If you received a grant from the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF), time is officially running out for you to use and report your expenditures.
As you may remember, RRF dollars were to be used for eligible expenses during the "covered period" -- February 15, 2020, through March 11, 2023 (sooner if the business permanently closed).
That March 11, 2023, deadline is upon us. It is imperative that you submit your final report so that your award remains a tax-free grant (does not have to be repaid). Unused funds will need to be returned.
Reporting can be done through the SBA’s RRF Award Portal at https://restaurants.sba.gov.
When you report to the SBA, you will need to certify that the grant proceeds have been used for eligible expenses and how much of your award has been used for each of the following eligible use categories:
- Payroll costs, including sick leave and certain other health benefits, but excluding qualified wages used to claim the employee retention credit.
- Mortgage principal and interest payments (other than prepayments).
- Rent (other than prepayments).
- Business debt service (both principal and interest payments, other than prepayments).
- Utilities.
- Maintenance expenses, including maintenance on walls, floors, deck surfaces, furniture, fixtures, and equipment.
- Construction of outdoor seating.
- Supplies, including protective equipment and cleaning materials.
- Food and beverage expenses, including raw materials for beer, wine or spirits.
- Covered supplier costs, defined as expenditures for goods that:
- Are essential to your operations at the time the expenditure is made; and
- Are purchased pursuant to: (1) A contract, order or purchase order in effect at any time before the receipt of RRF money, or (2) With respect to perishable goods, a contract, order or purchase order in effect before or at any time during the covered period.
- Operating expenses, defined as business expenses incurred through normal business operations that are necessary and mandatory for the business, such as rent, equipment, supplies, inventory, accounting, training, legal, marketing, insurance, licenses, and fees.
Keep in mind that the SBA reserves the right to request supplemental documentation to validate your use of the funds, so be sure to have your records/receipts handy should they ask for them.
This is the last and critical step. Don’t miss it!
If you have any questions, please let us know.