Urgent: Construction Companies Can Now Use PPP Round 2 Loan For Software Upgrades
If you’re one of the thousands of general or specialty contractors experiencing delayed projects, backlogs, and serious business impacts as a result of the pandemic, this may be one of the most important messages you read this year.
The SBA is currently rolling out a second round of PPP loans, and a significant percentage of that loan can be used to pay for much more than paychecks.
These PPP-2 loans could not only help heavily hit construction businesses to stay afloat, but could also be a great opportunity to upgrade to a robust ERP solution like Sage Construction and Real Estate to streamline their business and save even more money.
Apty called PPP-2, the SBA quietly introduced a line item in their second round of Paycheck Protection Program loans that actually covers software and cloud upgrades.
What Does This Mean?
According to the SBA, qualifying businesses can use up to 40% of these PPP-2 emergency loans for bad credit to cover non-payroll expenses.
Therefore, non-payroll expenses covered by PPP-2 may now include IT and software expenses for business continuity. This includes accounting software, monthly subscriptions for cloud software, and everything in between.
The fine print from the SBA states that 40% of the PPP-2 loan covers “payments for any business software or cloud computing service that facilitates business operations, product or service delivery, the processing, payment, or tracking of payroll expenses, human resources, sales and billing functions, or accounting or tracking of supplies, inventory, records and expenses”.
This is very positive news for construction business owners who may have been planning to make the shift to a new ERP system like Sage Construction and Real Estate, but didn’t pull the trigger due to budgetary concerns.
Delta Constructors case study
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Is My Business Eligible?
In order to be eligible for a PPP-2 loan, your business must meet the following conditions:
- You have received the first PPP loan and spent 100% of it
- Your business was operational before February 15, 2020
- Your business is still open and operational
- You have no more than 300 employees
- If your business has multiple locations, you have no more than 300 employees per location
- You can show a 25% or greater reduction in gross revenue
In addition, this second round of PPP loans is giving first-bid priority to businesses who haven’t yet received any PPP funding – and in particular, woman and minority-owned businesses.
What’s The Deadline To Apply?
Eligible borrowers have until March 31, 2021 to apply for this second round of PPP loans. If approved, you may be eligible to receive 100% loan forgiveness when you meet certain criteria established under the CARES Act (Mar. 27, 2020) and existing SBA rules.
If you’re looking to make an upgrade to your accounting software and would like more information about how Sage Construction and Real Estate can transform the way you do business, get in touch with our team of experts today.
References:
https://www.constructionbusinessowner.com/news/construction-firms-have-received-137b-2021-ppp-loans