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Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →When a crisis threatens your small business, first protect people, identify the work that must continue, and get a clear picture of your cash and obligations. Then communicate with employees and customers, use a continuity plan to guide decisions, and check official sources before pursuing assistance. COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) are closed to new applications; current SBA disaster loans are separate programs with their own eligibility rules.
What should a small business do first during a crisis?
Use the first hours to establish what is happening, who is responsible for decisions, and which essential services are at risk. The right response depends on the disruption—such as illness, a technology outage, a supply interruption, or physical damage—so avoid assuming that one pandemic-era measure fits every crisis.
- Protect people. Address immediate health and safety risks, and tell employees how to get reliable updates and report urgent needs.
- Assign a response lead. Name the person authorized to coordinate decisions and a backup in case that person is unavailable.
- Identify critical work. List the functions, systems, suppliers, and records required to serve customers and meet essential obligations.
- Check cash and near-term commitments. Use current revenue, expense, account, and payment records to understand what is due and when.
- Communicate the next update. Tell employees, customers, suppliers, and other affected parties what is known, what is changing, and when they can expect another update. Do not promise a reopening date or service level you cannot support.
The SBA’s Manage your business resource brings together management, preparedness, recovery, accounting, and counseling information. It also advises that a continuity plan can help minimize financial loss when a disaster occurs.
Make a continuity plan that people can use
A continuity plan is a practical guide for keeping essential functions going or restoring them after disruption. It should be accessible to the people responsible for using it and tailored to the business—not a document that only one person knows exists.
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Record what must keep running
- List the products or services, customer-facing channels, and internal processes that are essential.
- For each function, note who is responsible, who can cover, what tools or records are needed, and which suppliers or other dependencies are involved.
- Identify likely interruptions and realistic alternatives, such as a backup contact method or a substitute supplier. Choose alternatives that actually fit your business.
Set out decisions and recovery priorities
Write down who can make time-sensitive decisions, how the team will share updates if normal systems are unavailable, and which operations should be restored first. Include where essential contacts and records can be reached. Keep the plan available in a form people can access during the disruption.
Practice and revise it
Walk employees through the plan and practice likely scenarios so responsibilities are understood before they are needed. After an exercise or real disruption, update unclear steps, outdated contacts, and recovery options that did not work as expected. The SBA’s business management and recovery resources provide further planning guidance.
Stabilize finances with facts, not guesses
Track current revenue and expenses, then use your records to map cash on hand, incoming payments, required operating costs, and upcoming obligations. This helps you see the timing and scale of a shortfall; it does not guarantee that any particular cost-cutting, borrowing, or payment tactic will solve it.
- Bring bookkeeping and account records up to date enough to support decisions.
- Separate immediate obligations from costs that can be reviewed or rescheduled, and confirm terms directly with the relevant party before changing a payment.
- Document lost access, damage, or interruptions if they may be relevant to an insurance claim or a disaster-assistance application.
- Use a qualified adviser or small-business counselor when you need help interpreting your financial position or evaluating options. SBA’s management resource includes counseling and accounting information.
Can you still apply for a COVID-19 EIDL?
No. The SBA says applications for new COVID-19 EIDL loans and advances ended January 1, 2022. Increase and reconsideration processing ended May 6, 2022, and the COVID-19 RAPID portal closed May 16, 2022. These are historical program deadlines, not current application windows. COVID-19 EIDL loans are not forgivable and must be repaid.
If you already have a COVID-19 EIDL, the SBA still provides borrower servicing and payment-assistance information on its COVID-era programs page. Existing borrowers should use that page and the SBA’s contact routes for current instructions about their loan. Do not rely on old application links or assume a past relief program has reopened.
How current SBA disaster loans differ from COVID relief
SBA disaster loans are separate from the closed COVID-19 EIDL program. Availability and eligibility depend on the particular declared disaster, the applicant, and the impact. Start with the SBA’s Disaster assistance page to check current declarations and available application routes.
| Assistance category | What it addresses | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Business physical-damage assistance | Eligible physical damage associated with a declared disaster. | Whether a relevant declaration applies, whether the business and damage meet program requirements, and the current terms and application route. |
| Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) | Eligible working-capital needs tied to a declared disaster. SBA describes economic injury in terms of difficulty meeting financial obligations and regular, necessary operating expenses—not simply lower sales or profits that were expected but not earned. | Whether the business meets the location and direct-impact conditions, along with the program’s other eligibility requirements and current terms. |
These categories have separate eligibility tests and terms; neither guarantees assistance to every business affected by lower sales. Read the SBA’s current Economic Injury Disaster Loans information and verify the specific declaration and eligibility rules before applying. For questions, use the SBA’s official contact page rather than relying on an old COVID relief contact or an unofficial application site.
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If a YouTube channel is one of your business’s essential customer or community channels, include it in your continuity plan: decide who can access it, where the stream key is managed, and what content is authorized for use. For a channel that needs prerecorded videos to loop as a 24/7 YouTube stream, StreamNeo is a cloud option: upload a recording or build a playlist, add your YouTube stream key, and go live. It keeps the stream running without a computer or home connection staying on; it plays uploaded videos, not a live camera feed.
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Or let it run in the cloud
StreamNeo can keep a prerecorded YouTube stream going with your computer off, stream uploaded video at its original quality up to 4K 60fps for one flat price per slot, and automatically recover if YouTube drops the stream. The first day is free with no card. Monthly service is $9.99 per month. Upload your video, add the YouTube stream key, and go live. Start the free day with StreamNeo.
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