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.

[PureDC]

Hi SBA ,  I’m looking to apply utilizing Calculation #3, for new business that opened this year 2021, but incurred qualified expenses during Feb 2020 through March 2021.  Q:  Looking at the required/preferred documents on the SBA site, it mentions a “CPA comfort Letter”,  I don’t have a CPA but I do have an Accountant that handles the business tax prep.  Can this particular letter come from an Accountant?

[NmontaSBA]

Yes, @PureDCa comfort letter is also known as a verification letter. It is a business document that is prepared by a CPA or accounting professional. 

In the case of the Restaurant Revitalization Fund program, applicants using the Table 3 calculation are encouraged to obtain a Comfort Letter to support the use of eligible expenses as part of the award justification and documentation process. 

Please consult your CPA or accounting professional to obtain this document for your application.  Providing this document will ensure the fastest SBA review of your application.

[Marywardian0125]

I've taken a webinar on how to apply via the SBA portal but if I would like to apply through Square for simplicity. That said, I've logged into the dashboard but it is unclear to me where or how on the dashboard I would submit the application. How do we find the right place to apply in the dashboard and how will the application requirements/submitals differ if we go through Square vs the SBA portal?

[Ani_]

@Marywardian0125 When the application window opens on Monday 5/3 at noon EST, sellers who are eligible to apply with Square will see an RRF module on their Square dashboard - provided they log in with the owner’s account. You will be able to apply directly from there - Square will pre-fill the information we have about your business on your account. You will be able to add supplementary income information if you have any that is not tracked in your Square account. To learn more on how to prepare for your application with Square, please check out our support center content.   

[sataysfied]

Hi Ani, 

So what's the qualifications to get a grant? We just have to show we are really low in sales as compared to before the pandemic?

Best,
Feldo

[Ani_]

Hi @sataysfied, The SBA has released very specific guidelines at sba.gov/restaurants. We recommend reviewing the requirements listed there to see if you are eligible to apply! Thanks.

[sataysfied]

Hi Ani, 

2019 my sales was around $675k and the net business was around $120k. The net was high because we had good profit margins as a caterer that didn't require a lot of workers. 

2020 my sales was around the same of $650k but the net business was a low number of around $35k because our catering sales stop completely. I had to pivot and do food delivery. Where in food delivery more requirement of workers and margins are so low because of how much the food delivery gauge with the fees. 

So my question is?
So clearly my net was from $120k to $35k is pitiful and could use the help. However, on the app is asking for the sales receipt. Since the sales receipt on both years are equivalent. How can I show that even though the gross receipts is similar for both years but the business net is way different and position my application to get a grant? 

[NmontaSBA]

@sataysfied RRF funding is calculated based on gross receipts loss as described in the statute, not net sales. If your gross receipts increased or stayed the same in 2020, you will not be eligible for funding.

[Reddev3]

Ok this session is not helping. I am also getting an email a minute with someone else's question and no answer. I am getting no answer to my original question which is the one most here are asking. If you have sales that were not done on square how is that handled? I am starting to think maybe it would be better to just use SBA site because I am not sure square has this together enough to run. Some version of this question is in every third question I see if square had it together they would have those answers posted predominantly on top of page and stop sending us everyone else's questions without answers

[ChukE]

100% agreed. I asked the same question and got no answer. There is a lot of redundancy here. Only very basic questions are answered, like when is the portal opening, and they are answered 100 times!

[Ani_]

@Reddev3 @ChukE Apologies for the frustration! We're trying to addresses as many questions as we can given the unprecedented volume. Rest assured, everone who posted on this thread will receive a reply. We'll take this experience into account in the future.

[pk4]

Ani, if we applied through Square for the both the first and second rounds of PPP, will our info (PPP amounts and tax returns...etc.) be autofilled or will we need to upload that stuff?

[Ani_]

Yes we will @pk4! However we also recommend having this information handy so that you validate all the information we’ve included in your application.

[dailyg436]

If we use Square do is it required to apply through squares portal?

[Ani_]

Hey @dailyg436, No, it is not required to submit through Square.

[Grassroots1]

Our parent company has to file the RRF under their EIN because of the ppp loan, but we have our own EIN and our own tax returns, required documentation for the RRF requires IRS Form 4506-T, which company fills out the form, the parent company (not eligible for the RRF) or actual company eligible for the RRF?  and will it create a problem if the application is filed one company EIN and the IRS Form a different EIN?  Thank you!!

[NmontaSBA]

@Grassroots1 You must apply using the EIN for the entity that received the First Draw PPP loan. You must aggregate your calculations for your separate locations that are eligible for RRF. You may not include gross receipts (or eligible expenses, if using Table 3 from the application) from locations that are not eligible for RRF.

However, there is an exception: If your locations file taxes under a parent company's tax returns, you must apply under the parent company's tax identification number, and you must include gross receipts and/or PPP loans from eligible entity types/locations (for example, restaurants). You must also include PPP loans (but not gross revenues) received by any business that reports revenue through the parent company, regardless of business type.

[kelsenvana]

When will we see the option to apply for the RRF on our Square Dashboard? And can we view our verified POS reports for gross sales before they are submitted through Square? 

[Ani_]

Hi @kelsenvana, You will see an option to apply tomorrow at 12 EST. You can download your 1099k forms from Account & Settings > Business >Tax Forms on the Dashboard. You are also able to export a CSV report for Sales, or click to print the sales summary page, and save as a PDF.

[kelsenvana]

Will Square be providing our electronic signature for the documents SBA is requesting in the application? 

[Ani_]

Hey @kelsenvana, No, after submitting through Square, you will be prompted to complete and sign your application through the SBA portal.