This is a FB post by the owner of Little Apple Brewery in Manhattan KS yesterday, sorry it's kind of long.

So, here we are, yet another day of diminishing prospects and frustration. The SBA Disaster Loan application site was down all day. It figures, probably crashed under the weight of hundred of thousands of users trying to access. Last night, I spent two hours getting two pages done, the site is clunky and inefficient. Very disappointing. I’ll try again tomorrow.
I don’t know how many of you saw the Tucker Carlson show last night on Fox. Disclaimer: I am not a Fox watcher or follower of any of their personalities. But, in the interest of providing salient information for restaurant owners, there was a segment featuring Wolfgang Puck and Thomas Keller, two of the most pre-eminent chefs and restaurant owners in the country. They voiced a concern and subsequent solution for many restaurant owners, one that I have been lobbying my federally elected representatives for nearly every day over the past two weeks.
The issue is Business Interruption/Income insurance, and the fact that insurance companies across the country are blanketly denying these claims. There are two issues here: virtually all policies exclude ‘viruses’: and conditioning claims under Civil Authority (mandatory governmental closings) clauses with ‘physical damages’. I ask you, who knew? Who reads the fine print of these 150-page policies? And who among us anticipated the situation we find ourselves in?
The solution offered by Puck and Keller is identical to the one I have been futilely pleading my elected representatives to pursue; have the Federal government force insurance companies to honor these claims and then back the payment of benefits with funding and subsidies. This is a simple approach to a growing nightmare amongst restaurant owners.
Consider the application and documentation process required to qualify for federal assistance. It is a formidable endeavor for a small business owner who may not have the resources available to complete the application for a favorable result. And then, the backlog of submissions, the understaffed federal agencies, the wait for response and potentially additional qualifying corroboration. Many will not survive the process, the clock is moving fast. Decisions need to be made tomorrow.
A more desirable avenue for relief and restoration lies in the insurance industry, we all know our agent. A simple phone call, a review of plummeting sales, file a claim, have an adjustor review it, check in the mail. That is how this should work, not the mountain of red tape and bureaucracy we are seeing. Think of this, when the president of the country and the director of the CDC stand in front of the American people and say “Don’t go to restaurants”, that is the death knell, the order for mandatory closure. Business owners should have protection as provided for in their policies regardless of fine print language!
So a little advice if you have B/I insurance, and this may be remedial for some of you, read your policy, check with your agent to see if your carrier has issued a position statement, if so file a claim even if your agent discourages it. At the same time contact your State insurance commission and file a complaint against your carrier. Cover your bases, show due diligence.
If you are in the restaurant industry and looking for marching orders, here they are. Every day, first thing, write your federally elected representatives, both senators and your congressman. That is essential. There needs to be a groundswell, and it needs to be sustained. I’m sure we all have a myriad of concerns about the effect of this crisis on our businesses, voice them. Emphasize the insurance issue. We need serious activation, if Puck and Keller can step it up, we can too.
Please share if you know somebody the industry.

That might have been the easiest loan app I have ever filled out and submitted.

I might

They’re gonna be in trouble to if this drags

Working my balls off at Amazon - I have 60 hours a week scheduled until April 30th: 40 Regular and 20 OT at double time.

Cash flow getting pretty good.

Hi all, Will apologize for the length of this in advance

I run the consulting department for a company that specializes in small business management (typical clients are contractors, manufacturers, distributors, retails, etc. as small at $3M in revenues, generally around $20 - $30M / 30 - 50 employees on average, some companies much larger, but all privately held). our company has been around for 34+ years, I've personally been with the company for just under 7....

I will not specifically name my company here (to avoid sounding like I'm soliciting for business), but if anyone wants or needs questions answered, more info, etc., I'd be more than happy to answer anything as best I can. Additionally, our company has set up a free hotline for any business person to call for 100% free advice. PM me if you'd like more information on any of this.

In normal times, we help our clients will all aspects of their business (financial, operational, organization, sales & marketing). I can tell you definitely that there is nothing normal about these times. I don't have any specialized training for this contingency, other than I've personally spent hours upon hours researching the SBA, DOL, State sites, reading executive orders, etc., all in hopes of providing our clients the best advice I possibly can. To be sure, what I'm reading is no different the what anyone else has access to online, but I have noted that most of my clients have no idea where to go and look or simply don't take the time to educate themselves.

