Business owners who relied on Paycheck Protection Program funds to keep going during the pandemic say the forgivable federal loans carried them through the crisis, but the lessons of the last two years have changed the way they think about the future.
“The business is good, PPP got us though, but I’m worried for what comes next, much more worried than I would have been in the past,” says Bev Eitner, the owner of Play Dog Excellent in Red Bank. “Any illusion that I was in charge has been shattered.”
Through two rounds of Paycheck Protection Program loans, more than $13 billion went to Tennessee businesses, with an average loan size of $56,700. The program wrapped up at the end of May 2021, and the forgiveness process is well under way.
“For my clients, we’re at 100% forgiveness, we’re in good shape there,” says George Wilson, the owner of Southern Payroll and Benefits.
Loans under $150,000 are forgivable through a simplified process that requires very little documentation, while loans over that amount require more legwork to show the funds went largely to payroll, says Jay Dale, market president of First Horizon Bank. The most important thing to note at this stage is the 10-month window for applying for forgiveness, he adds.