ERC Refunds from 12 Months to 72 Hours
As the pandemic and its economic difficulties fade into history, so too will one of the government’s financial lifelines for small- and mid-sized businesses: the Employee Retention Credit. The ERC, a refundable tax credit that provides refunds of up to $26,000 per employee, has helped many U.S.-based companies rebound from one of the worst economies in recent memory. However, due to the program’s popularity and impending deadlines, claims processing times by the government are up to 12 months. Concerned by these issues, CEO Chris Sidhom and COO Christian Arcello of Priority Concepts have stepped in with the ERC Advance Payment program, which processes ERC refunds in 72 hours.
“Every business owner should find out whether they are eligible for an ERC refund because it is a grant, not a loan, and therefore doesn’t have to be paid back,” Chris explains. “So, there is no harm in taking little time to learn about your eligibility. Also, remember even if you received assistance from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), you are still allowed to apply for the ERC.”
The ERC, Christian continues, is for businesses that continued to pay employees while shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic and/or had significant declines in gross receipts from March 13, 2020 to Dec. 31, 2021. As mentioned, the ERC has a limited lifetime, with deadlines for claiming the credits varying depending on the year referenced in the claim.
“As you may recall, Congress enacted the ERC as part of the CARE Act to help businesses recover from the financial hit of social distancing,” he says. “Owners were struggling to keep their employees on the payroll and had to retrain them to serve customers in a very different world. The ERC’s refund of up to $26,000/employee came at the right time for many owners, allowing them to invest in their teams, their businesses, and the future.”
Chris says the ERC program has been received enthusiastically by business leaders across the United States, but combined with upcoming deadlines, this has led to a surge in applications that has the government at a current processing time of up to 12 months.
“We wanted to solve this problem and get money into the hands of owners faster, so we created our ERC Advance Payment program,” he states. “By thinking outside of the box, using what we know about the ERC, and tapping into our financial expertise, we were able to take 12 months all the way down to 72 hours.”
Priority Concepts’ ERC Advance Payment program was designed to be efficient for the business owner and includes:
- A determination of the company’s eligibility for the ERC refundable tax credit
- Analyzation of a claim that a business may have already filed as well as information on the process
- Calculation of the maximum amount available to the business
- All documentation and filing of paperwork
- Advance payment based on their ERC filing or a previous filing
Priority Concepts’ program is also backed by a platform that leverages over 50 systems to fully and securely integrate with a business’ accounting and payroll software. What this means for clients is their necessary documentation for ERC applications can be collected in minutes.
“We have been able to help hundreds of companies to get their ERC refunds without the stress of standing in line for months, so to speak,” says Chris. “Priority Concepts is all about business owners getting their money faster so that they can budget more accurately, hire their dream employees, and be ready for future emergencies.”
Since creating its ERC Advance Payment program, Priority Concepts has expedited ERC claims for hundreds of clients, with refunds up to $2.3M. Now, with the end of ERC on the horizon, Christian and Chris recommend that all business owners verify their eligibility as soon as possible.
“Remember: you do not have to pay back the ERC, and it only takes a few minutes to find out if you are eligible,” says Christian. “We will be happy to explain the application process so you understand all of your options and can make the best possible decision about the way forward for your business.”
Priority Concepts is led by a team of experts with decades of combined experience with business taxes, government programs, and business funding. Its goal is to help owners to more easily access government programs, including the ERC, that offer financial assistance for companies.
Chris Sidhom is the CEO of Priority Concepts and manages all operations and strategy. He is also a partner in EPSG, a privately held payment solutions provider, and oversees partnerships, new products, and business development. Additionally, Chris has a private investment portfolio focused on hotels and other hospitality businesses. Previously, he worked in business development at EVO Payments, focused on opening and scaling sales offices across the country. Chris has a B.S. in Economics and an M.S. in Finance from St. John’s University.
Christian Arcello is the COO of Priority Concepts and leads all sales and marketing. He is also the co-founder of Accel Capital (NY) and Cor Funding (CA), regional small-business lenders. Previously he was President of Mint Management and Consulting, an owner-operator in the hospitality space. Christian has a B.A. in Finance from Hofstra University and an M.S. in Real Estate and Finance from New York University.
For more information on this article and the ERC Advance Payment program, please visit Bloomberg.