To start: What we've stressed with our clients is to protect the following three areas: Your People, The Integrity of your Operations, and your liquidity. To a degree, you have to focus on all three of these areas, as if you ignore any one of them, then it will be difficult to sustain during any shut down period, and certainly more difficult to start back up. Each of these areas then get more definition based upon the type of business. Since each client is unique and different, the specifics on the plan will vary, but there are some generic things that will apply to most (albeit "essential" and "non-essential" businesses will vary as well).

Some generic things:

Liquidity: Do a cash sustainability analysis. What does that mean? With current cash in hand and availability through your lines of credit, how many weeks can you survive given any cash in and cash burn week to week. This will go a long way into determining what you may need to cut in cash burn. And by all means, apply for the SBA EIDL and (if applicable) any bridge loans you qualify for (there has been some decent advice in this thread thus far). Even if you don't want them, or ultimately don't need them, get in the system now! otherwise, you will be in competition with hundreds of thousands of others vying for the same thing if you ultimately decide that you may actually need it. Also, make sure you are looking at state and local funding. We have talked with the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and there will be CDBG money likely coming available, and some states (such as FL and NH, sure there are others) already are funding their own bridge loans.

Next: Talk with your bank. demand that they abate monthly loan payments, or go to interest only for three - six months, with a payment plan to pay down principle for the next 6 - 8 months after the abatement. Talk with your landlord and defer rental payments as well. If need be, offer up smaller payments, then add remainder to later amounts. Make the point that you are not trying to screw anybody, but simply trying to survive. Make sure banks they can still service your business properly (EFTs, Credit Card transactions, loans, etc.) even working remotely.


Operations: Stay in constant contact with your customers and suppliers. If you are up and running, let your customers know that you are still alive and open for business, how you are maintaining the health and welfare of your people and cleanliness of your facilities. Offer up discounts to your key customers and those operating on the front-lines. But you have to be the aggressor, you customers may not be there thinking of you and buying. create call lists, and script out the dialog. With your suppliers, you want to make sure that (again, if operating) they can meet your demand and keep supply moving and offer any help you can if they need it.

Next: Make sure you have a handle on your inventory and you know exactly how much stock you have and potentially need. Again, in communication with you suppliers, make sure they can fulfill if necessary, and schedule out deliveries in line with cash availability.


People: The hardest part to discuss, since every state is different in regards to protection. But generally: Communicate with your remote and temp lay-off employees daily. Make sure you have a call tree with all names and numbers. Your sustainability analysis from above will give you insight on weekly payroll cash requirements, so you have to be real that people are going to be impacted. As best you can, arm yourself with all local, state and federal UI, particularly any new legislation (such as Family First). Most states are relaxing UI application processes, and offering more. You need to know how to direct them to these things.

Most importantly: everybody has some degree of stress, some very significant. But as a business owner, you have to be the leader. Your people are looking to you for answers, and honestly, at this point, there are not a lot of great answers to give them. But you have to be the "rock" of stability here. And please don't be afraid to get help!

Finally, with nothing by any means definitive, we believe that this is going to be 3 months of hell (April / May / June)....that's not to say that businesses cannot operate or do so under restriction for 3 months, but simply the next three months is a more realistic outlook than 2 - 4 weeks.

OK, I've written enough, and hope there are a couple nuggets you all can take out of this, Again, if anyone wants to ask any questions, I'll be monitoring this thread throughout the day, and PM me if anyone wants to talk more specifically on any situation they may need some help (again, my company also has a 100% hotline, answered by a person, that will help any business owner with their questions)

Couple of things:

SBA loan appears to be net of any Business Interruption Insurance, so keep pushing through the SBA process (as frustrating as that may be at this point, because even if you have BI, that would only reduce the amount of SBA EIDL...Obviously, if you don't have BI, then (at least in theory), the SBA will account for that. NOTE: you don't have to have settled insurance inquiries to apply, don't have to know the impact of loss to apply, and you don't have to accept funding even if approved.

There are also other bridge type loans through the SBA, so get familiar with all the options

The SBA website has been crazy slow for past 1.5 weeks, and was down past several. As of yesterday, it appeared to be back up and running, but online application was down. Instead, they ask to upload a .pdf version of the app. One option that I'm trying to get feedback on is on on-site visit. I was trying to go and find the search area on SBA that shows physical locations, but my guess is that may (or may not...idk) be better than trying to upload on-line. NOTE: my company filled out a hard copy form, send via FEDEx with delivery confirmation to the SBA....

