Monday, April 12, 2021
"This is an awesome opportunity," said James Shepherd, president of CCSalesPro, and co-host of the Merchant Sales Podcast. "The federal government has an enormous amount of money it's pumping into the market." ISOs, merchant level salespeople and other small businesses that fail to take advantage of this government largesse "are leaving so much money on the table."
And there is no shortage of companies willing to help. Womply, the CRM and marketing automation company, reports that it helped more than 100,000 businesses garner PPP loans in March. "That's more approvals than any individual lender, proving the power of our technology and our lender network," the company noted in a recent email.
In an effort to get more small businesses on board, Womply recently offered $200 to clients for each small business or independent contractor they refer to the company's PPP application process.
Blue Acorn, a digital customer experience company, created a platform specifically to help independent contractors, like many MLSs, cash in on the PPP. "We've really streamlined the application process," said Matt Mandell, PPP expert at Blue Acorn.
The PPP was developed to help American businesses hard-hit by Covid-related restrictions and shut downs to keep employees on payroll. First introduced in March 2020 as part of the CARES Act, the program offers up to 24 weeks of cash flow assistance through Small Business Administration-backed loans. Most, if not all funds received can be forgiven, provided the money is used primarily to fund payrolls.
The first round of funding -- $349 billion – quickly ran out, gobbled up by many larger firms. So Congress approved an additional $310 billion in funding, which lasted through early August 2020. Then, in the waning days of 2020, Congress approved another economic stimulus package, and restarted the program with $282 billion in additional funding.
Congress also created a two-week priority application window for businesses with fewer than 20 employees. That window, which closed on March 9, was in direct response to complaints that larger companies had gobbled up much of the initial PPP funding.
Congress continues to tinker with the PPP, including a slew of changes that took effect last month. For example, the loan formula was adjusted to offer higher loan amounts to sole proprietors. The loan forgiveness application process also was streamline, making it easier for businesses that received PPP loans of $150,000 and under to have their loans fully forgiven.
The PPP Extension Act, signed into law last month, keeps the program open until May 31. And the American Rescue Plan, also signed into law in March, allocated $7.25 billion in additional funding for the program.
As of April 5, the SBA reported $68 million remained in the current funding pool. "It only takes five to 15 days to complete the process and get money into your bank account, and it's forgivable," Shepherd said.
"The SBA estimates that the current [PPP] funding should last through the end of April," Mandel said during a webinar recently hosted by Shepherd. "The faster you get your application in the faster funds are secured."
The application process is pretty simple, Mandel said, adding that businesses and individual contractors who failed to secure loans under the original program qualify and tap into the current funding pool, which second time borrowers can access too.
Mandel said Blue Acorn's experience suggests that for an independent contractor applicant, $10,000 of income reported on Schedule C of their 2019 or 2020 federal tax return will translate to $2,000 in PPP round one funding.
To qualify for a second round of PPP funding, the business or individual contractor needs to show a 25 percent revenue loss during any one quarter or the entirety of 2020. 
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