Small and medium-sized businesses are vital to British Columbia’s economy. The Small and Medium-Sized Business Recovery Grant program provides fully-funded grants to businesses to ensure they have the support they need during and beyond COVID-19.
How the program works
The Small and Medium-Sized Business Recovery Grant program will invest up to $300 million in targeted financial support for some of the hardest hit businesses in B.C. that employ between two and 149 B.C. residents and have experienced declines in revenue since March 10, 2020.
Grants of $10,000 to $30,000 are available. An additional $5,000 to $10,000 grant is available to eligible tourism-related businesses that have been hit especially hard by COVID-19.
The program runs until March 31, 2021 or until the funds are fully allocated, whichever comes first.
The program happens in five steps
Step 1
Businesses apply for funding and provide information to demonstrate that they meet the eligibility criteria.
Step 2
A business that meets the eligibility criteria is matched with a professional services provider who will help develop a recovery plan or assess the business’s current plan (a value up to $2,000 in professional services, in addition to the grant amount).
Step 3
Once a recovery plan is developed, submitted and approved, funding is provided to the business to implement the actions outlined in their recovery plan.
Step 4
Businesses must provide regular updates that account for the spending and status of their recovery efforts supported by the grant funding.
Step 5
All businesses must agree to participate in a third-party audit at the end of the program.
Determine your eligibility
Review the criteria to determine if your business is eligible for the program.
Base grant
A business must meet all eligibility criteria to receive a base grant.
Eligibility criteria
The majority share of the business is owned by one or more B.C. residents.
The business’s sole or primary operations are located in B.C.
The business is currently operating.
- Businesses not currently operating due to a provincial health order affecting their business or sector are not eligible for the program. Businesses that only operate seasonally but that are ready to open during the appropriate season (and meet all other eligibility criteria) are considered operating
Has been operating in B.C. for at least three years prior to March 10, 2020.
The business is registered in B.C.
- Only B.C.-based businesses are eligible. You must be registered and headquartered in B.C. and have a fixed place of business in the province. B.C.-based subsidiaries of organizations that maintain a corporate headquarters outside B.C. are not eligible for the program
Pays taxes in B.C.
Employs between two and 149 people in B.C. for at least four months of the calendar year.
- Employee is defined in Section 1 of the B.C. Employment Standards Act. The program is available to businesses that directly employ between two and 149 B.C. residents for whom they deduct and remit payroll taxes, for at least four months of the calendar year. Self-employed contractors are not included. Where the business owner(s) work in the business without drawing wages and submit their Canada Pension Plan and other contributions through income tax returns, one business owner can count toward the employee requirements of this program
Prior to COVID-19, had positive cash flow for the last financial statement.
Experienced revenue loss of at least 70% during March 2020 and April 2020.
Continue to earn 50% or less of pre-COVID revenue levels.
Has and maintains a payroll account number with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).
- In lieu of maintaining a payroll account number with the CRA, the business may utilize a payroll service provider to make remittances on their behalf
Maintains a:
- Goods and Services Tax number with the CRA
- WorkSafeBC registration number
- Provincial Sales Tax number and Municipal and Regional District Tax number with the Ministry of Finance (where applicable)
- Business licence and all other operating licences as required
Has accessed or applied to access federal supports for which their business is eligible including the:
- Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA)
- Regional Relief and Recovery Fund (RRRF)
- Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) program
Disclose all provincial or federal funding received since March 10, 2020 to support COVID-19 response, restart or recovery efforts.
- Businesses are required to provide specific details for each of the major federal programs they accessed, including:
- Date of application
- Status of application
- Amount received
- Eligible for CECRA or landlord did not apply
Owner(s) have not prepared the business for closure or dissolution following March 10, 2020. For example:
- Announced a permanent closure to their customers
- Held a closing-out sale
- Listed their business for sale
- Given notice to their employees
Tourism grant top-up
Tourism-related businesses can qualify to receive up to an additional $10,000 grant if they meet all the general eligibility criteria and the tourism grant eligibility criteria.
Eligibility criteria
The business can demonstrate that at least 75% of their total demand and revenue comes from visitors to B.C. who are traveling for the purpose of leisure.
- A visitor is an international or non-B.C. resident taking a trip to British Columbia, for a stay of less than six months, for the purpose of leisure travel
- Leisure travel excludes routine trips (those that are made at least once a month), business trips, visits to friends and family and visits made for educational, religious or medical reasons
The business is part of the tourism sector.
- The tourism sector is a business that provides transportation, accommodation, food and beverage services, recreation and entertainment services or travel services
- Accommodation includes hotels, inns, lodges, campsites, recreational vehicle rentals and other similar businesses. It excludes long-term stay, apartment or condominium sub-leases, home-stay arrangements and vacation rentals
How much funding is available?
Both grants are subject to a business meeting eligibility criteria and developing a realistic and implementable recovery plan.
Grants are fully-funded. A business would only need to pay back the funding if any of the information they submitted was untrue, if they did not implement their recovery plan or if they used the funds for purposes that are not eligible under the program.
| Pre-COVID revenue | Grant amount |
|---|---|
| Less than $100,000 | $10,000 |
| $100,000 to $1,000,000 | $15,000 |
| $1,000,000 to $2,000,000 | $20,000 |
| More than $3,000,000 | $30,000 |
| Number of B.C. resident employees | Grant amount |
|---|---|
| 2 to 4 | $5,000 |
| 5 to 149 | $10,000 |
Complete a recovery plan and receive funding
Once your application has been reviewed to ensure that it meets eligibility criteria, Small Business BC will match your business with a professional services provider. They are available to begin their work as soon as you are ready.
- It is expected that recovery plans be developed between the businesses and the professional services provider within two weeks of an initial meeting
A recovery plan contains important information about the steps you plan to take to get your business back on track, both during COVID-19 and longer. It outlines the steps your business can take to support continued operation under the “new normal” conditions of COVID-19 and the timeframe over which those steps would be implemented.
The recovery plan template, guide book and workbook are available by logging into the application
Once your recovery plan is submitted, it will be evaluated to ensure it provides a realistic and implementable path to stabilizing your business and meeting your “new normal” minimum revenue thresholds until COVID-19 is behind us. Once the recovery plan is approved, grant funding will be provided.
