Solved: Live Q&A: Restaurant Revitalization Fund for Squar... - Page 4

Ani_ · ‎04-22-2021

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.

Ani
Gestora de la Comunidad de Vendedores / Seller Community Manager, Square

Ani_ · ‎04-30-2021

On Thursday 5/29, we hosted a Q&A with the US Small Business Administration about the Restaurant Revitalization Fund.

In the Q&A, the SBA and Square answered questions about the application process — from general eligibility requirements to more specific information that applied to individual sellers.

Here’s some important information that applies to most sellers:

When can you apply:
- Applications start on Monday 5/3 at 12:00 p.m EST / 9:00 a.m. PST.
- The SBA has a registration window open on Friday 4/30, but if you plan to apply through Square you do not need to register with the SBA.

Who can apply through Square:
- To determine if you are an eligible business type, you’ll need to visit SBA’s website (sba.gov/restaurants).
- If you processed with Square in 2019 and 2020 (Table 1 or 2 in the RRF application), you can apply through Square’s dashboard or the SBA. If you used multiple POS providers during that period or had supplemental income e.g. from online ordering apps, you can still apply with Square. You’ll be able to add supplementary income information — but the SBA may require you to provide additional documentation before you e-sign your application.
- If you began processing with Square in 2020 or 2021 (Table 3 in the RRF application), then you will need to apply through the SBA. You can get useful information from your Square account to include in your application — to learn how, please take a look at our Support Center.

Why you should or should not apply with Square:
- If you apply through Square can save time completing and submitting your application with pre filled data from your Square account.
- Submitting through Square can help you get your application in front of the SBA quickly — before the RRF funds run out.
- Square will enable you to add supplemental revenue information in your application for either Table 1 or Table 2 applicant. However, if you are a Table 3 applicant, you will need to apply via SBA because Square will not let you upload supporting documentation for eligible expenses.

How can you apply with Square:
- If you are eligible to apply through Square, you’ll need to log in to your dashboard when the application window opens, using the owner’s login. From there, you’ll find a specific RRF module from where you can start your application.
- Square will have pre-filled your application with the information we know about your business. That said, there is information we do not have access to. To complete your application as fast as possible we recommend to have the following information handy:
  - The date (day, month, and year) you began operations.
  - How many months you operate in every location. This is especially important if you operate a seasonal business.
  - Any additional income you may have earned in 2019 and 2020 that was not processed through Square. Ideally you are tracking this income by location. If this information is not available feel free to distribute this across locations ensuring the total revenue by location (through Square and other sources)stays under $5M.
  - Your PPP loan information — especially if you did not process these loans with Square.
- After submitting your award application through your Square Dashboard, you’ll need to eSign your application. Here’s how it works:
  - Open an email from Square with the title “Your RRF award application is not yet complete.” Follow the link in the email to visit the SBA portal.
  - If you see a page with the title “Third Party Signup,” you are in the right spot. Enter the text you see in the grey pixelated image in the appropriate field and click Complete Sign Up.
  - You’ll then receive an email from SBA with the title “SBA Restaurant Revitalization Fund - Password Reset E-mail.” Click the link included in the email to reset your password.
  - Once you complete your password reset, scroll to the bottom of the page and click Sign and Submit Application to sign your application via DocuSign.
  - The SBA may also require additional documentation for your application if you indicated revenue outside of Square. From the SBA portal, you will be able to upload supporting documentation to the Additional Info Needed section if required by the SBA.

How can you get help if you have more questions?
- We will try to answer as many additional questions as possible here through the weekend.
- Call the SBA call center hotline (844-279-8898): Applicants can call this number for multilingual application or program support.

Reach out to your SBA District Office: Applicants can reach out to their local District Office for tailored regional SBA support.

Ani
Gestora de la Comunidad de Vendedores / Seller Community Manager, Square

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Ani_ · ‎04-29-2021

Hi @kimapollo, it would be best for you to apply through the SBA. You will need to provide supporting documentation for the revenue you took through your old POS.

Ani
Gestora de la Comunidad de Vendedores / Seller Community Manager, Square

bazaru · ‎04-22-2021

Hello, my all of my applications are ready. If Square will be offering in the upcoming days, I would love to participate in the beta test. Thank you for your time.

Ani_ · ‎04-29-2021

Thanks for letting us know, @bazaru! We’ll let you know if there is an opportunity to beta test.

