Small and Medium Sized Business Recovery Grant

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.

Last updated: April 1, 2021

On this page:

New program criteria

As of March 4, 2021:

  • The program has been extended to August 31, 2021 or until funds are fully expended, whichever comes first
  • Businesses only need to show a 30% revenue loss from March 2020 to now when compared to the same one-month period in 2019
  • Get help preparing a complete application package from a registered Small Business BC service provider

If you applied to the program prior to March 4, 2021: 

  • You do not need to resubmit an application 
  • Applications received prior to changes will be reviewed under updated program criteria
  • Businesses that have already been approved for funding are not affected by these changes

How the program 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 August 31, 2021 or until the funds are fully expended, whichever comes first.

Application process

Businesses 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.

Information session video

Watch the Small and Medium Sized Business Recovery Grant program information session from March 11, 2021 to learn more about your eligibility, the application and the recovery plan.

Eligibility and document checklist video 

Learn more about program eligibility criteria and how submitting the required documents will help verify your eligibility for the grant.

Determine your eligibility

Review the criteria to determine if your business is eligible for the program. 

Not-for-profit organizations are not eligible.

Base grant

A business must meet all eligibility criteria to receive a base grant.

Please note, seasonal businesses should provide information relevant to their specific business cycle.

 

Eligibility criteria

  • 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 1, 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 1, 2020 
  • The business had at least a 30% revenue loss from March 2020 to present when compared to the same one-month period in 2019
  • The business’s ownership has not prepared the business for closure, dissolution or for sale following February 1, 2020

*Seasonal businesses should provide information relevant to their specific business cycle.

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 business's 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.

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   

What you need to apply

Business will need to complete an online application and upload financial documents.

Required documents

Documents should have names and other personally identifiable information redacted where the business is not authorized to share. 

Please note, seasonal businesses should provide information relevant to their specific business cycle.

 

Unincorporated businesses including sole proprietorships and partnerships

  • T1-T2125 Statement of Business or Professional Activities indicating percentage of ownership
  • Past 24 months actual monthly revenue (18 months for businesses operating less than 24 months). Please include revenue for each month separately. For example:
Actual Monthly Revenue
Month Revenue
Jan 2019 $##,###
Feb 2019 $##,###
Mar 2019 $##,###
... ...
Dec 2020 $##,###
  • Business tax returns from the last two reporting years 2018 (if applicable) and 2019, specifically: 
    • Notices of Assessment
    • The first section of the owners’ T1 return (Form 5010-R)
    • T2125 Statement of Business or Professional Activities
  • If applicable, 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. Include one of the following:
    • T4 Statement of Remuneration Paid
    • PD7A Payroll filing documents
    • Payroll or cheque run
 

Incorporated businesses

  • Shareholder register or Certificate of Incorporation which must specifically include city where B.C. resident shareholders are located.  Include one of the following:   
    • Central Securities Register
    • T2-Schedule 50 Shareholder Information
  • 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). Please include revenue for each month separately. For example:
Actual Monthly Revenue
Month Revenue
Jan 2019 $##,###
Feb 2019 $##,###
Mar 2019 $##,###
... ...
Dec 2020 $##,###
  • Business tax returns from the last two reporting years 2018 (if applicable) and 2019, specifically: 
    • Notices of Assessment
    • The first section of the T2 return (first nine pages)
  • If applicable, 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. Include one of the following:
    • T4 Statement of Remuneration Paid
    • PD7A Payroll filing documents
    • Payroll or cheque run

Download the Required Documents Checklist  (PDF, 75KB)

Step 1: Start your application

Before you begin, confirm your business meets the eligibility criteria and you have the required documents.

If you need help preparing required documents for your application, including language translation and interpretation support, call 1-833-254-4357 or email BusinessRecoveryGrantProgram@gov.bc.ca.

​​Apply for the grant 

Step 2: Complete your recovery plan

A recovery plan is a list of specific actions your business can take to support continued operation under the “new normal” conditions of COVID-19. It must be realistic and easy to put in place. It must explain the timeframe for the action to be complete and how much each action will cost.

Download the Recovery Plan Template (PDF, 997KB)

Options to complete your recovery plan

If your application meets the eligibility criteria, you will have the two options to complete your recovery plan:

  1. Small Business BC will match you with a professional service provider to prepare your recovery plan (government funded up to $2,000 paid to service provider) 
  2. You can prepare your recovery plan with the option to use your own professional service provider. Please note:
  • If you use your own professional service provider, they must register and be confirmed by Small Business BC on the expressions of interest page to receive funding (government funded up to $2,000 paid to service provider) 
  • If you do not use a professional service provider or use an unregistered one service provider funding will not be provided 
 

Qualified professional service provider

A professional service provider must be: 

  • Certified Bookkeeper in good standing with CPB Canada or the Canadian Institute of Bookkeeping (CIB)
  • Certified Professional Financial Planner (CFP) 
  • Practicing Lawyer in good standing with Law Society of B.C. 
  • CPA in good standing with CPA of B.C. 

Submitted recovery plans will be evaluated. If your recovery plan is approved, grant funding will be provided.

Available funding

Grants are fully funded. The grant and tourism top-up are subject to your business meeting the eligibility criteria and developing a recovery plan that you’ll be able to complete.

A business will only need to pay back the funding if: 

  • Any of the information they submit is untrue
  • They do not implement their recovery plan or
  • They use the funds for purposes that are not eligible under the program

Base grant, based on annual revenue
Pre-COVID* annual revenue Grant amount
Up to $100,000 $10,000
$100,001 to $1,000,000 $15,000
$1,000,001 to $2,000,000 $20,000
$2,000,001 to $3,000,000 $25,000
More than $3,000,000 $30,000

*Pre-COVID is the period preceding February 1, 2020.

Tourism grant top-up, based on the number of B.C. resident employees employed or contracted
Number of pre-COVID B.C. residents employed Grant top-up amount
0 to 1 $5,000
2 to 4 $10,000
5 to 149 $15,000

How to use your funding 

Funding can be used to implement the actions identified in your recovery plan. Your actions should be specific to your business recovery. For example, you might propose to:

  • Provide new services to your customers
  • Modify your physical business location
  • Install new outdoor patio with social distancing barriers 
  • Support your business moving online
  • Hire a B.C.-based online marketing service
  • Diversify your business to reach new customers or offer new services (E.g. delivery, new tour packages, new products)
  • Purchase equipment to support a change or improvement to your goods or services 
  • Other actions that support your business recovery

You can include actions in your recovery plan that your business took since the program began on September 17, 2020.

For example: 

  • If you put in plexiglass barriers on September 20, 2020, this action is eligible for compensation and can be added to your recovery plan
 

Sample recovery plan

Recovery Action Weeks/Months to Complete Estimated Cost

Installed plexiglass social barriers on September 20, 2021. Copies of receipt attached.

2 weeks

$5,432.26

Hire a B.C.-based online marketing service.

 6 months $6,000.00

Translated content