The impact of COVID19 and the subsequent economic fallout for small business has been devastating. As we head into the first full month of high unemployment and nearly nationwide “stay at home” orders, we are sharing a great summary of the recent legislation enacted as part of the CARES (Corona Aid, Relief and Economic Security) Act last week. Please keep in mind that much of this is running through the Small Business Administration, which is likely to be overrun for awhile with applications and inquiries. In addition, we are still getting clarification on some of these new rules, so some of what is summarized here is likely subject to further interpretation. The attached summary was provided by Guillermo Birmingham with B2BCFO. Now is an important time for business owners to have a strong financial management team including: bookkeeper, CPA, CFO or part-time CFO and financial planner for the business owner. There are many opportunities for business owners to try to mitigate the impact of the economic downturn through strategic and creative actions. In addition to the resources and programs listed in the attached document, Omega Wealth Management offers the following tips for surviving COVID19:
- Contact your landlord or bank if you will have trouble paying your rent or mortgage this month. Try to negotiate deferral or abatement. IF you CAN pay, as a courtesy, reach out so that they can plan on your income and perhaps help another tenant in bigger need.
- Start your SBA EIDL application as soon as possible. You will need PFS (Personal Financial Statement) and a decent amount of detail so best to get it done and get in line as soon as you can!
- Go ahead and get your 2019 taxes together so you can see what the liability may look like. You don’t need to file or pay 2019 tax liabilities until at least July 15th. IF you will be getting a refund, file as soon as possible!
- Reach out to credit card companies to let them know if you will be delayed in your payments. If you are in better shape but think you will need cash while waiting for loans or income to come through, consider taking on additional cash from cards NOW while the credit is available. (Please keep in mind that there may be some impact on your business/personal credit score but that may be addressed in subsequent Government legislation.)
- Contact other vendors to let them know your status and to see if you can arrange for deferral of payments.
- If you will need cash to cover personal or business expenses, one option is to take a loan from your i401k or corporate 401k plan. (rather than a distribution where you have to sell investments while they are low.) You can now take loans of up to $100K from your plan.
- Check your local jurisdiction’s economic development resources for grants and special support programs.
- Sign up for updates on the Facebook business grants program. https://www.facebook.com/business/boost/grants They are offering $100MM in grants to businesses. Right now, you just sign up for updates.
Access/download the full summary here: COVID-19 Business Resource Guide
