Is your small business still struggling from the pandemic? This new company can help

Lots of businesses are still struggling to recover from the pandemic, and Jorns & Associates wants them to know there’s help.

The accounting firm started in 2021 to assist businesses filing for the employee retention credit, a tax credit that came out of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.

CEO Justin Jorns said the firm, which is opening a Wichita office downtown next week, has even helped other CPA firms apply for the credits because many do more general accounting work.

“That’s kind of why we decided to jump in and specialize in this.”

There are a lot of nuances to understanding if businesses qualify for the credit.

“It takes a lot of work to dig in and do it right,” said Julie Heang, president.

Her husband, firm COO Tony Swantek, and Jorns met in kindergarten in Pratt.

Jorns has worked as an accountant for Swantek. A discussion of the tax credit led them to form the company.

“Tony’s a serial entrepreneur,” Heang said.

Swantek has started a variety of businesses through the years, including consulting and real estate firms and a food delivery company.

Heang said her husband builds systems, puts people in place and then backs off of day-to-day operations.

Jorns & Associates is one of the biggest businesses they’ve started, she said. It’s grown from the three of them to about 400 employees and serves clients around the country and internationally.

The company has a handful of other offices nationally, but the new Wichita office will be the headquarters. Heang and Swantek are based here because of family in Derby, and Jorns is based in West Virginia.

“In every business that we start,” Heang said, the question is, “How do we bring more value to our clients?”

In this case, she said it’s finding money for people who may not know how or where to look.

Heang said initially, businesses could do either PPP loans or the tax credit, but not both, and many chose the loans.

“That’s what most people did because it was easier.”

For the tax credit, she said, “You have to prove that you were affected by (the) pandemic, and it has to tie to a government order.”

Meaning, was there someone such as a mayor or governor who restricted your operations because of the pandemic?

It’s more complicated than that, though, Heang said.

In some cases, it may be only a portion of a business that was affected. Or perhaps a business was affected by supply chain issues.

“We work very closely — extensively — to understand a client’s business,” Heang said.

“There’s a lot of different ways to qualify,” Jorns said.

For now, the firm is focused mostly on the tax credit, which has deadlines in April 2024 and 2025.

“We’re working on pivoting to some other credits,” Jorns said of what else the firm will offer.

He said the business will expand to other accounting services as well.

For clients needing financial services, he said, “We’re going to try to bring them anything they need.”

Initially, Heang said they looked to lease office space but then decided to buy the former Pixius Communications building at 301 N. St. Francis. She said they’ve spent $1.3 million in renovations.

There’s a grand opening Tuesday.

Heang said there are other firms helping businesses with the tax credit, but she said some of them don’t have accountants or tax attorneys. She stressed that if people take advantage of the program, they need to do their due diligence.

“It’s not quick, easy money,” she said of working with the government and the IRS.

Heang said if the IRS does an audit down the road, it could create problems for businesses that didn’t file correctly.

“I know we do it right,” she said.

“It’s about getting their money, and they can keep it. They don’t need to have to worry about this a few years down the line.”

While PPP loans were from a pool of money that eventually ran out, that’s not the case with the credit.

Jorns said the money can be life-changing for businesses, their families and employees, along with the community as well.

He cautions that not all businesses will qualify for the credit, but he said it is worth looking into.

“The money is there. Business owners just need to go out and get it.”