Solved: Live Q&A: Restaurant Revitalization Fund for Squar... - Page 12

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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BJC · ‎04-29-2021

Will we be able to submit Square sales summary reports directly into the portal? Or do we have to generate the reports and then save them somewhere in our documents to add them to the application?

Ani_ · ‎05-02-2021

Hi @BJC, If we have enough information in your Square account to enable you to submit your RRF application from the Square dashboard, we will pre-fill your sales information in your application. If we don’t have enough information in your account, you will need to submit your application directly via the SBA. In this case you can download relevant information from your Square account - check our help center for information on how to do so.

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

HanaHarvest · ‎04-29-2021

If a restaurant closed for part of 2019 are they still eligible?

Ani_ · ‎05-02-2021

Yes! @HanaHarvest

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

KUSAKABE · ‎04-29-2021

Which reports do I need for RRF and where can I download?

We use multiple POS companies and Square is one of them. Can I apply through Square for other POS reports or do I have to apply separately on SBA website for other reports?

Ani_ · ‎05-02-2021

Hi @KUSAKABE, The choice is up to you. You will be able to add supplementary income from other sources when you apply through Square. However the SBA may require verifying documentation for this additional income after you submit your application.

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

HanaHarvest · ‎04-29-2021

If a restaurant was closed for part of 2019 due to COVID, do we still just calculate eligible grant amount by subtracting 2019 gross from 2020 gross?

Ani_ · ‎05-02-2021

Yep, @HanaHarvest!

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

mco407 · ‎04-29-2021

do 2020 business taxes need to be filed

ChukE · ‎04-29-2021

No

Ani_ · ‎05-02-2021

@mco407 @ChukE is correct here!

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

mco407 · ‎04-29-2021

i do not qualify for 1099k for 2020

FAHBKLN · ‎04-29-2021

We use Square for credit card processing which is the bulk (90%+) of of our sales but also use an old school register for the few cash sales we have that our accountant reports sales for. Can we upload our 1065's to report our gross receipts (which has all our income) or will applying through Square force us to use just the POS reports?

Ani_ · ‎05-02-2021

Hi @FAHBKLN, We will enable you to add supplemental sales information to your application. However the SBA may require you to add some valiating documentation as they review your application.

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

patika · ‎04-27-2021

What will the official report from Square be that SBA requests? Seems like the 1099-K will not show accurate gross revenue. Will this report be accessible in the reports section of the dashboard?

Ani_ · ‎04-29-2021

Hey @patika, - you will be able to apply directly through Square! SBA encourages applicants who can apply through Square to do so. This is an amazing partnership we have worked together on to make sure you as an Applicant have all the data and documentation you need, in a platform you are already comfortable with.

For those who do end up applying through the SBA portal, you are able to access POS reports, including your 1099k, from your Square dashboard. To access your 1099k, navigate to Account & Settings, Business, and Tax Forms.

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

sheridandiner · ‎04-27-2021

It also states that those of us that were unable to open in 2020 but now have been ablle to will be able to apply, I assume that the link will appear for us? we have spent a ton of money on outdoor seating

Ani_ · ‎04-29-2021

Hi @sheridandiner, if you began using Square in 2019 and are an eligible business, then you will see a module on Dashboard to begin your application. If you began processing in 2020 or 2021, you will not be able to apply through Square and we recommend you use the SBA portal.

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

808Sweetshack · ‎04-27-2021

I migrated to Square in late 2020 from Shopify. Shold I assume I will need to apply via the SBA website because SHopify has all of my 2019 sales info?

Ani_ · ‎04-29-2021

Hey @808Sweetshack! Yes, please apply via the SBA portal.

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

rossobryan24 · ‎04-28-2021

Hi, we opened in June 2020. Do eligible expenses include all startup costs like leasehold improvements, equipment, furniture, fixtures, our SBA 7(a) loan, etc? I'm finding conflicting information that says yes and some say no.

What supporting documentation do you need beyond our 2020 taxes? Bank statements in addition? From what time period? Invoices?

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?