Blog & Podcast

Human Resources Consulting for Small Businesses

7/6/2020

What is a "Typical Situation" people are in when they realize they need help?

They are growing and are unsure if they are legally complaint.
Employees appear to be unhappy or have high turnover of staff and don't know what to do.
They feel they have been "winging it" for too long and want to formalize processes.

What is something someone might say that would lead me to think of you?

“If I could do this without employees I would.”
“I feel like I've lost control of what people are doing - one person wants one thing and the other something else. I don't know what to do.”
“My employees need someone to talk to that isn't me. Why do people come to me with their issues.”

What (Specifically) do they do?
Uncomplicate the people side of business. Help business owners success through and with their employees.

How do they do it?
Sitting down with the business owners to understand their needs and concerns. Create an action plan in order to achieve goals. Provide on-site support as needed so we are the go-to person for the employees and the owner.

Matching Ideas with Resources

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Phase 4 of Restore Illinois

6/29/2020

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To ensure businesses can reopen safely, the state released a common set of standards expected of all employers, while also outlining industry-specific guidelines using a risk-based approach to support unique operational needs of businesses across the state. Industry guidance will help businesses and residents feel safe in returning to many of these new activities that have been closed for the past several months.

Phase 4 of the Restore Illinois plan creates safety guidelines for the following permitted activities and businesses to resume, with capacity rules in place:

Meetings and events: Venues and meeting spaces can resume with the lesser of up to 50 people OR 50% of overall room capacity. Multiple groups are permitted given facilities have space to appropriately social distance and can limit interaction between groups. This includes activities such as conferences and weddings.
Indoor and Outdoor recreation: Revised guidelines to allow select indoor recreation facilities (e.g., bowling alleys, skating rinks), as well as clubhouses to reopen. Indoor recreation to operate at lesser of 50 customers OR 50% of facility capacity with outdoor recreation allowing group sizes of up to 50, and permitting multiple groups given facilities have space to appropriately social distance and can limit interaction between groups; concessions permitted with restrictions.
Indoor Dining: Indoor dining can reopen with groups of 10 or less, with tables spaced 6-feet apart in seated areas and with standing areas at no more than 25% of capacity.
Museums: Can reopen with no more than 25% occupancy, and with interactive exhibits and rides closed; guided tours should be limited to 50 people or fewer per group; museums should have a plan to limit congregation via advance ticket sales and timed ticketing; concessions permitted with restrictions.
Zoos: Can reopen with no more than 25% occupancy, and with interactive exhibits, indoor exhibits, and rides closed; guided tours should be limited to 50 people or fewer per group; zoos should have a plan to limit congregation via advance ticket sales and timed ticketing; concessions permitted with restrictions.
Cinema and Theatre: Indoor seated theaters, cinemas, and performing arts centers to allow admission of the lesser of up to 50 guests OR 50% of overall theater or performance space capacity (applies to each screening room); outdoor capacity limited to 20% of overall theater or performance space capacity; concessions permitted with restrictions.
Outdoor seated spectator events: Outdoor spectator sports can resume with no more than 20% of seating capacity; concessions permitted with restrictions.
Film production: Allow no more than 50% of sound stage or filming location capacity; crowd scenes should be limited to 50 people or fewer.

Industries with revised guidelines in Phase 4:

Youth and Recreational Sports: Revised guidelines allow competitive gameplay and tournaments; youth and recreational sports venues can operate at 50% of facility capacity, 20% seating capacity for spectators, and group sizes up to 50 with multiple groups permitted during practice and competitive games given venues have space to appropriately social distance and can limit interaction between groups; concessions permitted with restrictions.
Health and fitness centers: Revised guidelines allow gyms to open at 50% capacity and allow group fitness classes of up to 50 people with new safety guidelines for indoors, with multiple groups permitted given facilities have space to appropriately social distance and can limit interaction between groups.
Day camps: Water-based activities permitted in accordance with IDPH guidelines; no more than 50% of facility capacity with group size of no more than 15 participants in a group, unless participants changing weekly.

