Challenge
On March 27, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act to provide emergency financial support to individuals and small businesses. One provision of this law, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), offered small businesses loans of up to 2.5 times their typical monthly payrolls. And if they met certain requirements, such as using the funds exclusively for expenses like employee compensation, and rent/mortgage obligations, much of the loaned amount could be forgiven.
Like most small businesses, AvinnaCFO’s clients needed help applying for and administering these loans as they struggled to keep operating.
Action
AvinnaCFO knew PPP’s nuances and was prepared to act immediately. Before the program even opened on April 2, AvinnaCFO walked each impacted client through the paperwork so their applications would be ready on day one. And because AvinnaCFO already had relationships with PPP lending institutions, they directed the applications to the right people so they landed on the top of the stack. Finally, AvinnaCFO provided step-by-step advice on how to allocate loan proceeds to maximize future forgiveness.
Results
The initial $350 billion appropriated to the PPP was exhausted in only 14 days, leaving many small businesses financially stressed until Congress took further additional action weeks later. But every one of AvinnaCFO’s clients accessed this low-cost capital in the initial wave. Through AvinnaCFO’s efforts, they secured a total of $7.3 million, which they received in an average of only six days. Moreover, they knew exactly how to use the funds in such a way as to minimize the required repayment amount, leaving them in the best possible position to ride out the COVID-19 crisis.