Paycheck Protection Program causing frustration for small business owners

The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is causing frustration for small business owners.

Tuesday, the Senate approved a second round of funding for the PPP loan after the original amount ran dry in less than two weeks.

We spoke with one business owner who says even with more money, it still needs to be fixed.

Angie McGilvrey, the owner of Apex Physical Therapy and Rehab, fixes issues using data and history—two tools that are as good as gone during the coronavirus.

“This being such an unprecedented, ambiguous, chaotic, uncertain thing, we have none of that,” she said.

She says she applied for the PPP as soon as it went live online.

“You are literally sitting at your phone or computer saying okay, when are they going to send me this email? I can’t miss it because if I’m not the first person in line…it’s like back in the day when you had to get concert tickets,” she said.

McGilvrey found this loan especially appealing because she thinks paying her employees through this is the right thing to do.

“Those are the people that helped me build what I’ve built, so I wanted to do right by them,” she said.

These loans can also be forgiven if they meet certain qualifications, but she says the application process is tough to navigate because communication is sparse, leaving you unsure if the application is even correct.

McGilvrey added that because each bank handles the loan a little differently, she can’t even compare notes with other owners.

“There needs to be some type of standardized operating procedure in order for all of us to follow so we can again quickly navigate through this through the system,” she said.

CPA and Financial Planner Charles Massies estimates that 10% of his clients who applied for PPP money got it. He’s also noticing that businesses who go through smaller banks are having more luck.

“If your community bank got it in quicker than a larger bank, they would probably get their funding faster which may be the answer to why they did,” he said.

Massie adds that those who already sent in an application shouldn’t need to submit another, leaving people like McGilvrey sitting with their fingers crossed.

For more information on the Paycheck Protection Program, click here.