Sourcing COVID-19 Supplies:

• Sneeze Guards:
  • Professional Plastics
  • Displays2go      
  • W.B. Mason  
  • Prager Nuform Retail Display
  • WiseOwl Productions
  • Clear Solutions (best to call as this website is not up to date) 
  • Franklin Fixtures  
  • OlleyMay
  • Etsy
  • Local hardware stores
  • Local glass shops
• Coronavirus Safety Signs and Social Distancing Floor Tapes:
  • Stop-painting.com
  • Displays2go
  • Etsy
• Masks and Other Personal Protective Equipment (PPE):
  
  • OlleyMay
  • PB Backdrops
  • Etsy
  • Bagmasters
  • Professional Marketing Services
  • BrandPower
• Hand Sanitizer:
  • Ingram is trying to source hand sanitizer (let them know that there’s demand!) 
  • Local restaurant supply stores and distilleries, big box stores like BJ’s and Costco, and drug stores like CVS and Walgreens
  • Bagmasters
  • Professional Marketing Services, Inc.
  • BrandPower Solutions/Promo Queens
  • OlleyMay
  • W.B. Mason
  • Etsy
  • Consider making your own! 
• Recommendations?
  • Please email ABA at [email protected] with suggestions for COVID-19 supply sources so that we can share the information.

Reopening:

• The National Retail Federation and Retail Industry Leaders Association created a useful blueprint for re-opening.
• ABA has also compiled best practices and considerations.

Legal Considerations:

• Everything is moving fast for everyone. Take a moment to read this important article about legal issues to be aware of right now.

Social Security:

• For bookstore owners of Social Security age, it may be helpful to know that it is possible to claim reduced Social Security retirement benefits prior to one’s full retirement age, suspend those benefits when full retirement age is reached, and earn delayed retirement credits up to age 70 to increase the Social Security retirement benefit amount. For those in financial difficulty during these extraordinary times, that may be a viable option. For more information about early Social Security disbursement, read ABA’s FAQ here.

Advocacy:

• IMPORTANT Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness update: While we are still waiting for a final rule on PPP loan forgiveness, updated FAQs from the Treasury Department say a borrower’s PPP loan forgiveness will not be reduced if the borrower laid off an employee, offered to hire the same employee (at the same salary/wage and same number of hours), but the employee declined the offer. The borrower must have made a good faith, written offer of rehire, and the employee’s rejection of that offer must be documented by the borrower. Be aware that employees who reject offers of re-employment may forfeit eligibility for continued unemployment compensation. For more information, see question 40 in the FAQs.
• EIDL grant and PPP interactions: If you have received both an EIDL grant and a PPP loan, remember that the EIDL grant will affect your PPP loan forgiveness. Any proceeds from an EIDL grant will be subtracted from the loan forgiveness amount on the PPP loan. In other words, if your business spends 100 percent of the PPP funds (say, $10,000) on forgivable expenses, but you also receive an EIDL grant (say, $3,000), all $10,000 of the PPP funds will technically be forgiven, but you’ll be required to pay back the $3,000 from the EIDL grant under the PPP loan terms of 1 percent fixed interest over 2 years. Here’s what we currently know about PPP loan forgiveness.
• Clarification on PPP tax implications: An IRS notice published on April 30 confirmed that businesses that qualify for PPP loan forgiveness cannot deduct wages or other business expenses they paid for with forgiven PPP funds. This clarified language in the CARES Act regarding PPP that says the forgiven portion of the loan will not count as taxable income. The tax code allows businesses to write off business expenses, like wages and rent expenses, but generally doesn’t allow write-offs for tax-exempt income. ABA has been in touch with Senate leadership regarding the non-deductibility of otherwise deductible business expenses when PPP funds are forgiven; the committee is aware of the IRS ruling and is hoping to resolve this issue. For more information, contact your accountant.
• Paid leave requirements: As stores begin to reopen across the country, be aware that you are required under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) to post in a conspicuous place on the store’s premises notice of the FFCRA requirements. Access the poster here.
• Small business webinars: As more guidance is released about federal aid and states begin to reopen, it’s important to take advantage of the numerous free webinars being offered by various organizations. Here are just a few:
  • National Federation of Independent Business: Register for upcoming weekly webinars and watch previous webinars
  • U.S. Chamber of Commerce: Register for the weekly National Small Business Town Hall
  • Small Business Majority: Register for and watch state-specific as well as national webinars

Mental Health:
Take a moment to check in with your staff and yourself. Are you okay? It’s a lot. Let’s all take care of ourselves and each other.

• From Psychology.org: Dealing With Coronavirus Anxiety: Expert Tips
• From ABA: Self-Care in the Time of Coronavirus

I’ve been thinking about all the ways the world is changing right now, and all the ways that we are each changing as well. And the changes keep coming. Even so, some things never change...

ABA is here for you. Please reach out if there is anything we can help with. We are an incredibly creative, resilient, supportive industry. We’ll get through this, together.

Best,
Allison