Solved: Re: Live Q&A: Restaurant Revitalization Fund for S... - Page 22

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

View Solution >

Ani_ · ‎04-29-2021

Hey @Bayard - We recommend you apply through the SBA portal.

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

Charlie_R · ‎04-29-2021

Will square application be the same as SBA? Same questions, same docs required? Is there a sample available?

Ani_ · ‎05-02-2021

Hey @Charlie_R, The information and calculation on the Square application will be the same. Data that is already known will be prefilled and the Square application will be more streamlined. Docs will not be required to be uploaded where POS data is used (eg. gross revenue).

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

gogolf72 · ‎04-29-2021

Will there be a Webinar or video feed associated with this Q&A?

Ani_ · ‎04-29-2021

Hey @gogolf72 - apologies for the confusion. There will be no webinar or video feed. All questions will be answered directly on this post during the Q&A timeframe.

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

LakeBaked · ‎04-29-2021

How will Square know that I am eligible for the RRF?

Jana Felt

Ani_ · ‎04-29-2021

Hey @LakeBaked! Eligibility through Square is based on available processing history. If you began with Square in 2020 or 2021, we will not be able to support your application and recommend you apply through the SBA.

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

Damoori · ‎04-29-2021

I've used Square since we opened our business in 2017 but also use other systems like Tock and DoorDash, etc. Can I still apply through Square?

Ani_ · ‎04-30-2021

Hi @Damoori! Yes, in addition to the revenue that will be included from Square, you’ll be able to indicate external revenue and will need to provide supporting documentation through the SBA portal.

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

northstarhouse · ‎04-29-2021

Where is the link for the live Q&A?

Tom · ‎04-29-2021

Hey @northstarhouse thanks for checking in and sorry for the confusion. There is no registration link for the Q&A — it's all taking place in written form in this thread. Please do reply here with any questions you may have and the right person will get back to you with the information you need later today. Appreciate your patience!

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

IAwine · ‎04-29-2021

We use square for cc sales only. The square reports will not include income from cash or checks. Can we still use the square site for RRF application? Will be able to upload income tax forms, for example?

Ani_ · ‎04-30-2021

Hi @IAwine, You are able to indicate external revenue as part of the Square application process. You will not be able to upload tax forms directly to the Square site.

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

danandcatherine · ‎04-29-2021

I'd prefer using the Square portal for the RRF application because I already have a bank account linked to my Square account. However, this is an account at a local community bank which is not a member of Plaid. By applying on the Square portal, will my linked bank account automatically be verified so that I don't have to enter that information manually? I'm trying to avoid manual entry due to my bank not being part of Plaid, because the SBA says that such a manual entry will delay the processing of my application.

Ani_ · ‎04-30-2021

Hey @danandcatherine, If the bank account is already linked through your Square account, then you will be able to select that account to deposit your funds.

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

danandcatherine · ‎04-29-2021

When using the Square portal for my application, can I manually enter what my "Gross Receipts" are? Or will that be automatically populated by Square and unchangeable? There is a difference between the "Gross Receipts" listed on my tax returns and "Gross Sales" listed on my Square reports and I don't want this discrepancy to delay consideration of my application by the SBA.

JimG1026 · ‎04-29-2021

What is the funding amount per store location for qualified restaurants? It appears that the funding is limited to 5K per store.

1369Coffeehouse · ‎04-29-2021

It is limited to 5 million per store.

JimG1026 · ‎04-29-2021

Thanks, I read the table wrong.

Ani_ · ‎05-02-2021

Hey @JimG1026, SBA may provide funding of up to $5,000,000 per location (not to exceed $10,000,000 total for the Applicant and any affiliated businesses) for Applicants who meet certain conditions. The minimum award will be $1,000; therefore, applications for less than $1,000 will not be accepted.

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

tinaford1 · ‎04-29-2021

We have a restaurant that was opened in April of 2019. We have a second location that was opened in July 2020 (I know, great timing, right?). Can we use Form 2 for the first location for the calculation and Form 3 for the second location and take the aggregate of the two amounts as our funding amount? Otherwise, we are in the negative, but still had a really tough year with loss of sales.

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?