It took all of 6-7 minutes to download, fill, and upload around 10:15 last night.

yeah....if the website is up and running, it's very easy....the problem was the website was very slow and down for a few days.

I believe it may have been two-fold: one, sheer number of applications going in; and (b) it appears they've updated all of the declaration areas with fact sheets, loan application details, etc., which wasn't the case a week ago. That's a lot of information they needed to load

on the sba site?

Yessir. Sba.gov and they have a link to the application in a bright yellow stripe on the top of the screen.

I actually freaked out when I submitted because it was too easy and thought I might be on a fraudulent website. LMAO

That’s it.

ROFL

I don’t think that’s the disaster loans everyone wants though. If I’m reading stuff right the forgivable ones will be thru banks?

I’ve spoken with 3 bankers who have no idea. Hell I sent them articles you guys posted here and they were glad to have info

What a cluster

It's labeled "Covid-19 Small Business Information" on the homepage of SBA.gov.

The app is generic as hell.

Yeah it’s for sure one option

But I’m waiting to see this other short term one that’s got the forgivable options

If they’d just pass it and be done with it for ****s sake

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GVFgEBq0EKM" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Hint: Firefox would NOT let me fill in the fields via computer, Microsoft Edge did.

Been researching this all morning, and it's as clear as mud at this point.

My take on the other SBA loan option (and I profess, I'm am certainly no expert on this):

1. this option sounds no different than a "normal" SBA back loan funded from your bank (other than the special provisions). What I mean by this is that you have to apply through a partner bank / financial institution for funding
2. You will not be able to utilize this option if other means of credit are available
3. Unclear to me, but sounds like this is in complementary to the EIDL, or that you could use this re-fi the EIDL loan, thus making it (effectively) forgivable as well.
4. With the EIDL, you don't have to take funding even if approved, so if it does ultimately prove out that you can use one loan or the other, I would think the SBA would guide you

Sorry I don't have specific links, but I'm reading like 20 different articles + the actual text of the Small Business Act and the bill itself (I will include those links).

https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/fi...ss%20Act_0.pdf

https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-...29B9DF4626458E


My recommendation is to continue on with EIDL while you explore this option. But shit like this is why I never could be an attorney....to much legal mumbo jumbo for my taste. I hope somebody a little more intelligent than me could chime in (maybe I should post this in the "are you more intelligent...." thread

That’s how I understand it too

SBA is offering disaster relief programs through their website.**SBA.gov/disaster

The program you were speaking about last night has not been rolled out yet.**It has been passed on some levels of Congress.**When it’s signed into law it will take them some time to develop and roll out.**I and my SBA lender suggest the site above and applying for disaster relief funds or you will have to sit tight and wait on them to sign the other into law.**Even if you apply for the disaster relief and then the other program is rolled out you don’t have to take the disaster relief and then you can still apply for the loans you are talking about if that comes to pass soon.**

When the program you are taking about rolls out to banks our SBA Dept will notify all of us and I will let you know ASAP.

Praying for you all!


Here is what I was told from a banker I’m close with

Thanks, O. Information is very helpful.

Don't have HR issues but now starting to see tenant issues. One so far cannot pay rent. So I am making him paint to pay me. I will not evict him.

I'd rather a month moratorium on mortgage payments instead -- for all even homeowners. Instead of handouts.

Great info.....as of yesterday, my challenge was that it was really unclear how the money was going to get into the hands of small business....seems like the news today (kind of) clarifies that to a degree that the mechanism will be SBA backed loans with forgiveness options.....

But also, I was of the opinion that is was going to take several months to work out the specific details. that may be just me being overly cautious, as I never want to give my clients the impression that things are imminent (which often results in them stopping good sound business practices because of false hope), but seems to still be lots of questions of how this will work, which will certainly delay ultimate funding....

Your message above totally reflects exactly what I was thinking as well (and adds the 100% correct factor that CARES isn't law yet either...)

Talking some friends at the beginning of all this, that's what we came up with. No mortgage payments for 2-3 months. Tack them on to the end of the note. Gives me money in my pocket to pay everything else, plus in the end they are getting their money.

I'm sure it's not as simple to do as that sounds and I'm sure there are reasons it's not being done that way that I know nothing about.

Annnnnd we're shutting it down.

I'd be calling my bank (and will be early next week) and asking for a plan to mitigate payments in some fashion for 3 - 6 months....maybe smaller payments or interest only, with a plan for how to repay the amounts after things open back up (say over 6 - 8 month). There is a moratorium on foreclosures (albeit that doesn't stop people reporting bad credit / missed payments), but I'd guess you'd have a fighting chance of being able to work things out with the banks. I'm guessing that the average person takes the "moratorium" as "I don't have to pay", which is not the case at all. You should be talking with your banks, and if you have other debt like credit cards, car loans, etc. I'd do exactly the same thing.

Banks / institutions aren't going to offer it up, you have to be the aggressor and have a plan to lay out, and put it in their hands. Even if the banks ultimately doesn't play ball, you took a shot....and at the end of the day, you may actually be able to defer some payments significantly even if you don't totally abate them

Also, for small business owners: Lots of Health Care companies are abating premium payments for 30 - 60 days....call your brokers and ask for abatement of payments for short term....

Many will cash in chips and go out till this is over only to resurface after and go back to being successful...those who had a ton of debt wont find it any fun at all.

Totally agreed with this.....in regards to business, the best way to weather this storm was to have a strong balance sheet prior to. Most of the business owners I'm talking to now are lucky to have 3 - 4 weeks of sustainability and are ridden with debt. Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but adding more debt on top of this isn't going to solve those problems unfortunately...

For anyone interested, I called my banker a little while ago. Talked for a bit, and he sent me this from a meeting he was at yesterday.

OK...a little clarification on CARES in regards to the SBA EIDL. It appears that there are multiple "phases" to the SBA relief. Phase two is the EIDL, Phase three (at least in regards to small businesses) is the Small Business Interruption Loans. Phase II and III are different programs all together, but participating in Phase II MAY make the borrower ineligible for Phase III.

I'm getting this from a bank document outlining the provisions. I'm going to vet this further, and if I can get a good link, I'll post this....

Yes...this is consistent with what I have seen.....

I have a .pdf document, but not sure how to attach it.....

OK...figured this out....sorry, I'm a noob....

Thanks man!

this came at a terrible time for me, my past 18 months have sucked. car accident ****ed up a hand forever, then cut tendons in the same ****ing hand in july, then had a nurse **** us over real good. was just getting everything close to being in order and now this.





what really sucks is that the insurance company has gone totally silent regarding the settlement we were negotiating otherwise i'd have absolutely nothing to worry about...



but you know what? it'll all work out. it always has.

Thanks for yours as well. Any info on this is good stuff.

....the .pdf I attached references Congress.gov, but I've yet to seen any summary like the .pdf. I'd assume UBS put that together, but then I'd guess they'd put a legal disclaimer in it as well, which they don't....

I also still think that there are lots of details remaining to hash, and I'd bet 2 months before money starts flowing....

That's my feeling as well. More info the better. Us small businesses need to stick together to make it through this.

im willing to bet you're probably closer on the timeline than mnuchen... he said you should be able to go to your bank end of next week or first of the next and get money same day:p

Just got this from my legal counsel....it's a multi-state CoronaVirus policy tracker....

I could have used this about 2 weeks ago!

https://www.multistate.us/pages/covid-19-policy-tracker

I'd tell my clients they're crazy if they think that....for what it's worth.

Rule of thumb: If you think something will take a week, it'll take a month. If you think it will take a month, it will take three. If you think it will take 3 months, it will take a year.....uncanny how often that holds true, particularly when it comes to business transactions....


With that said, they are going to want to get money in the hands of business sooner rather than later, but still mountains of details to work through....

https://media1.tenor.com/images/614e...b389/tenor.gif



This thread has been a tremendous resource. Thank you, everyone.

Also, information from various state chambers of commerce. Not certain how useful as of now, likely some good nuggets

https://www.statechambers.org/cv

2nd day back at work. Just the 3 of us out here working on this new house.
Bought a used Colman 3 burner stove the other day.
So were cooking here on site rather than running into town and eating at a fastfood joint..
We're on the banks of the Elkhorn river.
Its beautiful out here. And quiet.
So quiet and peaceful. You'd never know we are in the grips of a pandemic.
Gods Speed people.

With the nature of ous business, we're used to having lulls and thankfully have enough saved up to get us through the next 4 months. We're just hunkered down and praying that things get back to normal soon

I haven't read this in entirety, but so far, this is very good read regarding the SBA Loan (which I will now refer to Payroll Protection Program or "PPP")

https://www.kelleydrye.com/News-Events/Publications/Client-Advisories/Federal-Relief-Package-Includes-$350-Billion-for-S

So should I go ahead and fill out the application now? This is confusing

I'm waiting until the bill passes to see exactly what it is and what I need to do. I'd rather try to apply for the one that at least a portion doesn't have to be repaid vs. the other. If the first falls through for me, I'll try the next.

If it were me, and assuming the PPP has to go through a lending institution, I'd be in constant contact with my bank. Since PPP is formula based, it should be relatively easy to calc out the amount you could borrow.

I would also continue down the road of the SBA EIDL.....you don't have to take the funding even if approved, so I would at least continue down that road first.

NOTE: I'm trying to get input on whether an approval of EIDL eliminates options on the PPP.....it's a concern I have.

I was told you would not be able to do both

Same. It seems like they’re mutually exclusive from what I’ve heard thru a SBA packager as well as an industry webinar

An SBA rep just told me something very important about the EIDL.

They are so swamped that they have changed their initial documentation requirements.

They have changed the immediate filing of a requested EIDL from 6 docs to fill out and upload to ONLY TWO.

This streamline version enables them to assign a application case number to each submittal. THEN an SBA processor will contact you to ask for additional documentation.

BUT, he stressed, never ever give out that case number. You and the SBA will be the ONLY ones to have it. If you get a phone call, and the person asks you for the case number, YOU ARE BEING SCAMMED.

They are exclusive.

SBA states to file for both. You can always turn down the EIDL $$$ if you get the PPP $$$

Wrong thread dude.

This is a major question I have: Does an approval on the SBA EIDL negate you from applying For or receiving PPP funding? Because if not, then don't stop the EIDL process, but if so, then a lot of people are going to withdraw their applications (and they should)

Reminder: You don't have to take the EIDL if approved. so why would I stop the EIDL loan application to apply For PPP assuming that you can take a "wait and see approach" with PPP. But if banks come back and say "Nope, you're approved for EIDL, use that", then there will be a lot of pissed off people. And worse yet, what if people withdraw their EIDL apps, then don't qualify or receive PPP funding????

Also, It would be very shitty if the SBA forgave loans for one type of loan, but not the other other, when essentially the loans are for the same thing. But at the same time, how does one know they will or will not actually receive either the PPP or EIDL?

This is why I think money doesn't start flowing for 2 months.....too many unanswered questions as of now.

I would agree with your timeframe for getting money. I filed the EIDL application and will withdraw if we get approved for PPP.

2.5 months payroll

There are 31 of us on the payroll at my company, all working out of the same office/warehouse. Working from home isn't an option for most of us because we handle physical goods and ship around 150-200 orders per day on average. Last Wednesday evening I couldn't sleep and was thinking what I could do to mitigate the risk of our company temporarily shutting down.

Thursday morning I purchased a small four bedroom house for the company. Thursday afternoon we began running Ethernet, purchasing desks, and determining which six employees to relocate to the remote site. Last night we moved the sixth employee.

We also started running a night shift until midnight five days a week so we didn't have so many employees in the building at one time. It was a logistics nightmare to basically send our staff three different directions and make sure all areas were covered.

We've also had someone in charge of disinfecting door handles etc. everyday but now we're doing it a LOT. I purchased Merv 13 furnace filters and we set the thermostats to cycle so the fan runs a minimum of 30% of the time. We turned our dehumidifiers up from 40% to 45%. 43% or higher makes it tougher on viruses to spread.

I've bought an insane amount of inventory the past three weeks. I'm gambling that the supply chain is more likely to close than our ability to ship product out. None of our stuff has an expiration date and it will eventually sell no matter what. And we are an "Essential business".

I have told my employees that if it comes down to it I'll work for free for awhile before I lay anyone off. My goal here is to not let a single employee miss a paycheck. Time will tell if that's possible but I'm sure as hell trying. Almost all my employees are bending over backwards to be accommodating. Most of them are friends and family so that adds a ton of pressure in a situation like this.

If we did have to shut down for awhile, my business could survive for a year or more if there was a zero payroll. We have plenty of cash reserves to cover all of our fixed costs.

The last three days have been the worst three days of sales in a very long time. Not encouraging.

Do you mind if I ask what type of goods you buy / sell / distribute? OK if answer is no....

Also, in an earlier thread, I mentioned that I'm a small business consultant, and we have laid out plans with each of our clients to protect three things: people, integrity of your business, and liquidity. Sounds like, from your post, that you've done a great job in all those aspects.

Along with those items, I've been telling my client that the single most important aspect of this is the owner being the leader. As scared / concerned as you may be, I guarantee your people are much worse. It's good that you are taking care of them, and leading by example here, because that will have a calming effect on them. But make sure you have specific actions for each of the three areas, and execute, execute, execute every day. This will also calm your people (knowing there are plans).

