’ll save the jokes for later and cut to the chase.  The quickest option to get money fast for your business is from your bank.  They have many more flexible programs than the SBA Disaster Loan Program.  In any event, these are all LOANS, and you must be creditworthy, but for this economic disaster, to qualify.

 

If you don’t have a good banker, e-mail me at fstitely@skcpas.com.  I have great relationships with bankers. Don’t ask how I got them.  What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

 

I have personally completed the SBA Disaster Loan Program application.  The application is somewhat less pleasurable and a little more intrusive than a visit to your proctologist.  It is a complex application that serves different types of disasters.  The applicable one to choose is “economic disaster.”  The application is its own type of disaster.

 

Here is the SBA website for the application: https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/

Here are some general points about the program:

  1. The maximum loan amount is $2 million, but you don’t apply for an amount.  The SBA will determine what you qualify for.
  2. The interest rate is 3.75%, 2.75% for non-profits.
  3. The SBA says the lead time to get cash is five weeks.  Not a chance.  With the volume they are seeing, I would bet on at least twice that.
  4. There are items you will need for the application that may not be obvious.  If you would like a list of these items, please e-mail Frank at fstitely@skcpas.com.  My e-mail is secret.

 

S&K can assist you in completing the application.  Expect to pay us for about an hour if you have the information from the list mentioned above.  We can do this via video conference.  If you are interested, please schedule with cdietze@skcpas.com.  We will do some internal training this week so that multiple people will be able to help.

 

I won’t kid you that this is an easy process, and you must be creditworthy and have filed all of your tax returns to qualify.

 

The better news is that Congress has passed a big expansion of the regular SBA 704A loan program.  These are loans that your bank can supply without the need for direct SBA approval.  These will be much quicker to get and will likely have repayment terms as long as 30 years.  Again, we know some great bankers, who are SBA experts.  If they won’t talk to you, I have embarrassing photos…

 

We’ll stay in touch as circumstances change.

If you need help in any way we in which we can assist in these uncertain times, please contact us at (703) 818-8284 or e-mail fstitely@skcpas.com.

 

Thanks for reading!

Frank Stitely, CPA, CVA