Guidance for ABPA Members in Obtaining Relief Loans

Dear ABPA Members,

First, the board of directors and ABPA staff hope you and your corporate families are all safe and staying healthy during these very difficult times, there simply are no words to capture the challenges we are all facing.

During the past few weeks, as the government developed its stimulus packages and various business relief programs, the board has been actively discussing how the Association could best serve the membership while we all wait out the pandemic. It was decided that our best effort would be to help our members learn about the governments small business relief loans, Paycheck Protection Programs (PPP) and Forgiveness options. As one would suspect from a government program, these are all great initiatives that come with extremely complicated requirements that if not navigated properly could result in rejected applications or misunderstood terms and obligations.

Therefore, in cooperation with the ABPA accounting firm Kutchins, Robbins & Diamond Ltd. (Gene & Arlene: our conference sponsors and reception staff) we have posted on the website, an article and PowerPoint presentation for your review, please use this link to access the information immediately. Once there you can view the important information and even access a webinar or reach out to Gene Barinholtz directly to ask any questions you may have. Please note these programs are being flooded with applications and resources are limited so you should make your decisions soon to take advantage of the programs if they are right for you and your company.

Sincerely,
Nick Schied
ABPA Board Member

* Information is for reference only – please consult your Accounting Firm or CPA for further guidance.

CARES Act Update

By: Gene Barinholtz, CPA, Partner & Shareholder
Updated as of 4/15/2020

The Power Point presentation about the recently enacted Families First Act and CARES Act has been updated for clarifications issued by the SBA and Treasury through April 15, 2020.

This presentation outlines the various provisions in both the Families First Act and the CARES Act. There are basically two types of relief available to businesses: relief through payroll tax credits and/or relief through SBA funding assistance. There are some significant tax law changes that this presentation touches on as well.

The most hype has been about the SBA PPP (Paycheck Protection Program) Loan and about the SBA EIDL (Economic Injury Disaster Loan).

PPP Loans

$349B has been allocated to this fund and absent additional funding it is anticipated this program will run out of funding before 4/17. IF YOU HAVE NOT APPLIED FOR THIS LOAN AND ARE ELIGILBLE YOU SHOULD DO SO IMMEDIATELY. ADDITIONAL FUNDING HAS BEEN REQUESTED BUT NOT YET APPROVED.

The qualifications for this program are simple but the program has been a frustrating process for most. There have been 5 clarifications to this law since it was first enacted on 3/27/20 – each providing a bit more guidance into the confusing terms and definitions in the Act. At this date most of the pressing questions have been addressed and the program has become clearer. There has been no consistency in how the banks administer this program and the required documentation. In going through the PPP process you will just have to give your bank what they are requesting even if you hear other banks have different requests. There are still a lot of questions about the administration of this program on the back end – when it comes time to ask for the loan forgiveness. We expect to update this presentation as the back end process becomes clearer.

EIDL Loans

This is a program where you go through a normal SBA loan request through the SBA to get financing up to $2,000,000 for business needs. This is not a forgivable loan. This loan can be used for working capital. The program provided an Emergency Grant of $10,000 that you could get in three days.

As of this date – Treasury had anticipated 1,000,000 requests for this program and has received 3,000,000 requests. Because of system failures all applicants had to re-file their loan requests under the new streamlined request process. Because of the number of requests the Emergency Grants are being limited to $1,000 per employee up to a maximum of $10,000. None of these funds have been disbursed to anyone yet. Due to the number of requests the SBA is currently limiting the loans to $25,000 – nowhere near the $2,000,000 the Act calls for. We are still advising clients who qualify and understand that this is a non-forgivable loan to apply in the hopes that additional funding will be allocated and their application will already be in process.

If I can assist any of you with anything you see here or in the presentation please feel free to contact me at gbarinholtz@krdcpas.com or 847-278-4347.

Resources: