Planning to Apply for Restaurant Revitalization Fund Grants? – Prepare Your Documentation Now

Posted on Apr 29, 2021 in Restaurant Revitalization Fund

On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act (the Act), to speed up the U.S. recovery from the economic and health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Included in the Act is a Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) with appropriations of $28.6 billion in grants to support the restaurant industry.

Application

The RRF begins accepting applications from eligible entities on Monday, May 3, 2021 at 9:00 AM (PST). Applications will be accepted through a U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) dedicated portal and certain Point of Sale (POS) vendor partners. We encourage eligible applicants to prepare gross receipts documentation in advance to be ready when the application goes live. Errors in the application and incomplete documentation will cause the application to be denied.

Required Documents

For entities that were open before 2020, the following documentation is required:

Completed application, SBA Form 3172
Tax verification – IRS Form 4506-T; completion of this form digitally on the SBA Platform satisfied this requirement.
Three months of the most recent bank statements from the account that would receive the grant.
2019 Tax Returns as filed
2020 Gross Receipts documentation (at least one of the following):
- Preferred: 2020 Federal Tax Returns filed
- Preferred: 2020 Gross Receipts – SBA Restaurant Partner validated POS report
- Accepted: Externally or internally prepared financial statements, signed, dated, and certified as to accuracy by applicant.

For entities opening in 2020 and later, the following documentation is required:

Completed application, SBA Form 3172
Tax verification – IRS Form 4506-T; completion of this form digitally on the SBA Platform satisfied this requirement.
Three months of the most recent bank statements from the account that would receive the grant.
2020 Gross Receipts documentation (at least one of the following):
- Preferred: 2020 Federal Tax Returns filed
- Preferred: 2020 Gross Receipts – SBA Restaurant Partner validated POS report
- Accepted: Externally or internally prepared Income Statement or Profit and Loss Statement, signed, dated, and certified as to accuracy by applicant.

2021 Gross Receipts Documentation (at least one of the following):
- Preferred: 2021 POS reports from SBA Partner through March 11, 2021
- Accepted: Externally or internally prepared Income Statement or Profit and Loss Statement through March 11, 2021, signed, dated, and certified as to accuracy by applicant.

For entities that were not yet open, but incurred eligible expenses between February 15, 2020 and March 11, 2021, at least one of the following documentation is required:

Preferred: Qualified third-party accountant, bookkeeper, or CPA Comfort Letter with associated Profit and Loss Statements and Balance Sheet documentation
Accepted: Externally or internally prepared Income Statements or Profit and Loss Statements, signed, dated, and certified as to accuracy by applicant
Accepted: All original expense documentation (payroll documents, invoices, payments, loan statements)

In addition to the documentation noted above, bakeries, breweries, brewpubs, microbreweries, taprooms, tasting rooms, wineries, or inns, must prove that onsite sales to the public comprise at least 33% of gross receipts for 2019. This documentation may include:

2019 Tax and Trade Bureau Forms filed
State or local government forms filed
Internally created reports from inventory management, sales reporting, or accounting software
Internally created revenue reports or accounting reports

Recommendations

The following are recommendations to ensure an accurate and complete application process:

Consider registering at the SBA Application Portal on April 30 to receive log-in credentials and become familiar with the web portal.
Be certain that the business tax identification number (meaning Employee Identification Number (EIN), Social Security Number (SSN), or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN)) entered in the application is consistent to what is reported on the business tax returns. Confirm the number is entered in the correct format.
Confirm that if a Paycheck Protection Loan (PPP) was obtained, that the EIN, SSN, or ITIN used in applying for the PPP loan agrees with the EIN, SSN, or ITIN used in the application.
Be prepared with the SBA PPP loan number. This is requested on the application.
Be certain that the gross receipts entered in the application agree to the gross receipts’ documentation provided.
Prepare your documents in PDF, JPG, GIF, TIFF, or PNG file formats.
Execute the package immediately through DocuSign to trigger the SBA review process. Once the application is completed, an email will be sent requesting the applicant to execute the DocuSign package.
Save a full copy of the completed application for your files.

We expect the demand for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund grants will be great. Ensuring your application is accepted requires being prepared with the required documentation and the accurate completion of the application. If you have any questions about the application process, please contact a Clark Nuber advisor.

For more information on Priority Group Applications, click here.

This article or blog contains general information only and should not be construed as accounting, business, financial, investment, legal, tax, or other professional advice or services. Before making any decision or taking any action, you should engage a qualified professional advisor.