July 21, 2020
The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and its business and technology arm, CPA.com, announced yesterday the launch of a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness platform,
PPPForgivenessTool.com
. This platform automates the forgiveness process for small business owners who received funds from the PPP.
The dynamic platform, powered by fintech lender
Biz2Credit
, incorporates the
PPP forgiveness calculator created by the AICPA in May
and is available to any business approved for a PPP loan, regardless of the lender or bank they worked with to receive funding. Borrowers or their CPA advisors can log onto the platform to fill out the forgiveness application and the tool produces all government-mandated forms automatically. The PPP applicant will be able to electronically sign the
3508
or
3508 EZ
forms and all the required source documents will also be included in a downloadable file that can be provided to their lenders. The platform will likely save hours of manual work for any applicant going through the process.
The PPP is part of the CARES Act stimulus package and is designed to help businesses impacted by the coronavirus pandemic to maintain operations and payroll. PPP loans are forgivable if borrowers follow guidelines on payroll spending set by the Small Business Administration (SBA) and Treasury Department, which administer the loan program.
"For the past three months, we have been very actively engaged in providing resources and tools to support the 44,000 CPA firms in the critical role they’ve played for the five million businesses that applied for PPP loans," said Erik Asgeirsson, president and CEO of CPA.com. "We are now incorporating our PPP calculation and process recommendations into a dynamic PPP Forgiveness Tool to help drive a simple and effective forgiveness process. Our broader goal with this tool is to also to help drive a common approach to this process with the payroll and lender communities."
PPPForgivenessTool.com
is an open architecture platform developed by Biz2Credit using its proprietary
Biz2X Platform
. The platform incorporates the AICPA’s PPP loan forgiveness calculator, a template that reflects all current SBA and Treasury guidance on PPP forgiveness. The Loan Amount and PPP Calculators provide a commonly accepted approach to many PPP issues not covered by definitive guidance and have been downloaded by tens of thousands of firms since April.
The platform is being offered without charge to small businesses and CPA firms applying for forgiveness.
Back in April, AICPA formed a
working coalition
with leading payroll providers to help provide ongoing guidance and recommendations around PPP for small businesses and CPA firms. This small business funding coalition has also maintained an ongoing dialogue with lenders, another key stakeholder in small business success.
Thanks to the platform’s open architecture, members of the AICPA’s coalition and other service providers can integrate into
PPPForgivenessTool.com
with ease. Payroll providers and other companies that hold small business data are able to automate the import of source data they hold, such as payroll reports, thereby increasing the speed at which businesses can complete their forgiveness applications.
"This online platform will produce a finalized forgiveness application that a borrower can take right to their lender for submission without any extra work," said Biz2Credit CEO Rohit Arora, one of the nation’s leading experts in small business finance and fintech. "It is extremely important right now for companies that serve small businesses to come together to help these business owners benefit from the Paycheck Protection Program. An open architecture platform like this is an invitation to any company that works with small businesses, including PPP lenders. Come and join the coalition, integrate to the platform and help your small business customers at this critical time."
Final Treasury and SBA FAQs on PPP forgiveness are expected to be released soon and the PPP Loan Forgiveness Tool will be updated to reflect any new changes. Based on this, we recommend that borrowers and CPA firms wait for the final guidance before generating the final signed SBA form
3508
.
Stay safe,
David Gibbs, CPA, CCIFP, MBA
Partner
McCarthy & Company
Source: AICPA Press Release. July 20, 2020.
Disclaimer: This alert is for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Information contained in this communication is not intended or written to be used as tax advice, and cannot be used by the recipient to avoid penalties that may be imposed under the Internal Revenue Code. We strongly advise you to seek professional assistance with respect to your specific issue(s).
