Good morning to all! As you know, things are evolving quickly…this is a very “fluid” issue…suggestions are welcomed!
Here is a checklist of items that you should consider putting in place this week (beginning Monday, March 23, 2020):
Banking & Finance – “Payment Relief”
Please be sure to email your commercial banks (please cc me on the e-mail) and request for “payment relief” from your bank. Most banks are offering between 60 to 90 days deferment. Please visit www.schiffcpa.com for daily updates as to what your bank may be offering.
Here is a “suggested e-mail” that you are welcome to use:
Good Morning,
I am writing to you requesting help with a “90-day payment relief” for my current commercial loan with your bank. This is as a result of the state and national dental association’s recommendations to limit our practice to emergency treatment due to the COVID-19 outbreak. In addition, I would like to extend my current line of credit from $50,000 to $100,000. Any help that you can offer me would be greatly appreciated. Please let me know what information you may need from Schiff & Associates (my CPA) in evaluating these credit facility requests.
Most Sincerely,
Dr. _____________
Other Banking Opportunities – SBA Financing
Consider applying for the SBA Disaster Relief Loan. Please consider the SBA if you have already exhausted your other financing options, such as your current lender or line of credit increases.
Here is the link: https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/
Credit Card Financing
Please contact your credit card company. Some credit card companies are offering $0 minimum payment and 0% interest for 60 to 90 days. Some have already removed March 2020 finance charges!
Contact Your Landlord
Please reach out to your landlord. Some landlords have already written our clients, offering no rent for April 2020 and repaying the rent (spreading it out) once we get back to business. Here is a suggested e-mail to your landlord:
Dear _______,
I hope this email finds you and your family well & safe. I am writing this email to request “deferment of my lease payment” for at least the next 60 to 90 days, considering the current COVID-19 situation. I have been requested to close the office for now from both the American Dental Association (ADA) and the Maryland (your State name here) State Dental Association (MSDA) until this situation has been resolved. As a result of closing, I am unable to see patients in a regular capacity, so I am requesting this lease deferment.
I look forward to hearing from you soon. I have also copied my CPA in case there is financial information you may need in evaluating this request.
Thank you,
_________ DDS / DMD
Other Practice Expenditures
Dental supplies and lab fees represent your largest expenditures outside of payroll. Please ask these vendors for payment options during the time the practice has limited operations. Payroll, the largest practice expenditure, hopefully, will be covered by the Federal Stimulus Package we are waiting for at the time of this writing. Please also consider stopping AUTOMATIC WITHDRAWALS from your practice and your personal checking accounts.
Contact Service Companies
Examples: Demandforce, Lighthouse, Patient Activator, BirdEye, etc, social media, Yelp (look through credit card & bank transactions for any other vendors).
Scale down some of these services if you feel it would be appropriate. Please keep in mind, you may need them, for example, if you need to send a “mass email” to your patients, so please be careful with your decision here.
Health Insurance
I am recommending that you continue to pay for health insurance unless your broker advises otherwise. While this may not be required, it can go a long way to helping your employees.
Your Payroll If You Are Incorporated
At this time, please do not run your own pay through your payroll service in order to save both the payroll fees, retirement contributions, and payroll taxes at this time. If you need money from your practice, please withdraw funds as an “officer loan”, “distribution” or “draw”. This is true for the self-employed as well.
April 15th Tax Deadline
This has now changed to July 15th Federal tax deadline. Even though the Federal tax filing deadline and payments have been extended to July 15th, I would like to file your individual tax returns as soon as possible. If you have a refund coming to you, we want to get you that money as soon as possible. If you owe, you now have until July 15th to pay. This will help you budget and allow you to know what your liability is. If you have a tax refund, you may apply it to cover future estimated tax payments. Or you can request a tax refund to be sent to you now. Please us know!
Please feel free to forward this email to any of your colleagues and peers. All of our previous newsletters are posted on my website https://www.schiffcpa.com/updates-on-covid-19/.
Stay safe, stay healthy and remain POSITIVE! We will get through this…together!
Wishing you the very best,
Allen Schiff, CPA, CFE
Schiff & Associates, LLC
