You may have heard that the Small Business Administration (SBA) has run out of money to fund the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. In other words, at least for the time being, the COVID-19 Small Business Relief Funds have been exhausted.
Congress is currently working on another appropriation to pick up where these funding plans left off. If you’ve already applied for funds, we urge you to continue on that path—at such time that funds are replenished, you will be better positioned to maintain your place in line with that lender or agent.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t pursue additional PPP funding paths to increase your opportunities in accessing funds. We offer the same advice for those who have started the application process with any lender. We encourage you to stay the course as new funds are likely to be appropriated in the coming days or weeks.
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What to expect over the next few days
We anticipate the processing for PPP funds will likely slow across the board over the next few days—lenders may continue to accept applications in hopes of helping more small businesses, though they may not be ready to take immediate action in approving them.
We encourage you to be patient with lenders and agents as they work through applications and determine next steps. They understand the role your businesses play in the economy and are as motivated to make funds available as you are eager to receive them.
We are following this situation closely and will share any information we receive to help you navigate what comes next.
What should you do in the meantime?
Here’s what we suggest you do to be best prepared for when additional funds become available:
- Make sure your bookkeeping is up to date and gather documents lenders may need to verify PPP eligibility and funding amount. Read more about the PPP application here.
- Join Nav’s Facebook group to stay up to date on PPP fund availability and join more than 10,000 other small business owners in discussing potential paths to funding.
- On April 14, the SBA shared additional guidance regarding the PPP loan application process for self-employed individuals. It’s safe to assume that these same requirements will apply as new funds are allocated. If you are self-employed, you can learn more about those requirements here.
- We encourage you to reach out to you representatives in Congress to encourage them to allocate additional funds sooner rather than later.
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We’re still in this together
Although COVID-19 small business relief funds are exhausted, we are committed to providing accurate, timely, and candid information to help you access the capital you need to weather the coronavirus storm. We will make any updates available as we receive them.
This article originally appeared on Nav.com by Ty Kiisel
