5 Places to Get Answers to PPP and EIDL Questions

5 Places to Get Answers to PPP and EIDL Questions

5 Places to Get Answers to PPP and EIDL Questions

Covid relief loans, such as the Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Plan (PPP) loans, have provided millions of businesses with critical funding. But with hundreds of pages of ever-evolving guidance about these loans and grants, it’s no surprise that many business owners find themselves confused and unsure where to turn for help with their PPP and EIDL questions.

At Nav, we’ve written extensively about both the Paycheck Protection Program and EIDL, and as a result, we’ve responded to hundreds of questions about these programs. Some of these questions are easy to answer, for example: 

“Can I get a PPP loan if I am an independent contractor?”
Answer: Yes, based on income reported on your Schedule C tax form.

“How can I apply for the Targeted EIDL grant?”
Answer: You must wait for the SBA to email you to apply. You will only get an invitation if you applied for an EIDL grant in 2020.

Others can be more complicated, such as this one we recently received on our blog: 

“I am a 100% owner of an S Corporation and I take a paycheck. I am trying to apply for the 2nd PPP loan, but the bank is asking for Q1 2020 Form 941 to show number of employees and to see if I was in business. I was in business for all of 2020, but did not take a paycheck for Q1 2020, so I reported a zero on Form 941. Since there was no payroll for January-March 2020, but I am using my 2019 numbers to apply, will this zero return disqualify me for the 2nd PPP round? My gross sales were down the required 25%.”

(Note: We don’t have all the answers. For that question, we encouraged our reader to explore some of the options below.)

If you’re looking for answers to your EIDL and PPP questions, here are five places to get help:

1. Your Lender

If you have submitted your PPP loan application, specific questions about your application should be directed to your lender. Of course, most lenders are dealing with massive loan volume and some are more responsive to borrower questions than others.

Try to be patient and respond to requests for more information—even if it seems redundant. (They are dealing with changing guidelines, too.) Your lender will ultimately be responsible for shepherding your application through the process. 

If you applied for an EIDL or the Targeted EIDL Advance, questions should be directed to the Small Business Administration (SBA) since they makes these loans and grants. 

2. Your Local SBA Office

The SBA has offices across the country, and many have been holding events to answer small business owner questions about Covid loans and other relief programs. These offices can be a helpful source of information and assistance if you have PPP and EIDL questions. Find your local SBA office here

3. SBA Resource Partners

Taxpayer dollars help fund valuable programs that may be useful as you try to navigate the economic crisis. SBA resource partners include:

Individuals involved with these organizations have worked tirelessly over the past year to help small business owners take advantage of federal relief programs. As an added bonus, they may be able to direct you to state or local grants and assistance programs.  Find your local SBA resource partners here

4. Your accounting professional

There are several reasons why accounting professionals can be crucial to helping you get a Covid-relief loan or grant: 

  • To apply for a PPP loan or EIDL, you should have completed your tax returns. 
  • Your application may require calculations (such as reductions in revenues) that you may not be comfortable calculating yourself. 
  • PPP forgiveness applications can be incredibly challenging, even for the most detail-oriented entrepreneur. Your bookkeeper or accountant may be able to help, or refer you to someone who can. (Accounting professionals may have access to forgiveness calculation software programs.)

Understand that this year is already crazy busy for bookkeepers and accountants, so try to be understanding and patient with your requests for help. Getting your financial information organized will allow them to help you more effectively, so make sure you’ve done your part! 

5. Other business owners

Shortly after the CARES Act passed in March 2020, Nav created a Facebook group for business owners to ask questions and share experiences with EIDL and PPP. It exploded. Business Loan & Financing Insight Hub – PPP, EIDL and More on Facebook now has nearly 20,000 members, many of whom share their experiences with these programs.

Of course, you want to be very careful about taking advice from a Facebook post, but one thing many business owners have found helpful about that community is hearing from others about their progress getting funding through these stimulus programs.

This article was originally written on June 4, 2021 and updated on July 29, 2021.

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23 responses to “5 Places to Get Answers to PPP and EIDL Questions

  1. L sighed my paperwork but my bank status keep telling me to update bank information and I have but my status doesn’t change.

      1. My loan has been approved but it’s saying that it has not been dispersed. It’s been like that for a while now. I dont now who I could talk to so they can deposit it to my account. Any suggestions? Thanks Brad

  2. My ppp loan was returned by my bank ( Chime ) yesterday, am I able to still receive the funds through a different bank account? I’m I still eligible for the loan? How much longer would I have to wait. I got approved May 22,2021

    1. I signed document on May 27th how long it going to takwe for my funds to hit my bank account

  3. I left a message about my SBA loan saying that there was something in my criminal background they are making a mistake is there somebody that can help me my family business has been over 50 years last year Tiffany down because I covid I could get no help I’m a sinking ship right now

  4. I applied for a PPP loan through blue acorn sopospably it was approved by SBA since
    March but haven’t gotten my fund where do I check. Blue acorn doesn’t answer phone calls.

      1. I recieved my first draw with my pop, funds had ran out but my status was submitting to lender , which is Harvest waiting on my 2nd draw everything is in the green with womply.

      2. I applied, got approved, signed my documents and never received funds. Are there any other people that are having this issue. How can I find out what’s going on?

    1. I need help I applied for the SBA loan they have asked me for every piece of documentation that they can now they’re saying my 2019 and my schedule C does not match well I did not file a 1099 when I found my 2019 so I paid my tax preparer to do my schedule C and they are saying that now they need for me to do a business profit and loss form should I continue trying

  5. Yes I need help but fast to keep from shutting down. In business. 15 yrs have not Worked in 15 Months the charter. Bus was stop March. 20 20. I sold 1 bus. 2 cars. And Pawn my Home to live now do not have Money to start back up. I really need help as others dp

    1. I applied on April 30th, its now June 9th. My status on my ppp loan is lender submitting for almost a week now. Why is it taking yhe SBA so long to approve my loan, when others came after me and have already gotten theirs.

        1. You list the debts your business owes (or that you owe on behalf of your business). If you are having trouble filling it out, one of the SBA resource partners in this article can help.