Philly-area small business owners on getting PPP coronavirus loans: A 'great American hoax' or the biggest rescue ever?
"Today was the first day,"
Only a minority of the approved borrowers had received their checks, but Hill said that number should rise fast, now that SBA has streamlined the process and the
The checks could mark a turning point in efforts to rescue small businesses from the economic carnage wrought by the coronavirus.
So far, the results have been bizarre, hopeful, and uneven, with some successes and more horror stories. Larger companies appear to be getting loans approved first, based on interviews with local entrepreneurs.
There are at least two ways businesses can get emergency funds through the SBA.
The other way is through the
Businesses and nonprofits are applying for PPP loans of up to
Some in the
But after applying in late March, she still didn't have the cash in hand.
"We have not heard a response from the SBA," she said Thursday. "We submitted the SBA
Foster credited her bankers for also applying for the much larger PPP.
"We are very lucky to be a customer of
PPP loans will be forgiven if used for payroll, rents, utilities, and debt service.
Here's a sample of other business owners and their experiences applying for SBA loans.
The board of the popular kids' museum in
On Wednesday, as directors -- including several
As of Thursday, the money still hadn't arrived, but Wellenbach had her approval in hand, and was confident.
She credited a group of lawyers specializing in PPP loans at
Raju said his team pored over details of the new stimulus law and worked closely with Emigrant to assure the bank of what payroll records and other requirements it would need to approve loans like the one to Please Touch. "It is confusing to many people," he said. "Professional assurance really seems to help get these done in a timely way."
As of Wednesday, 1SEO's
"I worked day and night with my CFO and my accounting firm
"I got approved and it's possible that it's because my company has been around for years," he said, adding that bankers are "telling me there's a lot of fraud out there," which may account for the foot-dragging.
"This made my relationship with my bank better," Bachmann said. "I have a better opinion of bankers now than before. I'm bringing back the 10 people we laid off."
Why haven't more companies gotten approved?
"The bank is getting 5% in fees," he said. "So they're starting with the largest amounts and working their way down.
Banks do receive a 5% fee but only on loans below
The SBA approved Corporate Interiors' loan application through
"They approved our loan and provided our financial institution with the [PPP] loan number" on Wednesday, after a week, Leone said.
According to Corporate Interiors CFO
"There were shifting definitions of what was the right amount, because the stimulus package initially wasn't clear" on who counted as full time employees, Rauch said.
Leone leads Corporate Interiors, a
"While I believe the basic intentions and dedication of many of the people trying to make this work is admirable, they are in over their heads and the weeks of denial, and the lack of preparation is showing," said
Bertin has completed the updated "streamlined application" for the PPP loan. "It was very easy, user-friendly and took less than 10 minutes, and once completed it took me to a screen with my application number," he said.
But still no money.
"Another very confusing statement is that funds will be made available within three days of a successful application," Bertin said. "Today is day 4 for me, so I was getting very concerned. I called their help line ... 800-659-2955, actually got through to a live person within about five minutes. She ... explained to me that it takes two to three weeks to review and process the application. If and when it's approved, the money is then disbursed within three days."
He was confused by the timeline. "I and perhaps many others would interpret 'successful application' as meaning the application went through, was successfully submitted and I have an application number," he said. "They should make it crystal clear that the review process takes weeks."
Dave Evasaw is hoping for a cash advance on his EIDL application. But he got a different story on the phone with the SBA.
An agency supervisor "told me that the SBA gets to choose the amount of the advance," Evasaw said. "I pointed out that Page 68 of the law. He said that the SBA is choosing the amount. I said regardless of the fact that the new procedures rate
He is resorting to paying for expenses on credit cards.
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"We lost over
As for the
"We can expect it in 3-to-4 weeks, if they find my application," he said. "The SBA has changed the laws at their own discretion to the detriment of small businesses everywhere. Many banks can't access it because they have to manually enter a full year's worth of payroll data into the system and the government hasn't given out enough portal accounts to the banks to accomplish it at any scale."
"I am doing this for my husband's small business in
"People will start to get crazy if you cannot even give them the courtesy of an update, some way of seeing, 'yes, I have the application and yes, it will come eventually,'" she said.
"I've called the SBA almost every day and they now just say they are unable to give any information on the status of the loan," Stewart said Wednesday.
"They were taking [loan applicants] in order of when you applied but not sure anyone there knows what is actually going on," she said. "They are reaching out in 7-10 business days. Tomorrow will be 10 business days for me after filling out the streamlined application. It's the great American hoax."
In a weekend snap survey of the Business for Responsible Tax Reform's small business network, 21% of the more than 500 respondents said they can wait only a week or less for a loan to arrive before their business fails. A full 75% said they can wait for a month or less before their business fails.
In response to the delays, Sen.
"
New lenders report that "registering under PPP seems to be unworkable. Lenders have also not been able to access the
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