To compete, manufacturers in regulated industries need to be agile and innovate at a high velocity. Epicor® ERP is a leading manufacturing platform for life science manufacturers as it offers the product traceability, system controls, and more needed to respond to your growing business while allowing you to meet regulatory challenges. The availability of critical business systems in the cloud improves your ability to compete. Cloud enables both business agility and the increased speed at which technology is delivered to better meet business needs for innovation. Additionally, the Epicor ERP Cloud Validation Bundle for Life Sciences offers a cloud solution designed to reduce the risk of compliance with support for the software validation needs of FDA-regulated businesses.

 

About Encompass Solutions

Encompass Solutions is a business and software consulting firm that specializes in ERP systems, EDI, and Managed Services support for Manufacturers. Serving small and medium-sized businesses since 2001, Encompass modernizes operations and automates processes for hundreds of customers across the globe. Whether undertaking full-scale implementation, integration, or renovation of existing systems, Encompass provides a specialized approach to every client’s needs. By identifying customer requirements and addressing them with the right solutions, we ensure our clients are equipped to match the pace of the Industry.


Epicor Virtual Agent (EVA) is intelligence personified. An artificial intelligence (AI) tool for your ERP system, its context-aware, natural language processing (NLP) allows users to interact with EVA just like they would with any other colleague—either by talking or texting. This makes the breadth and depth of the industry-specific functionality and information available inside the system directly accessible to a larger audience—boosting productivity and efficiency and giving your company an improved return on ERP investment. But that is just one aspect of EVA. More than just a chatbot, EVA returns richly formatted information with multiple button choices for suggested next actions.

 

About Encompass Solutions

Encompass Solutions is a business and software consulting firm specializing in ERP systems, EDI, and Managed Services support for Manufacturers and Distributors. Serving small and medium-sized businesses since 2001, Encompass modernizes operations and automates processes for hundreds of customers across the globe. Whether undertaking full-scale implementation, integration, and renovation of existing systems, Encompass provides a specialized approach to every client’s needs. By identifying customer requirements and addressing them with the right solutions, we ensure our clients are equipped to match the pace of the Industry.


How to Apply for SBA Loans: A Step-by-Step Guide was previously published by Justin Biel, here. You may also follow the steps and resources outlined by the Small Business Administration at sba.gov.

SBA Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loan Update

The Small Business Administration has released its 11-page Paycheck Protection Program Loan Forgiveness Application.

Experts from Tuggle Duggins P.A., TowneBank, and Smith Leonard PLLC provided the following tips for the best chance of receiving forgiveness:

    • Start by reading through the forgiveness application a couple of times.
    • Be patient. The application is complex and time-consuming.
    • You must apply for forgiveness through the lender who processed your PPP loan.
    • Don’t try to figure it out yourself. Work with your lender or another trusted adviser to ensure the application is completed properly.
    • Provide your lender with lots of documentation. This is easier if you keep your PPP money in a separate account. Make sure there’s a paper trail of how COVID-19 is affecting your sales, current and 2019 payroll costs, and any layoffs that would have happened without PPP.
    • Employees who decline to return to work after being furloughed or laid off will not impact their ability to get the loan forgiven. However, your offer to return and the employee’s refusal must be documented in writing.

How to Apply for SBA Loans: A Step-by-Step Guide

If you’re a growing business in the U.S., you’ve probably heard the news: The federal government’s Small Business Administration (SBA) is offering its Economic Injury Disaster Loans to small businesses across the country and its territories that are experiencing a temporary loss of revenue due to COVID-19.

Here, we’ll break down how to apply for these loans, including the site you’ll need to visit, the information you’ll need to provide, and what to do after clicking “submit.”

What is the SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan program?

The program existed before coronavirus changed the financial landscape for businesses across the U.S. However, some of its details changed with the passage of The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act on March 27. Currently:

–The program provides “small businesses,” or those with fewer than 500 employees, with working capital loans of up to $2 million.

