for 2019 and 2020. Alternatively, if you apply through the SBA, you are able to access report information from your Square Dashboard.

[dillydahldeli]

I'm unable to attend the webinar; will the application appear to apply appear on Square soon?

[Tom]

Hey @dillydahldeli — thanks for checking in! We're teaming up with the SBA to answer questions right here in this thread (there will be no webinar). I'll make sure they see your question about application timeline. Keep an eye out for updates here.

[OntheBeach]

Tom:  There is a lot of information coming in.  Your recent post confuses me a bit.  The SBA webinar today was very clear as to the application process.  Sign up starting 9 am PST this Friday.  Application open up 9 a.m. PST next Monday.  Square applications open up at that same time.  Will there be a similar registration for Square on Friday?  

[Ani_]

Hi @OntheBeach, sorry for the confusion. Registration with the SBA is not needed if you apply with Square.

[Ani_]

Hi @dillydahldeli - We plan to launch on 5/3 when SBA launches. If you are eligible for the grant and we have sufficient processing data in your account, then you will have a module notifying you on Dashboard that you are eligible. We will also be emailing eligible businesses on 5/3.

[ThirdPlaceJen]

I attended the SBA webinar and they said that SBA and certified POS venders (Square) will be able to access application to begin applying on Monday, May 3, 12 pm EDT

[Onriver]

I have been trying to find information for this eligibility question without success:

I run a seasonal business. I was not able to operate for the season of 2020 because of COVID restrictions in my area, and particularly at the venue where I operate. Therefore i have no revenue for 2020.  However, my business is still open and I intend to continue this season. Am still filing quarterly reports, etc. Will I be eligible for grant without any 2020 revenue? Anyone else dealing with this situation?

[NmontaSBA]

Hi @Onriver,

Yes, as long as you are not permanently closed and satisfy all other eligibility requirements you will still be eligible for funding.

[danandcatherine]

I'm planning to use Square as the portal for submitting my Restaurant Revitalization Fund Application. How will Square define "Gross Receipts" for purposes of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund Application? The SBA guidance says "Gross Receipts" should not include tips.  Will Square use "Net Sales" when it populates my application?

[flyingbull]

I have this same question.

[Ani_]

Hey @danandcatherine @flyingbull! Square will use gross sales numbers.

[BroadsidesBrews]

Does the business have to have been open prior to the pandemic or can I show "pandemic-related revenue loss" because I was unable to open due to the pandemic?

[Ani_]

Hey @BroadsidesBrews! If you opened in 2020 and 2021 you will still be able to apply through the SBA portal.

[prestonrosefarm]

My question is, as a brewery who does most of our normal revenue through onsite sales, we are qualified for the RRF...will square be able to provide the additional information needed to show that more than 33% of sales were onsite in 2019?  we do separate our items by wholesale and retail in our POS, so our records do reflect that.

[Ani_]

Hey @prestonrosefarm Unfortunately we will not be able to support your application and recommend that you apply through the SBA.

[Ani_]

Hi all!

Thanks for the questions so far! If you meet the program requirements, you can submit your application starting Monday, May 3rd at 12:00 PM EST through your Square Dashboard or through the SBA Portal. For more information about eligibility, visit the SBA Portal. The SBA will respond to your questions directly in this post on Thursday, April 29th at 1:30-2:30 PM PST /4:30 PM-5:30 EST. Click reply below to add any additional questions you may have.

[PPastry]

We are asked to attach three months worth of bank statements.  Is this three months from 2019 or 2020 or 2021?

[NmontaSBA]

Hi @PPastry,

Please supply the three most recent months of bank statements.

[PPastry]

Thank you

[Reddev3]

I use Square for credit card processing only and never take my cash through the system was wondering how that will work? Will there be a way to add my additional cash sales in your system?