Support for Restaurant Owners During COVID-19

“I own several restaurants that have all been impacted by COVID-19. What are some things I should be discussing with my CPA related to covid impact on my business?”

Restaurants are probably one of the most impacted areas of business during COVID-19. They've been forced to shut down across the country, and are open now with limited capacity. Some of the means of support most of you by now know about, but I want to highlight them in case anyone finds it valuable.

Payroll Protection Loan

This is kind of winding down but it is still available through, I believe, August 10th. With this loan the SBA will give you a loan to cover about 10 weeks of your payroll. If you use that for payroll and certain payroll related costs, then you don't have to pay it back.

Emergency Disaster Loan

Another option out there is the Emergency Disaster Loan through the SBA. This is a 30 year loan 3.75% that they give you without any fees. Basically to cover working capital cost. A lot of our clients are using this just to help them get back on their feet after having several months of no revenue.

Family Medical Leave Act

Another option is the Family Medical Leave Act was extended as part of the Cares Act Bill that passed through Congress. It's allowed employers to let employees who have kids that are out of school or don't have child care because child care is closed, for up to 10 weeks stay home with their kids and you can pay them two-thirds of their regular pay. This will be reimbursed through tax credits on your quarterly 941 tax reporting. Also if anyone is being treated for covid, has covid symptoms, or needs to stay home because they have a sickness that they think might be related to covid, you can actually pay them up to 80 hours at their full rate of pay and that'll be a reimbursed on your 941.

Employee Retention Tax Credit

Another option there is a employee retention tax credit and this one is a little bit harder to qualify for but if you've had a significant drop in revenue this year compared to the same period last year you can get a credit on your quarterly 941 to retain those employees, even though you didn't the revenue to substantiate it.

There are several options out there. You just got to kind of look through and see what fits your business the best. If you have any questions about your business feel free to text me at 501-762-0116.