–During the application process, businesses can also apply for a $10,000 loan advance, which, if granted, they’ll receive within three days of a successful application, per the SBA. Unlike the working capital loans above, these advances will not have to be repaid.

–Each of these loans “may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other costs but are not intended to replace lost sales or profits,” according to the SBA.

To learn more straight from the SBA, visit the Administration’s page about Disaster Loans.

How do I apply for an SBA Disaster Loan?

The application is a short and simple online survey you can complete in less than 30 minutes. To get started, visit the application page.

Information required to apply for an SBA Disaster Loan

While filling out the application page, here is the information you’ll be required to give.

I. Business information

–Business name/trade name

–Organization type (also known as your business structure)

–For nonprofits and franchises: check a box stating your business’s identity as such

–For sole proprietorships: provide your EIN/SSN

–Gross revenue, in dollars, for the 12 months before the date of the event warranting the need for a loan. (For COVID-19, this is Jan. 31, 2020.)

–Cost of goods sold, in dollars, for the 12 months before the date of the event (Jan. 31, 2020)

–Business contact info (address, phone, email)

–Date business was established

Current ownership date

–Your “business activity.” (The drop-down list includes categories like “Communications,” “Eating & Drinking Places,” “Freight,” etc.)

–Number of employees

II. Business owner(s) information

This basic form includes information like your name, email, address, and social security number. You’ll also state your percent ownership in your business.

*A note on the amount of your loan

You will not state the amount of the loan you’re seeking in your application. Once you apply, a loan officer will check your credit rating, income statements, and tax returns “to determine how badly your business needs the loan,” explains bookkeeping company Bench.

The current application page does, however, allow you to check a box that denotes you’d like to be considered for the $10,000 loan advance and provide details for a bank account to which the SBA can send that money. (Again, the Administration says the funds should arrive within three days of a successful application.)

Completing the application process

Once your business information has been submitted, you will receive a 10-digit application number. Print that page, and save the application number for your records.

Congratulations, you have now completed your application for the COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan!

Okay, I’ve applied. What do I do now?

Unfortunately, there’s nothing to do but wait. The SBA will contact you at the email address provided if they need additional information after your application has been processed. They’ll likely connect you with a loan officer and case manager who will request additional paperwork including income tax returns and profit and loss statements.

We’ve asked businesses in our network whether they’ve received a loan and, if so, how long it took. So far, we haven’t gotten any reports back. It looks like the Twitterverse is in the same boat: Many reports have applied for loans, but we’ve yet to spot a tweet from someone who received SBA funds. We’ll update this post as soon as we have stories to share.

Are there other federal loan options for small businesses?

Yes, but you can’t apply just yet. The government’s Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act made available an additional $350 billion to help small businesses. The new program that will distribute that money, known as the Paycheck Protection Program, will provide low-interest, federally-backed loans to small businesses. According to the small business checklist provided by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, “the administration will soon release more details including the list of lenders offering loans under the program.”

We’ll provide a rundown of how to apply for the Paycheck Protection Program in an upcoming article, as well as stories from businesses that’ve obtained these loans. For now, we recommend reviewing the Chamber of Commerce’s guide so you’ll be prepared to apply when the program kicks off:

Coronavirus Emergency Loans Small Business Guide and Checklist

PPP Loan Forgiveness Calculator

How to apply for SBA Loans

About Encompass Solutions

Encompass Solutions is a business and software consulting firm that specializes in ERP systems, EDI, and Managed Services support for Manufacturers and Distributors. Serving small and medium-sized businesses since 2001, Encompass modernizes operations and automates processes for hundreds of customers across the globe. Whether undertaking full-scale implementation, integration, and renovation of existing systems, Encompass provides a specialized approach to every client’s needs. By identifying customer requirements and addressing them with the right solutions, we ensure our clients are equipped to match the pace of the Industry.