With all that said: Make sure you review your plans periodically. If liquidity starts becoming an issue, then you have to be real about the situation. Call your banks defer notes, mortgages, or revert to interest only for next 3 months. Call your health care broker, defer premium payments. Keep an eye on Family First Act regarding your people v. UI (may be better to lay off sooner rather than later - as much as nobody wants to do that). Get into the SBA application process, even if today you don't want or think you need the funds....you don't have to take funds even if approve, but leave yourself the options. Also now that CARES has been signed, inquire through your bank about those funds. Be prepared!


And finally, let's figure out how to "raise the bridge"...My general feeling is that most business owners are taking same approach to selling or haven't adapted to the "new reality" we are going through....often time just waiting for phone to ring or customers to place orders that may not even know you're open for business. May not be you by any means, just what I'm seeing (hence the question of what do you sell...."

Not entirely accurate:

PPP (CARES): With a maximum maturity of 10 years, the amount to be the lesser of (a) $10 million or (b) 2.5 multiplied by the average total monthly payments by the applicant for payroll, mortgage payments, rent payments, and payments on any other debt obligations incurred during the 1 year period before the date on which the loan is made.


EIDL: Up to $2M for working capital. I believe it is based on estimated amount of economic impact (revenue loss), net of any BI.


I also came across an SBA "Express Loan" option this morning....no idea what this means at this point, but it's clearly bridge loan and for disaster relief:

https://www.sba.gov/document/support...-program-guide

Also check your state, city, county sites for CDBG money that may be available. I know here in FL they were offering up interest fee bridge loans of $50K, and have already funded some businesses....NOTE: I would suspect that SBA will take that recovery into account when doling out their loans for EIDL

I read a little earlier that you may be able to use PPP to refinance an existing EIDL loan....this may be the work-around for people to not have to withdraw the EIDL application. My guess is that EIDL funding will come sooner than PPP (pure speculation on my part), but this may give people the options they need (i.e. money in hand sooner without sacrificing the loan forgiveness aspect of PPP)

They are estimating the ppp to be distributed 48 hours after application

We distribute about fifty brands of automotive specialty tools and parts. Retail and wholesale.

Wednesday 3/18 we had a company staff meeting where we had a candid talk and I asked for their input on the situation. I let them know that I've got their back through this and they let me know they've got mine. Each day we've been implementing new procedures or rolling out our scheduling/worksite changes.

There are three employees in charge of updating me as new applicable laws or developments happen. Our CPA firm, county development, and regional small business administration director have all been in constant contact with me. Not only do I have good relationships with the last two but we're pretty important to this community because we're in a very poor, rural area and we have one of the larger payrolls around.

Having a plan calms me. Just last night we started developing a plan for when someone in our main building is inevitably exposed. Part of that plan will be to have Service Master or similar come in and sanitize after we all quarantine. Then the six employees at the remote site could come back and pick, pack, and ship the physical goods. There are a few of us who could assist with customer service from home then as well. We could get by for a few weeks in that scenario but those six would probably be exhausted.

Our inventory valuation (our cost) to debt ratio is greater than 4:1 so I feel like we're in good shape. What reports/measurables do you suggest I keep an eye on right now? Payroll is by far our greatest expense and obviously there's a quick solution to that if I absolutely had to but I am fighting like hell to avoid that.

Our web page header says "Essential Business: We're Still Shipping Orders". The issue right now is that repair shops make up over half of our business and some are temporarily closing.

Several weeks ago I locked in a low rate to refinance our personal home mortgage. That process is still under way. I'm afraid to apply for any of the government loan stuff right now because I don't want it to screw with my refi and I feel like we won't need the business loans. I could end up being wrong about that though, who knows.

I'm mentally exhausted and haven't slept much in a couple weeks. That's making it tougher to be confident in my decisions. I feel like we've got a better handle on everything now though so perhaps I can start sleeping better. As a matter of fact I got seven hours last night and feel great today!

Thank you very, very much for the input and feedback.

I own a roof truss plant in WA. We shut down Thursday for a minimum of two weeks. I am paying all 31 of my employees for these two weeks. Past that point, if the Governor does not realize construction should be essential, I will lay off the majority of my production crew. I will continue to pay my staff for two more weeks.

Lots of good things in your post!

