Employee Retention Tax Credit Guide January 2023 Update

Employee Retention Tax Credit Guide January 2023 Update

The Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC aka the ERC) applicable to the Covid-19 pandemic has been evolving from its initial congressional act in March of 2020, was enhanced by the Consolidated Appropriations Act passed in January 2021, updated by the American Rescue Plan in March of 2021, and most recently updated by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
If your head is spinning as you try to unravel the ERC rules, you are not alone. The ERC or Employee Retention Credit offers a viable and alternative way to recover payroll costs for any type of employer, except state and local government entities, regardless of their size.

SBA Restaurant Revitalization Funding is Now Available

SBA Restaurant Revitalization Funding is Now Available

On Monday, May 3rd, 2021, the Small Business Administration (SBA) opened its application portal for the Restaurant Revitalization Funding (RRF) to certain restaurants, bars and other similar businesses that serve food and/or drink which have suffered a reduction in revenue in 2020 when compared to 2019 as a result of the pandemic.

Similar to the Paycheck Protection Program Loan (PPPL) program, this federally-funded program is intended to provide cash to businesses which have suffered revenue losses and if spent on the proper types of expenses within a specific period of time (the Covered Period), the loan may be fully-forgiven by the SBA.

SBA Expands PPP Loan Requests to Schedule C Filers

SBA Expands PPP Loan Requests to Schedule C Filers

Up until now, the PPP Loan proceeds for Schedule C filers was based on the 2019 net profit (referred to as the net earnings from self employment) plus payroll costs if employees worked in the business. The Interim Final Rule (IFR) effective on March 3, 2021 allows a business owner to use either their gross income or net income as the basis to compute its PPP Loan request amount.

What Happens to PPP Loan When Selling a Business

What Happens to PPP Loan When Selling a Business

The Small Business Administration (SBA) issued a Procedural Notice on October 2, 2020 which offers business owners and lenders guidance on how Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loans are to be handled when a business has a change in ownership.

This post summarizes the notice and includes an Infographic to assist business owners.  It includes the following topic:

When does a Business Sale Require the SBA’s Approval
Does a Business Sale Require the PPP Lender’s Approval or Notification
Required Steps Pre and Post-Closing for PPP Borrowers 
SBA Timeframe to Approve a Sale or Merger when a PPP Loan Transfers
Does the EIDL Grant Impose Additional Steps When Selling a Business

SBA Reopens Economic Injury Disaster Loan Applications

SBA Reopens Economic Injury Disaster Loan Applications

On June 15, 2020, the Small Business Administration reopened the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) applications to businesses with no more than 500 employees and non-profit organizations operating and suffering substantial economic injury as a result of the pandemic in all of the U.S. states, Washington D.C., and territories.
Independent Contractors, sole-proprietors (with or without employees), gig workers and freelancers are also eligible to apply for the EIDL.

7 Changes PPP Loan Flexibility Act Offers Business Owners

7 Changes PPP Loan Flexibility Act Offers Business Owners

On June 5, 2020, President Trump signed into law the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act (PPPFA), which is the latest attempt to save struggling businesses from permanent shutdown.
The Flexibility Act offers business owners seven significant changes to the original Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loan terms. The House and Senate were driven to make these changes due to the lengthy pandemic and the fact that many PPP Loan recipients have not been able to re-open their doors for business during the required eight-week ‘covered period’ set forth in the original PPP Loan Act.
The PPP Loan Flexibility Act will make it much easier for business owners to achieve full, or nearly full, loan forgiveness.
The new law provides business owners with seven significant changes to the original law and those include:

PPP Loans Out of Money — What To Do Now?

PPP Loans Out of Money — What To Do Now?

The Small Business Administration announced on Thursday, April 16th all federal funds set aside for the Paycheck Protection Plan (PPP) Loans have been allocated to those business owners who were persistent (and fortunate) enough to get through the application process and receive an official registration number from the SBA via its bank.
In simple terms, the PPP Loans are out of money to assist business owners.

How the Paycheck Protection Loans Work

How the Paycheck Protection Loans Work

On Friday, March 27, 2020, the Paycheck Protection (Loan) Program (PPL) for small businesses was approved as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. This new law is intended to help small business owners in an unprecedented way.
First, while the Paycheck Protection Program Loan will be initially set up by banks and approved by the SBA under section 7 (a), unlike other SBA loan programs, the PPL is guaranteed 100% by the SBA.
Second, if the proceeds of the loan are used by business owners as Congress, the Senate and President Trump intended, the loan will be forgiven.

