Solved: Live Q&A: Restaurant Revitalization Fund for Squar... - Page 26

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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Wtr4920 · ‎04-29-2021

If we only used Square since Pandemic started and do not have 2019 on Square is it better to apply through SBA?

Ani_ · ‎05-02-2021

Hi @Wtr4920 - Yes. You can still download useful data from your Square account and include them in your application. You can learn more on our Support Center article..

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

AshleyCake · ‎04-29-2021

I use Square POS but not Square for Restaurants and I haven't seen anything about RRF on my dashboard. Will it be available to me or should I apply through the SBA website?

Ani_ · ‎05-02-2021

Hi @AshleyCake! When the application window opens (Monday 5/3 at noon EST), you should be able to see an RRF module on your dashboard if you are eligible to apply through Square.

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

gyh · ‎04-29-2021

We opened in mid December 2019. When we use calculation 2 for the RRF, how do we determine the open month? And how do we take into consideration on the soft opening dates (no sales or very little sales)? Thank you.

NmontaSBA · ‎05-02-2021

Hi @gyh, Applicants determine the opening day based on the day of first sales. For example, if you opened on December 15, 2019 that is .5 months. Applicants who opened partially through 2019 are also able to use calculation 3 to apply.

Nicola
SBA Guest Speaker
sba.gov/restaurants

Aokuzog · ‎04-29-2021

what is the benefit of applying through Square vs SBA?

Ani_ · ‎05-02-2021

Hi @Aokuzog, Square will pre-fill your application with the information we have on your account saving you time and effort in the application process.

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

Aokuzog · ‎04-29-2021

Are traditional cafes eligible?

Ani_ · ‎05-02-2021

Hi @Aokuzog, They are!

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

TVBC · ‎04-29-2021

If we have 3 locations all reported for Income Tax purposes under the same EIN - one opened in 2016, one in 2019, and one in 2020, are each treated separately for the gross receipts test?

Ani_ · ‎05-02-2021

@TVBC Yes - each would be calculated using a different table, and aggregated in Table 4.

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

epartee · ‎04-29-2021

When submitting supporting documentation for an LLC, can I merge forms 1065 & K-1s into one PDF file to upload? In other words, can I submit one PDF file with all supporting documentation for 2019 and one PDF file with all supporting documentation for 2020 (for gross receipts)? Or should I submit all forms separately?

NmontaSBA · ‎05-02-2021

You should submit forms separately, @epartee.

Nicola
SBA Guest Speaker
sba.gov/restaurants

ADYA1 · ‎04-29-2021

Will we be able to apply directly through Square website? What information/paperwork do we need and what will Square provide?

Ani_ · ‎05-02-2021

Hi @ADYA1 - If you have processed with Square in 2019 you should be able to apply through the Square dashboard. We will pre-fill your application with information we have about your business in your Square account. Please refer to our Support Center article on how to be best prepared to apply through Square.

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

mark22 · ‎04-29-2021

What if you don't use square for all of your sales just some, like a door cover charge. Will the sales reported from square be just those sales?

Ani_ · ‎05-02-2021

Hi @mark22, Square is only able to pre-fill your application with information from your Square account. You will be able to include supplemental information from other sources in your application via Square but the SBA may require additional documentation before you are able to e-sign your application. Please have this information handy in case this is requested by the SBA

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

dlittle · ‎04-29-2021

If we are a new business as of February 2020 we do not have comparative sales for 2019 to apply. Will I still be able to apply for RRF if only in business for a year?

Ani_ · ‎05-02-2021

Yes you will @dlittle . However, you’ll need to apply directly with the SBA as Square will not enable you to submit eligible expenses that could impact the size of your RRF award. You will still be able to download useful date from your Square account to include in your application - read our Support Center article for more information.

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

patika · ‎04-29-2021

Hi @Ani_ Can you tell us how this "Live Q&A" is working? Are we supposed to just see answers to 282 questions appear under each answer? Should we be jumping page to page to see what answer is being worked on? Is there an indicator that tells us which question is being answered?

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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