Thank you to the panelists and attendees present for the Financial Preparedness For Small Businesses panel on March 27th, hosted by Stoke, moderated by our new hospitality & events coordinator, Mari Austin, and enriched by the questions from the community.
Below are brief summaries of what each panelist shared. You can find the full video recording at the end of this article.
Financial Preparedness for Small Businesses Panelists
Penny Miller, owner and president of My HR Department, works primarily with small employers and talked about some of the new legislation and regulations that affect small businesses, starting with clarifications on the Family First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) which requires employers to provide paid sick leave and expands the family medical leave act. The FFCRA applies to businesses with 500 or fewer employees. She also discussed changes to how employees would qualify and apply for unemployment .
Marty Rivers, Denton Market President of American National Bank & Trust, experienced in Denton banking for 25+ years, discussed ways to converse with your banker about your financial situation during the pandemic, options that they might present to you, and a summary of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) act that was recently passed, along with your options there. He also touched upon disaster assistance funding through the SBA, loans, and loan forgiveness qualifications.
Russell Wallace, CPA for 12+ years at Wallace Accounting & Advisory, shared details on tax deadlines: payment (if you’ve already filed) is extended to July 15th, as well as having to file by July 15th. If you plan to file AFTER July 15th, you still need to file for an extension by April 15th. Russell was able to touch upon a couple of questions/subjects previously posed to Penny and Marty and also add to the summary of the CARES Act.
Follow-up points:
Unemployment insurance has been extended to 1099 contractors at this point as well.
Make sure to avoid delinquency in paying leases per contract agreements to avoid penalties.
Watch the full video (below) to hear questions from local business owners and responses from the panelists.
Video: Financial Preparedness For Small Business Panel
Links To Resources Mentioned By Panelists
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) Poster - Employee Rights
HR Slides from Penny Miller (info. on COVID-19 employer issues, unemployment, FFCRA, and her contact info.)
AssistHer Emergency Relief Grant offered by TWU Center for Women Entrepreneurs
Stoke will continue to work to provide valuable events, programming, and resources to our community during this difficult time. You can follow Stoke on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter for updates, or sign up for our email list for direct-to-your-inbox information.