1. First and foremost, let me comment on the last part first: You're a person like everybody else, but you also have the concern of the people under your charge. I'm amazed at the business owners I work with, because even under normal circumstances, being a business owner is hard work and you bear all the risk. Just by your response, I can tell you are 100% on your game right now, no matter how exhausting it may be.....you are doing an awesome job protecting your people, business and liquidity right now....far better than a lot of business owners I'm dealing with right now.....Keep up the good work, and don't let up!

2. Keep communicating with your team....even if its for 15 minutes a few times per day to update on things, that will give them encouragement. Again, you've done the right thing by having the all hands, but keep giving situation reports frequently

3. 100% right thing to have people monitoring recent developments, laws, etc. and vetting that with CPA, bankers, etc. Lots of news going around, not all of it firm, so keeping your ear to the ground is important....kudos again!

4. good that you have a built in scenario in case somebody becomes sick. Would it be feasible to keep some key inventory items in a separate location or storage so that certain items can continue to flow even if you are shut down at the main facility for cleaning?

5. Inventory: I'd focus time and attention on moving items / turns. You may ultimately need to make decisions on whether or not we will be "full service", or focus on items that are continuing to turn. Obviously, the longer something sits, the more carrying cost on that item, and certainly more cash that is absorbed for items sitting. It sounds like you have good, stable cash position (i.e. strong balance sheet), but if not, I'd only replenish essential stock and may even discount non-moving items.

6. Be real with the situation: Nobody wants to hurt people, but if it's the right thing to do to keep the business afloat, then don't hesitate. Don't mean to sound harsh, but think of it this way: If you have 20 employees, would you rather lose 2 -3 people now, or risk 20 later?

Also keep in mind that Family First Act goes into affect April 2nd, which can give your employees additional 80 hours of paid leave for COVID reasons, on top of already accrued time. This is reimbursable to the business eventually, but is cash out the door upfront....if you're making personell moves to conserve cash, I'd do so sooner rather than later.

Also keep in mind that most states and the Feds have greatly reduced UI requirements for COVID, and are making it easy for people to get cash in hand, not to mention adding more and longer duration benefits. Obviously, it's not the best thing to put somebody on UI, but I do think there is concerted efforts on Govt. to really help most impacted people. Again, may make the decision a little easier if you ultimately know its the right thing to do. Also note that most states have work share, where people can apply for UI for the "impacted" part of their week. For instance, if you keep somebody on part-time, they can get UI for the difference in their 'normal' full-time position and the wages they earned on part-time work. EACH JURISDICTION IS DIFFERENT, SO PLEASE RESEARCH THIS FOR YOUR AREA!

7. Had to be blunt here, but the likelihood of people looking you up on-line is probably slim to none. So listing "OPEN" on your page, while definitely something you should do, likely isn't really doing much for you. Here's what you need to do: Whether you have this electronically or people have rolodexes full of customers: CREATE A CUSTOMERR CALL LIST AND GET YOUR PEOPLE CALLING THEM IMMEDIATELY - EVERYBODY YOU CAN THINK OF! Let them know you're still open for business, let customer know how you are keeping your people safe, visitors safe, and most importantly you have ample stock and ready to deliver.

Call those customers you haven't been doing business with (you don't know if your competition is open or even able to supply them, and I'd guarantee that most of them don't have the inventory or cash that you have, so they may not be able to sustain business).

Heck, call your competitors, ask if there is anything you have that they need, and vice versa, so that all customers can be serviced....form a strategic alliance with other like businesses to swap inventory.....Sell your ample stock to others that may need the inventory themselves....

With key customers: you're not worried about them paying you, you're worried about the timing of when they can pay you, so if you have inventory, get it to them and work out payment terms through this period. Your customers will remember that you were there for them in tough times

This is going to sound bad, but nows the time to review and refresh your pricing. I'm not talking about gouging people, but I'd look at every SKU you carry, it's turns, and carrying costs, and marking to the appropriate level. Most small businesses don't do this frequently enough, and an extra 1 - 2 % over the long haul (even if you have to discount today due to COVID) goes straight to your bottom line.

Have your employees blast out on their social media that their business is open, they are working, and to communicate that to others.

Communicate communicate communicate, but be the initiator, not the order taker!

