PPP/CARES Update: 4/21

(Don’t know what the PPP is? Read this first.)

Good news: the Senate passed another coronavirus relief package today, and the latest estimates are that there may be additional funds approved by Congress as early as Thursday. Even if there’s a delay, it’s looking like the PPP will be restarted within the next week. 

What this means for you:

• If you haven’t already applied for a PPP loan and you intend to, get started now. Once you submit your application to your lender, they need to process and review it on their side before submitting it to the SBA, and that takes time. 
  
• The program is expected to continue on a first-come, first-served basis, so it pays to act quickly. If your application is already reviewed and ready on the lender’s side, they can (at least in theory) submit it as soon as the PPP opens up again.
  
• It’s not clear yet what the total amount will be for additional funds, but the Senate package contained $320B for the PPP. That’s similar to the original amount, which ran out in 13 days. There’s no reason to think the second round will last longer (if anything, now that more lenders are online and they’ve had time to process a larger backlog of applications, it could even run out more quickly.)
  
• Many lenders are only accepting PPP applications from existing clients. If using your current lender isn’t possible (or if you just don’t think they’ll get it together in time), Carta is taking PPP applications through its partnership with Coastal Community Bank. You can learn more at their site: carta.com/sba-ppp-loans

Of course, none of this is finalized yet and in theory any of this could change if Congress makes alterations to the PPP process or requirements. Right now, though, it’s looking likely that things will stay the same or similar to the original run. As always, we’ll keep you updated when we know more.

If you haven’t claimed the R&D tax credit for your startup, you should take a serious look at it, since companies can get back up to $250k in payroll tax credits. Pilot has produced a guide on the topic, and a service to help claim the credit. And of course, if you need help with bookkeeping, tax prep, or CFO services, please get in touch.