I’m always so grateful to have participated in the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program – never more so than the last month. In addition to all of the knowledge I gained when I was in the program, they have been providing us access to up to the minute information regarding programs for small businesses. I just got off of a webcast with Senators Rubio and Cardin about the Payroll Protection Loans. I’m not going to go into in-depth information, but I did want to share a few key takeaways. As always, if you have questions, contact me through the contact form.
My takeaways:
- SBA should have things squared away to start the loan program by 4/3, if not sooner.
- Apply through a bank you have an existing relationship with, if possible, as they will already have a lot of the information needed to ascertain if you qualify for the program.
- The qualifications are easy – don’t be afraid that you’re not going to qualify or that you’re going to have to jump through a bunch of hoops. Basically, if you are a legitimate business, you’ll qualify. The federal government is just using the banks to process the paperwork – there is no risk (and therefore no underwriting) for the “lending” institutions.
- Most of these “loans” can be forgiven, and that forgiven amount does NOT count as taxable loan forgiveness income. (Not an accountant, but that was my takeaway.)
- If this doesn’t get better in the next couple of months, expect another round of funding.
- There are 4 primary funding options right now. I think this explains most of them. Also check out sba.gov for more information.
Those are the primary things that stood out to me. There are a lot of articles online with a lot more details than I’ve provided here about the nuts and bolts. Here are a few:
How Paycheck Protection Loans Are Different Than Traditional 7(a) SBA Loans
Summary of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (about halfway down the page)
Everything You Need to Know to Get Your Business Loan Forgiven