Ani
Gestora de la Comunidad de Vendedores / Seller Community Manager, Square

jk84mc · ‎04-22-2021

I too would like to be part of the beta testing for this SBA Award revitalization funding. I took over ownership of an existing cafe back in Nov. 2019. I closed from March 23rd thru June 8th,2020. I have received both PPP's thru Square; but I only had 2 employees so it wasn't all that much. I have barely climbed over the halfway point of where was pre-covid. Fighting to keep "feet on the floor" behind the counter at the moment; while trying to look for new staff for the last 3 months. 50+ applicants, 40+ of them scheduled an interview with me, 7 have showed up, I hired 6 of them, I have ONE LEFT. They come in acting excited to have a job, work a day or two and I never see them again . It's maddening!!!

Ani_ · ‎04-29-2021

@jk84mc It sounds like you should be able to apply for an SBA award through your Square Dashboard. I’ll let the team know that you’re open to beta testing the flow if the opportunity is available. So sorry to hear about your staffing experience!!

Ani
Gestora de la Comunidad de Vendedores / Seller Community Manager, Square

ericrud76 · ‎04-22-2021

We use Square for payroll but its not our POS.

Will we be able to apply through square using Bank Statements (according to the SBA, that is an acceptable proof of revenue)?

Thanks Square Team!!

Ani_ · ‎04-29-2021

@ericrud76 Unfortunately without processing data, you will not be able to apply through Square, we recommend that you apply through SBA’s portal. To learn more, please visit sba.gov/restaurants. Beginning Friday 4/30 at 9 AM EST you’ll be able to register with the SBA.

Ani
Gestora de la Comunidad de Vendedores / Seller Community Manager, Square

QCGBill · ‎04-22-2021

We had sales at our flagship location for all of 2019 & 2020 but opened a 2nd location in July of 2020. Should we apply separately for the 2nd location? From what I read in the SBA program guide, the grants are awarded by location.

Ani_ · ‎05-02-2021

Hi @QCGBill, Square wouldn't be able to support your 2020 location unfortunately, we recommend you apply through the SBA.

Ani
Gestora de la Comunidad de Vendedores / Seller Community Manager, Square

NmontaSBA · ‎05-02-2021

Hello @QCGBill! If you file taxes at a parent company level or applied for PPP at the parent company level, you should apply using the parent company EIN. If you file individually by location, you can apply by location.

Nicola
SBA Guest Speaker
sba.gov/restaurants

TeaBazaar1 · ‎04-23-2021

Hi there. I’m curious if square will allow businesses who began operations in 2019 to apply for RRF using either table 2 or table 3 for its calculations. Restaurants are allowed to choose if applying through the SBA. However, I’m concerned that food and beverage businesses that began operations in 2019 will be limited to using table 2 only in square. Thank you 🙂

Ani_ · ‎04-29-2021

Hi @TeaBazaar1! No, if you began operations in 2019, you will be directed through Table 2 by applying through Square.

Ani
Gestora de la Comunidad de Vendedores / Seller Community Manager, Square

rje1206 · ‎04-23-2021

If I apply through Square for the RRF, will Square report through the application 2019 and 2020 gross revenue amounts?

Ani_ · ‎04-29-2021

@rje1206 Yes, that's correct!

Ani
Gestora de la Comunidad de Vendedores / Seller Community Manager, Square

rje1206 · ‎04-29-2021

Will we be able to see the answers to all the questions asked?

SolBrew · ‎04-23-2021

Are we required to have our 2020 taxes filed knowing that the deadline to file them is may 17th?

Ani_ · ‎04-29-2021

@SolBrew No, you can apply without having filed your 2020 taxes. This will be the case for many businesses!

Ani
Gestora de la Comunidad de Vendedores / Seller Community Manager, Square

Hazelscatering · ‎04-23-2021

Will there be specific categories that you must spend the RRF grant on?

Joe · ‎04-24-2021

Hi there, @Hazelscatering - thanks for reaching out!

Just a quick note. I've gone ahead and merged your post into an existing thread of Sellers who were also looking for information regarding RRF. We have a live Q&A on this post happening currently, so we should be able to generate a response for you directly from the SBA.

Please stand by!

Joe
Community Moderator, Square
Sign in and click Mark as Best Answer if my reply answers your question.

Ani_ · ‎04-29-2021

Hey @Hazelscatering! Yes - these include: Business Payroll Costs, including paid sick leave, Business Rent / Business Mortgage, Business Debt Service, Business Utilities, Business Food and beverage expenses, including raw materials, Business Maintenance Expenses, Business Supplies, Covered Supplier Costs, and Business Operating Expenses.

Ani
Gestora de la Comunidad de Vendedores / Seller Community Manager, Square

dabrad-01 · ‎04-24-2021

Will square be open to 1st group or only when it is available to everyone?

Live Q&A: Restaurant Revitalization Fund for Square Food and Beverage Sellers

When can you apply:

Who can apply through Square:

Why you should or should not apply with Square:

How can you apply with Square:

How can you get help if you have more questions?