A Guide to PPP Loans For Americans

Did you know that the United States Small Business Administration approved tens of thousands of PPP loan applications? Collectively, these loans represented more than $5 billion. The system for PPP loan approval for Americans has certainly been a success. In some cases, people get PPP loans regardless of credit. Although this can be more difficult, there are a lot of tips that people use to increase their chances of success. The more you know about PPP loan eligibility, the more successful you will be able to make your application. So how exactly can you make the most of PPP loan options? Read on to learn all about PPP loan approval and what it can do for you!

Who Is Eligible for PPP Loan Financial Help? 

Knowing exactly who is eligible for a PPP loan can be complicated. Things get even harder because the rules change somewhat frequently.

Initially, businesses that had not been affected too much by the pandemic were not eligible. However, many small business owners have found that their revenues dropped off significantly in 2020.

In general, if your business suffered a loss of revenue of 25% or more, it might make you eligible for a PPP loan.

At the same time, there are exceptions. Businesses that are related to politics and lobbying are usually not eligible for PPP loans. The same applies to any businesses that are strongly linked to people holding high political offices, like any member of Congress and the president and vice president.

Businesses that are publicly traded are also generally not eligible.

There is another important piece of information that affects whether your business could be eligible for the Paycheck Protection Program. If your business was not open before February 15, 2020, then it is not eligible for a PPP loan, no matter what else is true about it.

What Small Business Tools Are Available in the PPP Landscape? 

The smaller your PPP loan is, the less paperwork you may have to deal with. In fact, Congress is offering PPP forgiveness for loans of less than $150,000.

Applying for PPP loan forgiveness for such small loans can be as simple as filling out a one-page application.

Apply For Your Financial Aid as Soon as Possible 

The first time that Paycheck Protection Program loans started up, many banks delayed before opening up applications. That let some of the hype die down, and some people were caught flat-footed once applications opened up. Other people quickly snatched up all of the available funds.

Businesses that moved more slowly often found that there were no loans available for them. The lesson that we can learn from this is clear. Make sure to keep careful track of when loan applications are available.

Once applications are available, you should jump on them as quickly as possible. In order to be able to do so, you should be prepared in advance.

Prepare Your Documents 

You’re going to need to have a lot of information about your business in order to apply for a PPP loan. One of the most important things you will need is proof that your revenue dropped by at least 25% in 2020.

On top of that, you will need to know exactly what your payroll costs are. You may need to prove this using multiple documents. You can use payroll records, tax filings, bank records, and more.

Know About Forgiveness Rules

Not everybody realizes just what a great deal the PPP loan program can be. In particular, people are not aware that they can get PPP loan forgiveness.

A loan can always be valuable, but combining it with loan forgiveness makes it even better. In other words, instead of being a loan, all of that money can turn into a simple gift to your business.

That is an incredibly good deal, so it is worthwhile to know how you might be able to get it. Businesses can be eligible for loan forgiveness if their loan funds were spent within 24 weeks of receiving them and if they applied for forgiveness within 10 months.

In general, the more of the PPP loan that you spent on payroll costs, the better. After all, that is the whole point of the PPP program. It is about protecting the paychecks of employees.

Don’t Depend Only on Banks

Some business owners were not able to get PPP loans through their normal banks. As we saw before, many banks waited a while before offering loan applications.

When this happens, you shouldn’t just give up and blame it on the bank. Instead, you should try to find other ways to acquire PPP loans. Banks are not the only lenders offering applications for PPP loans. 

Know All About PPP Loan Approval for Americans

We hope that you were able to take away something helpful from this brief article on a few of the most important things to know about PPP loan eligibility. Acquiring PPP loans regardless of credit is possible, but it certainly helps to know what you are doing.

It can seem daunting at first to learn about everything that relates to PPP loan approval for Americans. However, the more you learn about the process and how they decide who receives loans, the higher the chance that you will succeed.

That makes learning as much as possible about the process an investment. It will more than pay for itself when you are enjoying the benefits of a PPP loan.

To learn more about PPP loans and other aspects of a successful financial strategy, check out our other articles!