.png)
The SBA (U.S. Small Business Administration) announced opening dates for applications for the $28.6 billion relief program for restaurant owners, the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RFF). Registration for the SBA application portal will begin on Friday, April 30, 2021, at 9 am ET. Applications will open on Monday, May 3, 2021, at noon ET. The American Rescue Plan Act established the RRF to provide funding to help restaurants and other eligible businesses keep their doors open. This program will provide restaurants with funding equal to their pandemic-related revenue loss up to $10 million per business and no more than $5 million per physical location. Recipients are not required to repay the funding as long as funds are used for eligible uses no later than March 11, 2023. Experts believe this money will be rapidly distributed, so being on top of the application process is a necessity for eligible businesses.
Eligible businesses for this program are as follows:
Restaurants
Food stands, food trucks, and food carts
Caterers
Bars, saloons, lounges, and taverns
Snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars
Bakeries, brewpubs, tasting rooms, breweries, microbreweries, wineries, and distilleries where 33% of on-site sales make up gross receipts
Inns at which 33% of on-site sales make up gross receipts
Licensed facilities or premises of a beverage alcohol producer where the public may taste, sample, or purchase products
Application Process & Steps to apply
Here is a link to the portal. https://restaurants.sba.gov/
Businesses can access the application through SBA-recognized third-party point-of-sale vendors or on the SBA online application portal posted in the coming days. For reference of what this application will entail, the SBA has posted a sample application on their website: https://www.sba.gov/document/sba-form-3172-restaurant-revitalization-funding-application-sample
The SBA has allocated the first 21 days of the application period for those business who identify as owned by veterans, women, or socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. Socially disadvantaged individuals are defined as individuals who are subjected to racial or ethnic prejudices, and individuals subject to cultural bias due to their identity.
To being the application process, the following documentation is required by the SBA:
IRS Form 4506-T, Request for Transcript of Tax Return
Gross Receipts Documentation: Any of the following documents demonstrating gross receipts and, if applicable, eligible expenses
Business Tax Returns (IRS Form 1120, or IRS Form 1120-S)
IRS Form 1040 Schedule C or Schedule F
Partnerships should submit IRS Form 1065 including Form K-1
Bank Statements
Externally or internally prepared Financial Statements
Point-of-scale reports, including IRS Form 1099-K
For support, feel free to reach out to your Berman Hopkins team members during our normal business hours or call the SBA call center at 844-279-8898, Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The SBA is also offering free training during virtual webinars on Wednesday, April 28th 2021 at 1 pm & 2:30 pm EST. Sign up for the webinar by clicking the link on the time. The webinars are limited to the first 20,000 registrants, however, both will be recorded and later posted on SBA's YouTube channel. Additionally you can visit the SBA RRF knowledge base at https://ussbaforgiveness.zendesk.com/hc/en-us.