Additionally, retail, service counters, offices, personal care (including salons, barber, nail salons), manufacturing and other industries allowed to reopen in Phase 3 will continue to operate at a reduced capacity.

To help businesses prepare to reopen and remain in compliance with new guidelines over the next two weeks, DCEO has released a new set of downloadable materials. Business toolkits are complete with signage, training checklists and other resources to help business owners and workers implement safety procedures and adhere to the latest capacity restrictions. Materials for businesses and operators pertaining to Phases 3 and 4 of the Restore Plan, can be found at Illinois.gov/businessguidelines.

Illinois Equity-Driven Community & Business Grant Programs

The package includes more than $900 million across more than ten programs and four state agencies to help working families and small businesses who have been hit the hardest by COVID-19’s economic impact, which was compounded by recent property damage and civil unrest. Programs include:

Emergency Rental Assistance
Emergency Mortgage Assistance
New Business Interruption Grants
Distressed Capital
Poverty Alleviation Strategies

SBA Recovery Programs
The SBA is once again offering the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program and the Paycheck Protection program.

Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program - Provides an advance of up to $10,000 and is designed to provide economic relief to businesses that are currently experiencing a temporary loss of revenue. This loan advance will not have to be repaid.

Paycheck Protection Program - Provides loans designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on the payroll. The SBA will forgive loans if all employees are kept on the payroll for eight weeks and the money is used for payroll, rent, mortgage interest, or utilities.

Other COVID-19 Resources

COVID-19 Resource Page: https://www.villageofschaumburg.com/government/general-government/business-resources

Phase III Re-opening Information: https://www.villageofschaumburg.com/government/general-government/phase-3-reopening-information-for-businesses

Reduced Occupancy Calculator: https://schaumburgil.seamlessdocs.com/f/occloadcalc

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New Employer Tax Credits- Flowchart

6/22/2020

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The IRS has published this flowchart to help determine if employee retention credits can be used by a company.

It also includes a table with some differences between the current credits available for COVID related leave.

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Technology- Software Consulting

6/15/2020

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Typical Situation: Our client’s systems that are currently in place do not keep track of inventory or improve operations. Our client has outdated technologies that complicate processes and prevent growth. They often lack standard business process and never certain of the best way to handle. They may also struggle with too many manual processes, find it hard to complete upgrades, or have difficulty having their systems talk to each other.

When you hear a business owner say:

“I need help in figuring out how to make software work for my company”
“Our software is not meeting our needs”
“Why is our staff always doing routine tasks in different ways?”
“We access our systems remotely.”
“We are thinking of getting a new system. Should we? Shouldn’t we?”

Technology Software Consultants help manufacturers and distributors implement application technology that makes their businesses run better. They can help clients solve business problems by using systems that are currently in place or help them to find the appropriate software and vendors to improve operations. They will work with ERP systems, Warehouse Management systems, bar code scanning technology and other supply chain technologies.

How they Work Consultants utilize business analysis skills, sound project management methodology, and common sense to implement systems. They will work with and manage vendors to control the project and ensure that projects are on time and on budget. They also train employees to ensure that they understand what systems are supposed to do as well how to use new technology.

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Re-Opening Businesses in Phase 3

6/8/2020

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Governor JB Pritzker released industry-specific guidelines that allow for the safe re-opening of businesses as the state progresses into the next phase of the Restore Illinois plan.

All four regions of the state are on track to advance to Phase 3 of the plan in the coming days, allowing thousands of residents to return to work, and the reopening of businesses in the following industries: retail, offices, manufacturing, barbershops and salons, summer programs, various outdoor recreation activities and bars and restaurants for outdoor dining.

