Have you already applied for the benefits?

To everyone of the business owners, who is in trouble from the COVID19. Have you already applied for the benefits?

I recently accompanied one of the clients to the Application Support Center of two subsidies; "Sustainability Benefits" https://www.jizokuka-kyufu.jp/ and "Rent Assistance Benefits" https://www.jizokuka-kyufu.jp/, to support the applications.


In fact, until now, I have been helping most of my clients with applying for Sustainability Benefits in following way;
(1) I prepare the documents that need to be newly created and email them to you.
(2) We review other required documents you already have such as prior years' tax returns over the phone together.
(3) I inform you of the benefit website and you apply online yourself.
(4) A while after you apply, I'll get a call from you happily saying that "The subsidy has been transferred! Thank you for your help!".
That is how I was doing it.

However, the client I accompanied this time was a French (who was OK with daily conversation in Japanese). He has renting two properties. He established his company in 2019, so "Application for the Special Exception for Business Start-up" will be applied to both of two benefits in this case. It was more difficult than the typical case.
As he ended up giving up reading the complicated manuals, which were difficult to decipher even for Japanese, I decided that he needed more attentive support than usual.

By the way, any tax accountant may not apply for these benefits on your behalf. Either the owner or an employee of the company must apply for the benefits. Also, it takes more than two weeks for Sustainability Benefits and more than four weeks for Rent Assistance Benefits to be transferred from the time you apply for them. If there are any mistakes, you must apply again and wait for the same period again.
This client was already suffering from cash shortage when he requested the support. I wanted to make sure he received his benefits as soon as possible, so I prepared the paperwork in advance and went to the application support center with him.
Application support centers for both benefits are located around the country for people who do not have access to a computer or other equipment at home or who find it difficult to apply online by themselves. You are required to make an appointment in advance by phone or online and bring all the necessary documents with you.

[Sustainability Benefits] Sapporo Park Hotel (Nakajima Park)
			

				https://www.jizokuka-kyufu.jp/support/
			
			
It was written on the website; "In principle, come alone to avoid the venue to be crowded, please." So, I called the office beforehand and got approval that a tax accountant would accompany the foreign client. We arrived 30 minutes before the appointment time, but the venue was not busy, and our turn came right away.
Disinfected with alcohol at the reception. Temperature check at forehead. Submitted his ID and other documents that were brought. As this is a special application for the 2019 founding of a business, the official was a little bit confused, but the experienced-like official helped us out and everything went almost well. It took about 20 minutes to submit all the paperwork. The official told me, "We'll scan your documents and register your information here, please come back in 30 minutes." We left the room for a while.
We waited for 30 minutes in the lobby of the Park Hotel chatting in an elegant and enjoyable manner, and then went back to the venue. We disinfected with alcohol again and sat down. We checked the information on the PC screen entered by the official to make sure it was correct. Finally, the client pushed the

"apply" button and it was done. Everyone at the venue was kind. Thank you!
When we left the hotel, it was a little before 3pm. What? It took me an hour and a half? We took the subway to the application site for the Rent Assistance Benefits in a hurry.

[Rent Assistance Benefits] TKP Sapporo Business Center (Sapporo Station, Exit 9)
			

				https://yachin-shien.go.jp/support/index.html
			
			
The website instructed us to come 10 minutes before the appointment, but we jumped in just in time. (If you are more than 15 minutes late, the appointment will be automatically cancelled. Please be careful.)
Disinfected with alcohol at the reception desk. The forehead temperature was checked. Here was also empty and we were seated right away. All the officials were very friendly. As this was also a special case for the 2019 establishment, the experienced official supported us again. We had to explain the situation a bit as well, but things went well for the most part. We were told that "We will scan your documents and register your information here, so please wait here for a while."
We were shown to chairs in the venue, even though it was not a lobby like the Park Hotel. As we were chatting nicely for 30 minutes drinking bottles of water, which we bought there, we were called.
As with the Sustainability Benefits, I mentioned earlier, after checking the information on the PC screen, the client pressed the "apply" button and it was done. It took from 3:30 p.m. to a little before 5:00 p.m., so it took an hour and a half as well.
The support centers for the two benefits are all remarkably similar in terms of setting up the venue, format of the materials to be prepared in advance, and arrangement of the information on the computer screen. It seems that the expertise of the Sustainability Benefits that started ahead of time is being applied to the Rent Assistance Benefits 
It was exhausting for both the client and me after hustling through two venues on a hot day, but if I think that sizable sum of money will be transferred to the client's account in a few weeks' time, it gets rid of fatigue.

The contact information for those who do not know how to apply is on the respective benefit websites, so if you can do it on your own, good luck!
But if you need help, please feel free to contact me. I'm quite fully booked now, and you may have to wait a little while. If you have completed your tax return, which is required to apply for benefits, supporting with applying for benefits will be free of charge. If you need to file a tax return, the cost to prepare for it will be charged, but the process of benefit application will be free of charge.
In tough times, we should help each other. Let us work together to get through this difficult time!