I recently applied for the EIDL loan and was very surprised about how short and quick the application process was. Before I get into my 3 key takeaways, let me give a quick overview of what it is and who qualifies:
EIDL QUICK HITS
The loan is designed for Small Businesses, Sole Proprietor, Independent Contractor and Non-Profits. applications are administered by the Small Business Administration. Notable qualifications and loan details are as follows:
- Business must employ less than 300 employees
- Be located in Low Income Community
- Experience 30% loss in sales (economic loss) in 8 week period covering 3/2/20-12/17/21
- There’s a $10,000 Advance feature which is based on # of Employees
- Provides $1,000/Employee up to 10 people (may no longer be available)
- Advance doesn’t have to be repaid and is considered Working Capital
- Can be used for normal OPEX plus Fixed Debts, A/P and Payroll
- Not intended for lost sales, profits, expansion or Long Term Debt
- 30yr fixed rate at 3.75% for businesses and 2.75% Non-Profits
- Loan more than $25k requires collateral and Security Agreement
- Cannot compete with Private lending or buy new Capital Assets
- Max $2M loan and can be combined with physical disaster loan
Now that I’ve covered the basics of qualification, use of funds and the loan details, here are my 3-takeaways from working through the application.
3 KEYS TO THE APPLICATION
- It's quick and easy to apply....only takes 10 minutes if you're prepared
- Complete your personal and business profile
- Classify the business entity and line of work (Retail Trade, Manufacturing, etc.)
- Provide identification (EIN/SS, DOB, etc.)
- Complete the financial section which only asks for Gross Sales and COGS
- If you're a Sole Proprietor/Independent Contractor and don't have traditional COGS, think of Cost Of Services provided instead.
- Focus on what impacts generating the sales transaction.
- Raw Materials, Labor, Commissions, Product Purchases, Shipping Costs, Merchant Account Fees and things that Directly impact Sales.
- Certify whether you've a run-in the law, which includes:
- Being convicted of a crime or the subject of an indictment.
- Been suspended from contracting with the Gov't or receive Grants.
- Recently been arrested.
Take your time to think about item #2 as this will directly impact your ability to qualify. Click here for more detail and a sample calculation for a Beauty Salon.
