Article

When It Comes to the EIDL, All Is Not Forgiven

You might have received this message regarding your Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL). The email sent by the Small Business Administration to EIDL borrowers on record was a simple one-page reminder that gets right to the point:

Dear SBA Borrower:
SIGN UP for your SBA CAFS BORROWER LOAN PORTAL NOW to view your upcoming payment due date and payment amount. This is different from the application portal, also known as the RAPID portal, which is closed. As a reminder, your SBA COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan payment is due 30 months from the date of the original Note. Our records indicate your first payment will be due starting October, November, or December 2022.

While most of the Federal and local government programs were treated as grants and forgivable loans, the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL), the first of the relief programs, is not forgiven. Payments are coming due in October, November, and December 2022. Here are the steps to compliance.

This is not a forgivable loan. There is no additional deferment at this time.
The Note can be found in your original loan closing documents. The date of the Note is located at the top right corner of the front page of the Promissory Note:

During the present 30-month deferment period (if you have not already done so):

• Establish your Borrower loan portal on the SBA Capital Access Financial System (CAFS) at www.sba.gov/pay
• For most business Borrowers – the person whose credit was used in the loan application will be able to access CAFS using their social security number.
• If your business is a sole proprietorship – you will be able to access CAFS using your social security number.
• If your business is a nonprofit or the account is missing a social security number – please email the Disaster Customer Service team at [email protected] on company letterhead to provide the loan number, name, and social security number of the person who should have access. Once complete, a confirmation email will be sent, and that person will be able to establish a CAFS account using the instructions linked above.
• When you received your COVID-19 EIDL on the RAPID portal you agreed to receive electronic billing, so you need to establish your Borrower loan portal.

• During your deferment period, you may make voluntary full or partial payments without prepayment penalties at www.sba.gov/pay. However, you must make your full, regularly scheduled payment beginning 30 months from the date of your Promissory Note as indicated in the first paragraph above.
• Interest has been and will continue to accrue on your loan. If you did not make voluntary payments during the deferment, a final balloon payment will be due on your loan at maturity.

For more information about COVID-19 EIDL loans, please see COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (sba.gov). If you have questions or would prefer to authorize a different or additional email address, please email [email protected] or call the SBA Disaster Customer Service team at 833-853-5638.

Sincerely,
U.S. Small Business Administration

The process for EIDL payback is not difficult, but it can be confusing. And you do not want to wait until the last minute. The first step is to set up your account and then sign in to access the "SBA CAFS BORROWER LOAN PORTAL".

It is important to review what you have received to make sure there are no mistakes. In some cases, borrowers have found the portal has "distributed" the Restaurant Revitalization Grant but it is showing that a payment is due.

Here is an example of what each loan information detail looks like:

Speed is of the essence with due dates coming quickly. The CAFS is the acronym for "Capital Access Financial System" and is different from the original application portal from which you, your accountant or bank applied for the original EIDL loan. That portal known as RAPID is now closed. When signing up for CAFS, it's critical you have your loan number available (not your application number). You may also need your social security number and/or Federal Tax ID.

If you run into issues with your loan number being recognized, you may call 833-853-5638. Representatives can provide details of the various loans issued. Be sure to record your username and password somewhere you can access it in the future. It will be necessary to log into the CAFS portal every two or three months to keep it active; otherwise, you'll have to re-register. Add a reminder to your calendar, as this is an important step in using the system properly.

The information needed to sign up for the portal located at caweb.sba.gov is standard: If you are a "Borrower", your name, address, loan number, Social Security number and security questions. One small source of confusion can happen when you enter your address.

The program is designed to use the zip code to accurately load the city and state data. The program won't accept the city, state data before the zip code. Once you supply the information requested and click submit, the portal will close (or indicate errors for missing or incorrect data). You'll then be given the opportunity to login for the first time to your active account.

When you supply your username and password, you're sent an 8-digit security code to your telephone or email to complete the sign-in process. You'll need to make sure you have the correct telephone number or email you provided when you supplied your signed up information.

Once you have arrived inside the CAFS portal, the upper left-hand corner offers a dropdown titled "Borrower". Clicking this will present "Borrower Search" which when tapped will detail the various programs you have taken advantage of with the loan numbers, amounts, payments and/or forgiveness status.

If you need help, the CAFS Support Line is: 1.833.572.0502. Please note that the account holder must be on the call, and you will be asked questions to verify your identity.

The next step is to set up and link your EIDL loan account to a payment account. A simple method is to click at the bottom "Go to pay.gov to make a payment". That link will take you to more options:

Alert Message:
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Updates
SBA and 1201 Borrower Payment Information

Selecting option two (SBA and 1201 Borrower Payment Information) will provide a 9-page document that details setting up and linking your payments to the official Federal Government payment site "Pay.gov". The below was excerpted from that documentation on that site:

Looking for Your Loan Information/to Link Your Account?
Many of you received a letter from the SBA letting you know that you can make electronic loan payments using Pay.gov's website. Pay.gov processes payments for the US Treasury. Due to privacy restrictions, we do not have access to any of your SBA loan information. Your loan balance and account detail such as interest and due date are NOT available on our website or to Pay.gov's help desk staff. Please contact your SBA loan servicing center for assistance, or go to the https://caweb.sba.gov website to view your SBA loan information. If you do not have a number for your servicing center, the main SBA help desk number is 800-659-2955.

While complete details of setting up loan payments are included in the 9-page document downloaded from the site, mentioned below are a few instructions that may help you get started:

Need Help with Creating an Account?
While you can pay without logging in, we recommend that you create a user account. Having a user account lets you set up a recurring payment, track payments made while signed in, cancel pending payments made while signed in, change recurring payments, and update your address with the SBA – with restrictions.

1. On the Pay.gov home page (www.pay.gov) click Create an Account. If you are using a mobile device, such as phone, click Menu in the upper right of the home page first.

2. Choose the type of account to create: personal or company.
3. Fill in your name and email address, check the box to agree to the rules of behavior, then click Activate Account.
4. You will receive an email. Click the link to continue. If the email does not arrive in about 15 minutes, call the Pay.gov Help Desk at 800-624-1373.
5. Fill in all the information for all of the create account steps.

Sign in to Pay.gov

1. Click Sign In on Pay.gov's home page.
2. Enter your username and password, then click Sign In. If you have trouble, see the Sign In/Password Assistance section at the end of these instructions.

Find SBA 1201 Borrower Payments

1. Your My Account page opens.
2. In the search box at the top of the page, type in 1201 and click Search.

Go to the Payment Pages

1. The Search Result page opens showing 1201 Borrower Payments.
2. Click Continue.

Read the Before You Begin Page 1.
The Before You Begin page opens. Read the instructions and then click Continue to the Form. Complete the Agency Form

The SBA 1201 Borrower Payment Form is a step-by-step form asking standard questions about names, addresses, loan numbers, banking information, and other data needed to implement a successful payment link for the EIDL and other types of loans.

As mentioned earlier, downloading the documentation for detailed instructions for yourself or your accountant will offer you complete information. A call to the SBA help desk will fill in any gaps you may be missing. We have found the SBA staff people helpful, knowledgeable, and polite.

The Beginning of the End

The era of substantial government and private funding programs has ended for those who've received grants and loans for their independent restaurants. The future looks bright for those who have survived with increased guest counts, redecorated or upgraded facilities, and other benefits. The required repayment plans offered also seem very generous considering what is currently available in the open market.