Payroll giant Paychex is partnering with lenders Biz2Credit, Fundera and Lendio to help small businesses apply for the new funding offered by the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program.
The PPP was included as part of the massive CARES Act stimulus package that Congress passed in response to the coronavirus pandemic, providing loans through the SBA to help struggling businesses that agree to retain their employees. The loans are forgivable as long as the businesses keep their employees on the payroll for a period of time. The program quickly ran out of its initial funding of $349 billion almost as soon as it launched at the beginning of the month, and there were complaints that larger businesses that were well connected with banks were able to get the loans ahead of small businesses.
This week, Congress approved an extra $320 billion and placed more conditions on obtaining the loans. President Trump signed the bill into law Friday, and the SBA plans to resume accepting PPP loan applications at 10:30 AM ET on Monday morning, April 27.
Paychex hopes to make it easier for small businesses to get the loans before the money runs out again. Paychex, in tandem with Biz2Credit, Fundera and Lendio, will help clients prepare applications for submission once the new program funds become available.
“The fact that $349 billion in Paycheck Protection Program loans were allocated in just over two weeks speaks to the critical financial needs America’s businesses continue to have as they do everything they can to stay afloat during this unprecedented uncertainty due to COVID-19,” said Paychex president and CEO Martin Mucci in a statement,. “Like all impacted businesses, our customers are looking to expedite the loan process so that they can cover important expenses like payroll and other operational costs as soon as possible. Some of our customers have found connecting with an SBA-approved lender to be challenging, which is why we’ve joined forces with Biz2Credit, Fundera and Lendio to provide them with access to a ready network of approved lenders to get the loan process underway quickly, should new funds become available.”
Biz2Credit, Fundera and Lendio offer free online systems that enable borrowers to complete loan applications without going into a bank. To start the process, employers looking to connect with approved lenders can visit this paychex.com page, pick one of the three lending networks, fill out a short questionnaire, and securely upload required documentation, which is available via a specially designed Paychex PPP report. Having helped facilitate the distribution of millions of PPP loan dollars already, all three platforms offer similar value with the main difference being the selection of SBA-approved lenders each of them has within its own network. Customers can decide which of the three works best for them, should they have a preferred lender based on research, recommendation, or previous experience.
Paychex isn’t the only payroll company helping small business clients navigate the complex PPP application process. Earlier this month, ADP announced it’s working with the federal government to obtain the relief and it launched an online Guide to the Paycheck Protection Program.
The American Institute of CPAs has also launched a web page with resources on the Paycheck Protection Program geared toward CPAs. The AICPA has also teamed up with a group of payroll and technology companies and organizations, including Paychex, Intuit, the International Franchise Association, Alliance Payroll, Asure Software, BenefitMall, CheckWriters, Council for Electronic Revenue Communication Advancement, EmployCo USA, Green Dot, Gusto, OnPay, National Payroll Reporting Consortium, Paycom, Paylocity, PPI Business Services, PrimePay and Thomson Reuters, in pushing for the SBA and the Treasury Department to use payroll companies’ existing networks to deliver stimulus funds to small businesses (see our story).
Paychex also owns another payroll company, SurePayroll, which is part of the company’s partnership with Biz2Credit, Fundera and Lendio. All PPP-eligible Paychex customers, including customers of subsidiaries SurePayroll, Oasis and Advance Partners, can take advantage of the three online systems.