Your guide to Paycheck Protection Program loan eligibility.
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Payroll costs include:
employee salary, wages and commissions; payment of cash tips; payment of vacation; parental, family, medical or sick leave; allowance for dismissal or separation; payment required for group health benefits (including insurance premiums); payment of retirement benefits; or payment of state or local tax assessed on employee compensation; and sole proprietor income or independent contractor compensation not in excess of $100,000.
Payroll costs exclude:
compensation of an individual person in excess of $100,000 (as prorated for the period); federal employment taxes imposed or withheld taxes; compensation to an employee whose principal residence is outside of the U.S.; qualified sick leave for which a credit is allowed under Section 7001 of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act; and qualified family leave wages for which a credit is allowed under Section 7001 of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.
As the small business community continues to navigate through the COVID–19 crisis, loans have never been more urgent. Business owners around the country are lining up for their share of the billions of dollars in emergency government-backed financing that will help them to make it to the other side of the economic downturn with as few battle scars as possible.
Lenders like Funding Circle are among those filling in the gap and making sure that business owners like you gain access to much–needed capital in the most efficient way possible. This is particularly important because some/many banks are limited to serve new customers as a result of the rules of the SBA CARES Act. Fortunately, fintech firms have stepped up, and Funding Circle is ready to process COVID–19 relief loans for small business owners as soon as the government gives the green light — which is expected on April 10th (subject to government approval).
As you prepare to submit your application, there are steps you can take now, not only to make the process go smoothly, but also to give you an idea of what to expect. Below, Funding Circle has built a CARES ACT SBA Paycheck Protection Program Loan Calculator.
The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is a $349 billion lifeboat that’s part of Congress’ Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. It’s an SBA loan available to small business owners like you through any SBA 7(a) lender, such as banks as well as other regulated lenders, including some fintech companies (pending the government approval). The loan can be up to 2.5x your average monthly payroll expenses, up to $500,000 with Funding Circle.
The Paycheck Protection Program, which lasts through June 30, 2020, is meant to incentivize business owners to keep employees on the payroll at the same or a comparable salary. As a result, the features and factors that go into calculating your COVID–19 relief loan — from the amount you can borrow to the amount eligible for forgiveness — is derived based on your monthly payroll expenses for the time period between February 15, 2019 and June 30, 2019.
Indeed, there is a loan forgiveness feature attached to the SBA’s PPP loan, provided you meet the necessary conditions. A portion of the emergency small business loan is eligible for forgiveness by the SBA if you keep your payroll intact for eight weeks (beginning with the date the loan was issued). When calculating the loan forgiveness amount, the sum that qualifies must be directed toward the following expenses:
Please note: the only use of funds eligible for forgiveness include, payroll / employee salaries, mortgage, rent and utility payments. No other use of funds is permitted.
You must provide documents that prove the number of full–time employees you have working for you and their compensation, as well as for your mortgage, rent, lease and utility bills. The SBA has 60 days to decide on forgiveness of the loan.
Given the direct tie to payroll and the unprecedented demand for these government stimulus funds, no more than one–quarter of the forgiven loan amount should go toward non–payroll expenses. The formula used to calculate your forgiveness amount is:
(Payroll costs) + (mortgage interest payments) + (covered utility payments) = the forgivable portion of your loan.
But what’s the size of your loan? That’s where the Funding Circle CARES Act SBA Loan Calculator comes into play.
Payroll is such a broad term. There’s little doubt that you are wondering just like many other business owners like you what this encompasses. Payroll costs include:
The Funding Circle CARES Act SBA Loan Calculator will help you determine the amount you can likely borrow, based on a set of relevant criteria. Below, use the calculator to enter your business information and determine the size of the COVID–19 relief loan you may qualify for:
The Funding Circle CARES Act SBA Loan calculator will walk you through a series of questions, beginning with whether you were in business on Feb. 15, 2020. You will also need to know what your total payroll costs were in the last 12 months.
Based on those criteria, the SBA Loan Calculator will tell you the amount you may qualify for, so you don’t have to do any back–of–the–napkin math on your own.
It calculates your relief loan amount based on 250% of your average monthly payroll expenses. Funding Circle is able to provide loans that would amount from $10,000 up to $500,000 after this calculation. As previously mentioned, these payroll costs consist of wages, tips, health and retirement benefits, and taxes.
Business owners will likely use the average monthly payroll for last year, minus any costs over $100,000 on an annualized basis per employee. Seasonal businesses may choose to use the monthly payroll costs from Feb. 15, 2019, till June 30, 2019 — once again minus any costs over $100,000 on an annualized basis per employee. If you happen to be a new business owner (welcome to the fray), use the period Jan. 1, 2020, till Feb. 29, 2020, to calculate your average monthly payroll, with the same $100,000 per–employee–limit.
PPP small business loans are 100% backed by the government and require There are also no borrower or lender fees required by the SBA. If you receive your loan through Funding Circle, any portion of it that doesn’t qualify for forgiveness will carry an interest rate of 1%. On top of that, you’ll get even more cash flow relief during COVID–19, considering that your first payment isn’t due for six months.
To be eligible for loan forgiveness, you must keep your payroll intact or speedily rehire any employees who were let go as a result of COVID–19. If the number of your staff or their salaries and wages falls, so too will the amount of the business loan that’s forgivable.
Paycheck Protection Program loans issued by Funding Circle will have a term of two years and have a cap of $500,000. Funding Circle urges business owners to apply for a PPP relief loan sooner rather than later, considering that there’s a limit to the amount of funds in the program. Based on the early response from small businesses, funds could run dry by early June unless Congress approves another wave of stimulus funding. With that in mind, you can begin the application process here.
Now is the time to prepare your application so that you’re ready to apply for a PPP loan with Funding Circle when April 10 rolls around (subject to government approval).
What information will I need to complete my application?
The current SBA application estimates the time to complete this application, including gathering data needed, is 8 minutes*. Funding Circle will need the following information in order to grant you a loan:
Additional documentation for payroll verification may be required. We require payroll verification to determine eligibility and size of your loan. Your account manager will reach out to obtain this documentation.
In short, no: It’s not your only option. The SBA is also delivering emergency sources of capital through the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and the Economic Injury Disaster Grant. Business owners can access the application for an EIDL loan for up to $2 million right on the SBA website. The term for the loan is up to 30 years at a fixed interest rate of 3.75% for small businesses / 2.75% for nonprofits. One of the main criteria is that you must employ 500 or fewer people.
You can request an Economic Injury Disaster Grant of up to $10,000 through the EIDL application process with the SBA. The cash grant is forgivable if you direct the funds for acceptable reasons. These reasons include paid leave, payroll expenses, higher costs in the supply chain as a result of COVID–19, mortgage/lease payments, and other bills that can’t be paid as a direct result of revenue loss from the economic shutdown.
Similar to Paycheck Protection Program funds, EIDL loans, and grants are limited in nature, so time is of the essence.
