The past months have been an extremely trying time for all of us. It makes no difference what you do for work, who you are employed by, or whatever else you may be personally facing; we are all impacted by the current world events in a way that none of us have experienced in the past.

While the wage earner families have relief coming to them in the form of stimulus payments, expanded unemployment options, and paid leave guarantees, a business owner is faced with even more profound challenges. Managing cash flow with reduced revenue, remote employees, furloughs for employees you can no longer afford, or even temporary closure of your business. The stress of the uncertainty is something that most of us have never dealt with before and are not sure where to turn.

Your team at Phocus Accounting and Tax Specialists have been hard at work to deconstruct the mystery of the current legislative, lending, and taxation climate. Over the past few weeks, all our professional staff have attended multiple webinars and have conducted hours upon hours of research, and we have not yet stopped as the interpretations and applications of this whirlwind of information continues changing nearly daily. We have added a news section to our website www.phocuscompanies.com/news where we are adding content as more great resources become available, in our effort to keep you as up-to-date and informed as we possibly can. Our first ever webinar and the Q&A sessions that followed were vital in our dissemination of very time sensitive information to all our great clients when there simply was not the time to reach everyone individually. The webinar and slides are available at www.phocuscompanies.com/webinars in case you missed this event.

 

SBA PROGRAM UPDATES – PLEASE READ

One of the best resources to become available to the small business owner through this crisis is the Paycheck Protection Program Loan made available through your bank and guaranteed by the SBA. In the few weeks since its introduction, this program has been clarified and modified over and over by the government and has led to substantial confusion among most business owners. Some are so confused that they fear applying in the first place. Fear and confusion should not be a barrier to applying for needed and available funding and the resulting forgiveness that comes with it.

For those of you that have applied for or plan to apply for this forgivable Paycheck Protection Program Loan, a key piece of the guidance changed after the webinar and information that was shared by us. The SBA has announced that the funds from this loan MUST BE drawn within 10 days of funding (versus having up to June 30th to draw and start the 8-week reporting period) and that utilization of funds need to begin at that point. The implication is that any employees furloughed would need to be rehired (or a suitable replacement) to start utilizing those funds. Additional guidance is expected before the end of April to clarify more of the loan forgiveness expenditure criteria.

For the Emergency Injury Disaster Loans, the grant portion that is forgivable was communicated as a $10,000 grant available. Guidance available after the webinar has clarified that this forgivable grant is limited to $1,000 per employee.

PAYCHECK PROTECTION PROGRAM LOAN SUPPORT PACKAGE

As we progress through this PPP loan process, we will be unable to help everyone with their questions, as there simply will not be enough time to answer you all individually. We do recognize that we play a vital role for so many of our business owners and understand that we need to be available to help everyone who desires it. Soon we will launch several additional question and answer Webinars to handle these questions in the most efficient manner possible, understanding that for most clients, the questions are similar if not the same and it is probably all the help that you may need.

For those that desire a more turnkey package from us, we are now introducing our Paycheck Protection Program Loan Support Package to all our business owner clients. If you wish to or have applied for this forgivable loan, and you are not sure what to do or how to do it, we are here to help.

Our package includes the following steps in assuring that you manage your loan properly and can achieve the MAXIMUM loan forgiveness possible:

  • Assist with application process (if not already applied for)
  • Develop necessary chart of accounts modifications, if applicable
  • Identify expenses to be tracked specific to your business
  • Consultations as needed before, during, and after the 8-week spending period as it pertains to the application, spending, reporting, and accounting for your loan
  • Coaching and guidance regarding expense tracking and documentation that may or will be required for loan forgiveness submission
  • Update as guidance evolves in the utilization of funds and reporting to be required for maximum loan forgiveness potential
  • Assist with the final reporting to the SBA or Lender regarding loan forgiveness
  • Reconciliation of the final loan forgiveness results, including the proper recording of that debt cancellation transaction, and the setup of the resulting non forgivable loan portion, if any, on your books

Upon request, we will provide you with an Engagement Agreement and Transmittal for this package that includes pricing customized to your business. Due to the complex nature of the requirements and due diligence by us, we are unable to provide any of the singular support items included above on an “a la carte” basis. Too many of the components build into each other and if not managed from the beginning, would most likely make it improbable for us to be effective in assisting you to achieve proper program compliance and the maximum potential loan forgiveness.

The duration of this special project engagement will go from the date of execution of your agreement with us through the earlier of the completion of the loan forgiveness process or December 31, 2020.

To receive your pricing for this package please email Seth (Seth@phocuscompanies.com) or Marianne (Marianne@phocuscompanies.com) and provide the following information:

  • Business Name, Member, or shareholder names
  • Taxable Entity Type (S Corporation, Partnership, Schedule C)
  • Number of employees including yourself
  • PPP Loan Amount requested or amount anticipated if not yet applied for

The price for the package will be due on the following schedule:

                50% upon execution of the agreement

                50% remaining balance 30 days thereafter

We sincerely appreciate the opportunity to help you, especially during these unique times that we all face. Should you have more questions, please feel free to contact us.

Thank you!