The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and Biz2Credit announced the launch of a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness platform. The platform, PPPForgivenessTool.com, helps automate the forgiveness process for small business owners who have received PPP funds.
The open platform incorporates AICPA’s loan forgiveness calculator, a template reflecting all current SBA and Treasury guidance on PPP forgiveness. Since April the Loan Amount and PPP Calculators have already been downloaded by tens of thousands of firms. The platform comes free of charge for small businesses and CPA firms applying for forgiveness.
AICPA and Biz2Credit Launch PPP Loan Forgiveness Tool
“We are now incorporating our PPP calculation and process recommendations into a dynamic PPP Forgiveness Tool to help drive a simple and effective forgiveness process,” said Erik Asgeirsson, president and CEO of CPA.com.
the platform works for any business regardless of the lender or bank they worked with to receive the funding. Through it, borrowers or their CPA advisors can log onto the platform to fill out the forgiveness application. In turn, the tool produces all government-mandated forms automatically enabling them to easily navigate the forgiveness process.
Using the platform PPP applicants can generate electronically signed 3508 or 3508 EZ forms along with other required source documents. This platform will complete the forgiveness process by including a downloadable file to lenders. The platform simplifies the process of applying forgiveness by saving time and manual work going through the process.
With the platform payroll providers and others that hold small business data can automate the import of source data they hold. This provides additional speed for business to complete their forgiveness application.
How it Works
Accounting firms, accountants or even business owners can complete their forgiveness applications with relative ease and less paperwork. The platform was developed by Biz2Credit using its proprietary Biz2X Platform.
Certified Personal Accountants (CPA) can sign up to the platform by using their emails and phone numbers and AICPA number. After signing in, a CPA can start on a new forgiveness application from scratch by using the create new client option. They then can fill in the customer’s profile and other relevant information required for the forgiveness application. These include the lender’s name, PPP details, amount of loan, the covered period and others particular.
The platform also integrates a list of lenders from the Small Business administration’s (SBA) website. This helps for an easy, speedy and integrated filling process for applications. Access is also available for the AICPA’s excel calculator to allow for double-checking of figures.
The Loan Amount and PPP Calculators provide a commonly accepted approach to many PPP issues not covered by definitive guidance.
The platform’s dashboard also contains all the loan applications of the CPA’s clients. The platform will produce a finished forgiveness application that a borrower can take right to their lender for submission. Once an application is complete, you can print it with a simple click. The PPP Loan Forgiveness Tool will get an update to reflect any new changes by either the SBA or the Treasury.
“This online platform will produce a finalized forgiveness application that a borrower can take right to their lender for submission without any extra work,” said Biz2Credit CEO Rohit Arora.
PPP Gives Businesses a Leg Up in Difficult Times
The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is part of the Coronavirus Aid under the Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. PPP’s goal is to help small businesses stay afloat during uncertainties in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.
The support package was signed into law in March 2020 to help small businesses with a $349 billion budget. However, borrowers don’t have to pay the loan if they follow guidelines on payroll spending set by the SBA and Treasury Department, which administer the loan program.
Two classes of small businesses are eligible. Business owners with 500 or fewer employees and self-employed entrepreneurs, freelancers or independent contractors.
Loans through PPP on average have a loan size of $113,228 and have 5,458 lenders participating in the program. And the low-interest loans cover up to 10 weeks of payroll expenses and are non-taxable grants. It allows participating banks to make the and later qualify for 100% forgiveness. The loans are eligible for full forgiveness if businesses spend 60% of it on payroll; paying interest for mortgage, rent and utilities.
Initially slated to in June the program has been extended to August 8. The fund has still more than $130 billion available for small businesses. To date, about 4.9 million loans have been provided to businesses. Of which more than $521 billion has been loaned out.
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This article, “AICPA and Biz2Credit Launch PPP Loan Forgiveness Tool” was first published on Small Business Trends