Guidelines as well as toolkits for businesses can be found on the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) website, HERE.

https://www2.illinois.gov/dceo/pages/restoreILP3.aspx

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IRS Answers All In One Place

6/1/2020

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Individuals

People First Initiative

"Get My Payment" application

Taxes Due July 15

Coronavirus-Related
Paid Leave for Workers

Businesses

New Employer Tax Credits

Coronavirus-Related
Paid Leave for Workers

Filing and Payment Deadlines

Non-Profits

High Deductible Health Plans can cover Coronavirus costs

Coronavirus-related relief for retirement plans and IRAs

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Thank You for Your Sacrifice

5/25/2020

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Ten Minutes with Tom- Todd French: Tax Credits/ Cost Recovery

5/18/2020

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PPP Loan Forgiveness - what we know so far

5/11/2020

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This is what we have been able to glean so far from SBA and Department of the Treasury notices (along with CPA and Law firm interpretations).

The SBA will be relying on banks to gather and submit the required paperwork for PPP Loan forgiveness. Fully expect some banks to ask for more documentation than others. Some banks are asking for the PPP funds to go into a separate account. Keep very good records and be prepared to submit details.

Loan forgiveness will be based upon maintaining headcount, maintaining wages for each employee and payroll cost/other cost ratio.

Headcount reduction is determined by dividing the base FTE headcount during the 8 weeks of the PPP loan by the base FTE headcount during the look back period. The look back period is either from 1/1/20 to 2/29/20 OR 2/15/19 to 6/30/19 at the borrower’s discretion. There is no definition yet of full-time equivalent (FTE) employees. Until that is issued, the best advice is to use 30 hours of part-timers = 1 FTE as that’s been used before by the agencies involved.

Forgiveness is reduced for not maintaining wages per employee. The lookback period for wage level is 1st Q 2020. If any employee’s salary is reduced by more than 25% during the 8 weeks of the PPP then the forgiveness is reduced dollar-for-dollar by the dollar amount of the portion beyond the 25% reduction. For employees earning more then $100,000, reductions are only considered if the employee ends up below $100,000 annualized in the more than 25% reduction. There has been no guidance given yet on how to calculate or compare these periods, for now, best advice is to use a weekly average for both periods.

And lastly at least 75% of the forgiveness must be payroll costs. Payroll costs include wages, commission, tips, paid leave, insurance premiums, retirement contributions, etc. Wages above $100,000 annualized to any single employee are excluded. The rest (up to 25%) must be for mortgage, rent or utilities. If more is spent in non-payroll categories the forgiveness will still cap based upon the 75% / 25% ratio.

There is no final guidance on the order of reduction, but everything I have read is presuming that the headcount reduction will be first and then the wage level reduction and then the 75% / 25% calculation will be last. In most cases this produces the biggest overall reduction in forgiveness so it’s safest for projections.

An example:
A company had 10 FTE employees during the preferred look back period. During the PPP period they had 6 FTE employees. They reduced 1 of the employee’s wages by 30% (by reducing their hours average from 30 to 21 but keeping their rate at $11.00 an hour). During the PPP period they spent $30,000 on payroll, $4,000 on rent and $2,000 on utilities. They are looking for $36,000 in forgiveness.

They have a 60% reduction due to headcount, therefor $21,600 is eligible for forgiveness.

The wage reduction beyond a 25% reduction is $132 for the 8 weeks, therefor $21,468 is eligible for forgiveness.

Their payroll was 83% of the total, so the rent/utilities forgiveness is not reduced, therefor $21,468 is eligible for forgiveness.

The remaining $14,532 becomes a loan at 1% to be paid back over 2 years.

I don’t think I quite made the 1 sheet reference target, and even still this misses a lot of the finer details.

There are a couple of ways that employers could not keep headcount or wage levels during the 8 weeks of PPP but restore them by 6/30/20 and still get forgiveness, but there are no details at all on how that works or how long after 6/30/20 they’d have to keep those levels restored so I’ve left that off.

Future guidance may change everything here. Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions, and I’ll do my best to help.