PPP Loans - Do You Have Stress or Relief?

PPP loans saved many businesses. And when the second round of PPP lending was announced, a lot of business owners breathed huge sighs of relief. Unfortunately, for some business owners - and the accountants and bookkeepers that support them - this second round has brought more stress than relief. 

Has your second round PPP loan been funded and/or are you helping business owners who already received their funds? Count yourself lucky. This is not the case for many struggling businesses. 

Overall, funding for this round of PPP loans has been extraordinarily slow due to a perfect storm of issues. These factors led initially to an extension of the application deadline and ultimately to your high level of stress.

• When this round opened, there were a number of issues in digital communication between the SBA and lenders, creating a massive road block.
• During and after this digital roadblock, the volume of applications increased far beyond expectations.
• Changes were made, such as Schedule C calculation rules, and many lenders struggled to update their platforms. According to Forbes, Chase bank didn't even announce that it would make the Schedule C changes for their customers until the end of March.
• Volume, volume, volume. Even thought both the SBA and lenders had ramped up infrastructure and customer support teams with aggressive hiring and training programs, the sheer volume of this round has been larger than anticipated by an order of magnitude.
• Finally, to add insult to injury, fraud has been quite prevalent during this round of lending. Not only do fraudulent applications take time away from legitimate applications, but the situation also increases scrutiny on all applications. 

Waiting on your PPP loan?

Here are common areas where your application(s) may still be in process - unfinished application; insufficient documentation; SBA issues including failure to receive an SBA number or having an SBA error or hold; contract not received; funding not received. 

Unfortunately, the resolution of each of these may lie with communicating with your lender, who may have an extremely large customer support queue because of all of the issues above. 

So, if you are one of those that isn't sure when/if your PPP loan will be funded, there is no magic that will get your loan funded. However, here are a few things you can do:

• Try to be patient
• Understand that lenders are as frustrated or more frustrated than you are
• Provide all information requested fully and promptly
• Check the status of your loan in your lender's portal
• Read the information Forbes provided on how to keep your loan application moving and apply the steps they recommend to resolve your loan issue

Finally, please know that you are not alone in this boat. You are in the midst of one of the most difficult years of your career. Keep in mind that even though you are tired and stressed, you will get through this for yourself and your clients.