Two months into COVID-19 isolation, business closures and stay -at -home orders, Bend businesses are still seeking out relief.

They need to make up revenue losses and now, three weeks into a staggered reopening with reduced operations, they’re charting courses through uncertain scenarios.

The only definite is this: The rules keep changing, from the federal loans and grants designed to help businesses weather the crisis, to the conditions that businesses have to comply with to operate.

By anyone’s definition, it’s not business as usual, said Ben Hemson, city of Bend business advocate.

“The uncertainty of the process is a key concern that many I’ve spoken to have shared,” Hemson said.”Many weren’t certain they’d get a loan because the first round of funding was used so quickly.”

Uncertainty has been shadowing Dudley’s Bookshop Cafe business owner Tom Beans. While the coffee shop portion of his book store business remains closed through July, he’s been driving all his business to book sales.

A Paycheck Protection Program loan was not feasible for Beans as he didn’t have enough work for his employees, but he was successful in obtaining an Economic Injury Disaster Loan, which allows for the business owner to use the funds for inventory purchase and not primarily for payroll.

“I’d rather let them make more money on unemployment,” Beans said. “I needed the flexibility with an (Economic Injury Disaster Loan). I could spend it on inventory.

Just a few weeks into the pandemic, the federal government created programs that allowed small businesses to keep their workers on the payroll or pay rent and other expenses. Throughout the process the terms have changed, money has been delayed and business owners struggle to keep up with the changing terms as the pandemic restrictions continue.

In Oregon, as of May 23, the U.S. Small Business Administration has issued 56,639 loans worth more than $6.7 billion, said Melanie Norton, regional communications director for the Pacific Northwest Region of the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Regional data, however, is not available, Norton said in an email. But there is more than $100 billion available to small businesses in Paycheck Protection Program Loans. Some businesses have taken advantage of a Economic Injury Disaster loan, which is a combination loan and grant program.

Many businesses that have received the loans are unsure what portion is forgivable and under what terms, said Katy Brooks, Bend Chamber of Commerce CEO. Much of the confusion comes from the unknowns of the coronavirus itself and how long communities would be staying home.

“This impacted the amount (businesses) asked for and how they used it, balancing the coverage of salaries of furloughed employees with other costs of closing down,” Brooks said. “With Congress lengthening this time frame, many will find relief in how these funds are utilized, what is ‘forgivable’ in line with what is actually happening on the ground as they reopen.”

As of this week, First Interstate Bank has funded $1.46 billion in Paycheck Protection Program loans for small businesses in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington and Wyoming, said Bill Kuhn, First Interstate Bank market president in Bend in an email. Most of the loans issued by the bank were for about $100,000 and less than $2 million, Kuhn said.

“It was all hands-on deck those first few weeks to ensure small businesses that needed assistance could get a loan before funding ran out,” Kuhn said. “This loan program launched with the added complication of the coronavirus pandemic. To ensure client and employee safety, our branch lobbies were closed and many borrowers were social distancing or staying home.

“We have helped clients complete the entire process online.”

Also helping businesses navigate the complexity of the Small Business Administration loan programs was the Central Oregon Community College Small Business Development Center.

Staffed by seasoned advisers, the free service has helped more than 300 businesses fill out applications and assess their financials to figure out how to stay in business during the early days of the pandemic, said Ken Betschart, director of the Small Business Development Center.

Typically the center helps that many businesses in a year, but they did that kind of work in two months. During the peak of the business shutdown, the center received 70 inquiries a day from weary business owners seeking solutions.

One of the main frustrations for businesses was the delays in processing that put some plans on hold while they await approvals, Betschart said.

“Some have waited as much as five weeks to receive funds from the time of application,” he said. “The funds are not enough to cover a long duration. The longer this goes on, it’s obvious that these funds won’t be enough.”

Metolius Tea sought help from the center. Founder Amy Stahl not only has normal business deadlines, but she also has a real life deadline: She will give birth in early July.

“The (center) has been an amazing resource,” Stahl said. “They should have gold medals. They helped me understand.”

With the help of the center’s advisers, Stahl processed her Paycheck Protection Program loan and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan and got advice on how to pivot her business from predominantly wholesale to online and retail.

“The second we got the stay -at -home order, we had to go into emergency mode,” Stahl said. “I had 10 employees. We laid them all off. It was traumatic.”

Now eight weeks later, she’s trying to stock her shelves with product, so she’s recalled most of the staff. Her bottom line depends upon using the paycheck loan as a grant since she brought back workers, which is one of the conditions.

“We’ve been able to rebuild the team,” Stahl said. “The (Paycheck Protection Program) loan is a one -size -fits -all sock, but it doesn’t work for all business models. We’ve been lucky; it has been working really well for us.

“The silver lining has been that we’ve had the opportunity to rebuild from scratch. We’ve trimmed off all expenses. It has been healthy to rebuild.”