The $300 Million Small and Medium Sized Business Recovery Grant program will provide fully-funded grants to B.C. businesses that employ up to 149 B.C. residents and that have experienced declines in revenue since March 2020.
The program will run until March 31st, 2021 or until funds are fully deployed.
Latest Update - December 21st, 2020: The B.C. government has enhanced the Small and Medium-Sized Business Recovery Grant program to make it easier for businesses to qualify. It has also increased the support available for those in the hard-hit tourism sector up to $45,000.
If you applied to the program before December 18th, 2020:
- You do not need to resubmit an application
- Applications received prior to changes will be reviewed under updated program criteria and grant amounts
- Businesses that have already been approved for funding are not affected by these changes but, are eligible for updated grant amounts
On this page:
- How it Works
- Eligibility
- How to Apply
- Businesses Helping Businesses: Expression of Interest
- Contact Us
How it Works
Grants of $10,000 to $30,000 are available to small and medium sized B.C. businesses impacted by COVID-19. An additional $5,000 to $15,000 grant is available to eligible tourism-related businesses.
The program runs until March 31st, 2021 or until the funds are fully allocated, whichever comes first.
The first step is to apply for funding online.
If you’re eligible, you’ll be asked to develop a recovery plan. Professional service providers are available to help businesses with the recovery plan as needed. More information is available in the application.
Once your recovery plan is submitted and reviewed, approved businesses will receive grant funding for their plan.
You may be asked to give information and documentation about your recovery efforts and how the grant funding was used.
Eligibility
Review the criteria to determine if your business is eligible for the program.
Not-for-profit organizations are not eligible.
Base grant
To receive a base grant, a business must meet all the general eligibility criteria as follows:
- The majority share of the business is owned by one or more B.C. residents
- The business has been operating in B.C. for at least 18 months as of your date of application to this grant program
- The business’s sole or primary operations are located and conducted in B.C.
- The business is registered in B.C.
- The business is current and pays taxes in B.C.
- The business is currently operating (Businesses that are seasonal or temporarily closed are also eligible)
- The business employs up to 149 people in B.C. for at least four months of the calendar year
- This includes businesses that had employees or contracted staff prior to February 1st, 2020
- For businesses that do not have staff, please tell us in your application how the grant funding will support your recovery and benefit your community
- The business had positive cash flow for the last financial statement, prior to February 1st, 2020
- The business experienced revenue losses compared to the same period in 2019 of:
- At least 70% at some point during March or April 2020 and
- At least 30% at some point during May 2020 to present
- The business’s ownership has not prepared the business for closure, dissolution or for sale following February 1st, 2020
Tourism Businesses
Tourism-related businesses can qualify to receive up to $15,000 in additional funding if you are eligible for the base grant and meet the tourism grant top-up criteria.
To receive the tourism grant top-up, you must declare that a significant part of your businesses total goods or services are purchased by visitors.
Tourism grant top-up eligibility criteria:
Tourism-related businesses are those that cater to persons travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes. This is based on the definition of tourism from Statistics Canada.
Tourism sector businesses can include:
- Transportation
- Accommodation
- Food and beverage services
- Recreation
- Entertainment services
- Travel services
Accommodation includes:
- Hotels
- Inns
- Lodges
- Campsites
- Recreational vehicle rentals
- Other similar businesses
Accommodation excludes:
- Long-term stays
- Apartments
- Condominium sub-leases
- Home-stay arrangements
- Vacation rentals
How to Apply
Interested businesses that meet the above criteria must fill out an online application at BC Business Recovery Grant. Before you begin, confirm your business meets the eligibility criteria and you have the required financial documents below.
Note: Documents should have names and other personally identifiable information redacted where business is not authorized to share.
- Shareholder register or Certificate of Incorporation which must specifically include city where shareholders are located. Include one of the following:
- Central Securities Register
- T2-Schedule 50 Shareholder Information
- T1-T2125 Statement of Business or Professional Activities
- Payroll documents from September 1, 2019 to now. Documents must demonstrate the number of B.C. residents employed or subcontracted including initials, city, wage, and deductions for each employee, if applicable. Include one of the following:
- T4 Statement of Remuneration Paid
- PD7A Payroll filing documents
- Payroll or cheque run
Include the following documents:
- Current year plus the two preceding years’ financial statements including:
- Balance sheet
- Income statement
- Statement of cash flows (if available)
- Past 24 months actual monthly revenue (18 months for businesses operating less than 24 months)
- Actual monthly revenue
- Business tax returns from the last two reporting years 2018 (if applicable) and 2019, specifically:
- Notices of Assessment
- For incorporated businesses, the first section of the T2 return
- For unincorporated businesses, the first section of the owners’ T1 return (Form 5010-R) and T2125 Statement of Business or Professional Activities
Please note, seasonal businesses should provide information relevant to their specific business cycle.
Download the Required Documents Checklist (PDF, 72KB)
Follow the links below for more details on:
Need Help Applying? We Can Help!
We can help your business gather all the tax and other documents required to apply and assist you with meeting the requirements to receive the grant. Get in contact with us for a no obligation assessment. Call 778-554-2900 or email info@bitbooks.ca.
