The Closed Site Operator Grant (SVOG) program officially opened on Monday, with site operators reporting successful downloads of $ 16.25 billion program funding requests.

The opening of the SVOG Application Portal came nearly four months to the day after the program was created by Congress and nearly three weeks after technical issues with the newly built portal forced the Small Business Administration (SBA) of the United States to shut it down for repair before applications are shut down. been successfully submitted. Numerous tweets from site operators referred to successful applications on Monday.

The SBA had planned to reopen the portal on Saturday, but pushed it back until noon ET on Monday after receiving negative comments about a weekend relaunch.

Friday’s announcement came less than 24 hours after the SBA announced Saturday’s reopening. In a brief statement released Thursday evening, the agency said it had performed rigorous testing on the portal, which was forced to shut down due to technical issues just hours after it opened on April 8. The SBA also provided updated documents and advice on Friday. The agency said interested applicants should open an account in advance through the portal.

On Friday morning, the SBA published a 57 pages SVOG User Guide which includes reminders and screenshots with step-by-step instructions on how to answer questions in the SVOG app. Management and practitioners who intend to apply may wish to review this document to ensure that they are prepared with the appropriate supporting documentation for each question that applies to them.

In addition, the SBA has released an update FAQ Guide linked to the SVOG program. FAQs are reorganized for clarity and new or substantially changed content is marked with an asterisk. Among the new information included is a question 31 in the Application section which provides a sample statement that applicants can use for their statement of need. Additionally, a clarification to question 11 in the Revenue section states that the ASB will look to the entity’s 2019 calendar year earned revenue as the basis for determining the award amount.

The application portal for the SVOG program encountered technical difficulties almost immediately on April 8, with site owners and other eligible businesses saying on social media that they could not upload supporting documents for their applications. The SBA then closed the portal for repairs.

The SBA said last week that its suppliers fixed the root cause of the initial problems, but that more in-depth risk analysis and stress testing identified other problems. The agency promised to reopen the portal through the weekend of April 18 after its technology team and portal vendors resolve and mitigate issues encountered in the testing process.

The SVOG program was created when the Law on Economic Assistance to Small Businesses, Nonprofit Organizations and Sites, PL 116-260, was signed in law end December. The Economic Assistance Act allocated $ 15 billion to the program.

the American Rescue Plan Act, PL 117-2, which came into effect on March 11, allocated an additional $ 1.25 billion to SVOG, bringing program funding to $ 16.25 billion. At least $ 2 billion of funding is earmarked for SVOG-eligible applicants with no more than 50 employees.

Entities eligible to apply for a SVOG include venue operators, live performing arts organizations, museums and cinemas, as well as live venue promoters, theater producers and talent representatives.

The American Rescue Plan Act changed the SVOG program so that entities that apply for a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan after December 27, 2020 can also apply for a SVOG, with the eligible entity’s SVOG having to be reduced by the PPP loan amount. A provisional final rule codified these changes with additional details.

AICPA experts discuss the latest PPP programs and other small business support programs at a virtual town hall held every two weeks. The webcasts, which provide CPE credits, are free for AICPA members and $ 39.99 for non-members. To go to the AICPA Town Hall Series web page for more information and to register. Recordings of Town Hall events can be viewed free of charge at AICPA Television.

the AICPA Paycheck Protection Program Resources Page houses resources and tools produced by the AICPA to help cope with the economic impact of the coronavirus.

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– Jeff drew ([email protected]) is a JofA editor-in-chief.