Can I Sell My Business For Less Than I Owe the Bank?

Can I Sell My Business For Less Than I Owe the Bank?

For many businesses, the ultimate goal is to sell the business. Can you picture it? Walk away from the daily stress and aggravation with a fat pile of cash. Hop a plane to your favorite tropical destination and spend the rest of your days lounging a white sandy beach, sipping pina coladas out of a coconut, without a care in the world.

Well, friends, the above scenario is the ideal scenario. I like sipping cold drinks on a beach as much as the next guy, and I hope that happens for you. But if you clicked on this article, you may be looking at a much different scenario.

And that’s what this article is going to cover: the less-than-ideal scenario.

Raising Capital: Understanding the Options for Your Business

Raising Capital: Understanding the Options for Your Business

There are several types of loans available to business owners — so many, in fact, that the options can seem overwhelming and confusing, especially to smaller business owners without a lot of experience raising capital. This guide will help educate you on the options so you can make a more informed decision about financing your growing business while limiting added risk.

Mezzanine Debt Definition

Mezzanine Debt Definition

In its purest form, Mezzanine Debt is a business debt instrument that carries along with it certain rights to convert debt into equity (stock, common shares, partnership interests, LLC membership units, etc.). Mezzanine debt financing is not a pure debt or a pure equity instrument. It is something in the middle. In fact, the word ‘mezzanine’ is derived from the Italian word ‘mezzano’, meaning middle, and is used to describe how this particular form of business capital combines elements of both debt and equity financing into one instrument.

Buying a Business with Retirement Funds

Buying a Business with Retirement Funds

In the last six years, millions of Americans have lost their jobs and found it exceedingly difficult to find new ones, even after putting in decades with the same company. Many forward-thinking individuals among the unemployed have concluded that creating their own businesses and jobs may be their best hope for working again. The entrepreneurial spirit is still alive and well in America!

How to Calculate Debt Service Coverage Ratio [Tool]

How to Calculate Debt Service Coverage Ratio [Tool]

Debt Service Coverage Ratio compliance often is required or necessitated by covenants in a bank loan agreement. A bank loan covenant regarding the debt service coverage ratio will specify the amount of income a business and/or its guarantor must generate relative to the debt principal and interest payments on an annual basis to remain in compliance with the covenant. The business owner, or his or her CFO or Controller, should monitor this ratio carefully on a monthly basis so the covenant is not unintentionally broken.

What is a Debt Service Coverage Ratio?

What is a Debt Service Coverage Ratio?

The debt service coverage ratio is a measurement used by lenders to determine if a business is able to meet its debt servicing obligations through its operating income during a given period of time. In most cases, a lender wants the operating income to exceed the debt servicing costs by some measure. This ratio defines the extent to which a business’s operating income (or other defined measure of cash flow) exceeds the cost to service its bank loans.

Employees Ownership Incentives — Implications When You Sell

Employees Ownership Incentives — Implications When You Sell

Many entrepreneurs faced with the demands on cash of a growing business are tempted to sell equity to outside investors, or perhaps give away stock to retain a valuable employee. Diluting your stake in this way may solve the immediate problem, but it can have unforeseen consequences when the business eventually is sold. Stockholders’ personal circumstances evolve in different ways over the lifetime of a company, and whatever the original intention everyone may not be on the same page when you are ready to sell.

Kauffman Foundation Venture Capital Report: Will VC Be Your Super Hero?

I continue to be surprised as I meet with entrepreneurs who truly regard Venture Capital as their Holy Grail. It’s as though they are looking for a Super Hero to make their dreams of entrepreneurial success come true. But having spent more than a few sessions on the entrepreneur’s side of the table in negotiations with venture capital firms, I know better. And it seems there are others who share my opinion!

Bank Alternatives: Sourcing Business Capital When a Company is Not Bankable

Bank Alternatives: Sourcing Business Capital When a Company is Not Bankable

Often entrepreneurs find themselves in a situation where their commercial bank considers their existing line of credit too risky to extend or renew. This places the entrepreneur and their banker at odds, and many times pushes the business owner to take drastic steps to keep their company’s doors open and paychecks coming. Has this happened to you or one of your fellow entrepreneurs?

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