8. finally, keep regalar communications with your bank on the refi. This is how they earn their money, so they should be able to tell you appropriate things about your re-fi in relation to business loans. I personally would not hesitate to apply for any and all things COVID related, even if ultimately you don't need them or use them, but you want to keep that option open. Just let your banker know that's what's happening, and unless they stringently object, keep the SBA / COVID / PPP options moving forward

Don't know if any of this helps, but hopefully there's a few nuggets in there for you. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK, AND MORE THAN HAPPY TO DISCUSS THIS AT ANY TIME (noting that even if you don't want to discuss with me...make sure you have somebody that you can have these discussions with that can help you through this - there is no shame in asking for help!) With that said, you're doing a fantastic job and keep working your plan!

Everyone with businesses needs to get in touch with their bank. It’s not first come first serve but just get in their ear and let them know you want to have some of this stuff. No reason not to.

Please make sure that you pay attention to Family First Act that goes into effect April 2nd. It gives employees paid time above normal accrued time for COVID...This could have an impact on your liquidity that you may need to account for.

100% accurate....apply for any and all things offered. Even if ultimately don't need it or don't want it, keep the options open. We don't know if this thing is going for 2 weeks or 2 years....prepare yourself.

We are telling our clients 3 months: April, May , June.....protect your people, integrity of your business, and your liquidity!

Since I’m incorporated and actually pay myself a salary, I’m assuming I will account for that in wages for the business?

Don't see why you wouldn't, nor seen anything that disqualifies wages paid to owners for functional roles....

Not sure through the various posts if I answered this or not (apologies if I had not), but I've heard that you will be able to use PPP to re-finance any existing EIDL loans. I believe this will be the mechanism to ultimately make the EIDL effectively forgivable as well...

But the advice above I believe to be solid: Apply for both and keep the ball moving forward....don't hesitate! You do not have to fund even if approved. keep your options open!

Lots of unanswered questions at this point, but I'm hearing that much of these questions will become clearer early this coming week.

OK, I made a cup of coffee and read this thread.

Everyone on here deserves a pat on the back because I actually feel like I have some idea what is going on and where to go.

Much appreciated.

What are the 2 documents?

After staying after bankers all day and speaking to my CPA and mililo, i would definitely recommend a few things mentioned here.

Get in touch with your banker. They'll have info for you. Start getting some numbers together of what your normal expenses and payroll per month are just so you have it all ready.

I am not sure about the EIDL. I don't think i'm going to fill that out right now, i'm gonna see what happens with these other options first. I'm hopeful that if we can get thru the next 2 or 3 months, things will settle down a little bit.

What bank is open on Saturday?

That's big-city stuff right there. LMAO

I own and run two LLC's but have no employees and don't actually draw a salary myself. Do I qualify for anything???

I have their cell #s. They can't get away from me.

4. Keeping inventory at a separate location is something we've discussed but decided against. We stock > 15,000 SKUs and there are hundreds of best sellers and we often sell bundles of multiple items. I think we'd lose so much shit and run out of inventory to fulfill some orders at the main location. Plus space is limited at our secondary site. I really feel like our best course of action is to be able to respond quickly when someone gets it. We'll still have people at the remote site who can take orders and provide ETA's to the customers.

5. For the past few years we look at a rolling average of the past year to determine how many of each SKU we sell per day. We exclude periods when we had no stock available. Then we just set a goal of how many days worth of each SKU we want to have in stock and it tells us when to place an order. We can change that goal for a specific vendor or product if it can take longer to receive or is frequently on backorder.

6. We're very up to speed on the UI benefits and will do that if needed. I'm hoping that I continue to need my full staff. We'll see.

7. Actually, I'd say that at least 80% of our customers have already visited our website that day or are on it when they call us. Our stuff is very specialized and they typically have a SKU or application for us when they call. I'm not at all saying you're wrong that reaching out to past customers is a bad idea, I just don't think it's as important in our situation as it is in others. Again, I agree that this wouldn't hurt and could help. I will have a couple employees do this on slow days.
We have Dynamic Pricing that updates every day based on competitor's prices and stock status.

8. Okay. I've got nothing to lose by talking to my lender. Thank you for putting it in perspective.

I've got key employees who I'm comfortable discussing it all with. My wife is a good sounding board as well. I may have more questions for you. I truly appreciate your time!

I really need to wrap my brain around all of the different loan programs. It feels kind of overwhelming and I just haven't had time to dive in.

Thanks, and keep up the good work! you're doing better than most of the business owners I'm dealing with! Anything you need, I'll be more than happy to talk about.

P.S. The loan situation is confusing as he;;...I've read so much and heard so many things...keep pushing every day, and there will be answers that come!

Possibly SBA EIDL (this assumes some type of economic impact)