Are you Ready? EIDL Borrowers – Take Note!

The Small Business Administration (SBA) approved 5,694 Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) in Wyoming, totaling more than $600,000,000. The operative word is loans.  Businesses that received one of these loans need to be preparing now for payments that begin in the not so distant future; are you ready?

The SBA has a system, the Capital Access Financial System (CAFS), for tracking loan information such as loan balance, interest amounts, and payment dates.  Borrowers can gain access to the system following the instructions provided here:  CAFS account enrollment and access – instructions for borrowers.  Additional information regarding managing your EIDL loan can be found here:  Manage your EIDL.  The actual EIDL loan payments are made via www.pay.gov using the online SBA Form 1201 – Borrower Payment.  Check out and bookmark these sites.

The Wyoming SBDC in collaboration with the SBA Wyoming District Office will also hold a virtual informational and training session on August 4 from Noon to 1:15 PM.  Registration is already available is open at: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/293726159291458574

The EIDL program is a loan program with a 30-year maturity and an interest rate of 3.75% for most borrowers.  Under the COVID disaster declaration and subsequent extensions, COVID-EIDL loan payments are deferred for two years with principal and interest payments required over the remaining 28 years.  SBA began approving COVID EIDL applications in March 2020.  For those early loans, the end of the deferment period is rapidly approaching, and the first payments will be due this fall.  If you, as a business owner, haven’t already started preparing to make payments (figured this loan payment into your cash flow), the time has come.

Borrowers should review their loan authorization to ensure they are following its provisions and understand the servicing actions that require prior SBA approval. For example, for loans above $25,000, SBA filed a lien on the business assets.  If a business owner wants to sell a piece of equipment or the business itself, SBA will need to approve a request for specific collateral release, lien subordination, or other servicing action, in advance. See: Manage your EIDL.  In some cases such as the sale of a piece of equipment, this may require the proceeds to be applied towards the loan balance.  These requests are approved by one of SBA’s disaster loan servicing centers and borrowers should be prepared to make their request well in-advance of the actual sale.

Questions?  EIDL borrowers in Wyoming can reach out to the SBA Wyoming District Office team at 307-261-6500 or contact SBA’s servicing center in El Paso (800-487-6019).  For free and confidential one-on-one cash flow planning assistance, we encourage you to contact a Wyoming SBDC Advisor: Contact – Wyoming Small Business Development Center Network (wyomingsbdc.org)

About the Author: Jill has been with the Wyoming SBDC Network since 1998 and loves nothing more than seeing entrepreneurs succeed. When she’s not in the office or on the road, Jill enjoys loving on her dogs Buttercup and Dilly, spending time with her husband, and knitting something cozy.