SBA Paycheck Protection Program

BankFinancial is no longer accepting new PPP loan applications.

The U.S. Small Business Administration announced on May 4, 2021, that Paycheck Protection Program funding had been exhausted. The SBA will continue to fund outstanding approved PPP applications, but the PPP application portal has stopped accepting new applications.

 PPP Additional Information 

For more information on the Paycheck Protection Program, please visit www.SBA.gov or www.Treasury.gov. 

How to Apply for PPP Loan Forgiveness

Borrower's eligibility for loan forgiveness will be evaluated in accordance with the SBA Paycheck Protection Program regulations and guidance issued by the SBA.

 
Note: BankFinancial customers will receive an email with a link to our portal to complete the PPP Loan Forgiveness Application.  All applications must be submitted using the PPP Loan Portal. No paper applications will be accepted.
 
Please do not submit any documentation directly to the SBA, as this may create system duplicates and delay the processing time. If you have not received an email with the link to the PPP Loan Portal, please email us at PPPClosings@BankFinancial.com.


PPP Loan Portal: Designed to better assist customers, our secure PPP Online Portal will guide you through the PPP Loan Forgiveness Application (Form 3508) process. Supporting documentation will also need to be submitted through the PPP Loan portal.  

With your PPP Loan Forgiveness Application, you will need to provide:

  • Details on how you used the funds from your PPP loan.
  • Payroll and employee information during the covered period.
  • Documentation to support your use of funds and payroll expenses. 

Loan Forgiveness FAQ. Below is more information on the PPP loan application and process.

Step-by-step instructions for the BankFinancial Online Portal can be found in the PPP Form 3508 Instructions.


For more information on the expenses eligible for forgiveness, and the supporting documentation you will need to submit with your application, please review the Paycheck Protection Program Loan Forgiveness Application on the SBA website.



SBA PPP Loan Repayment

If you would like to repay your SBA PPP loan, please request a "PPP Loan Payoff Letter" to: PPPClosings@BankFinancial.com.



PPP Funding Has Been Exhausted

The U.S. Small Business Administration announced on May 4, 2021, that Paycheck Protection Program funding had been exhausted. The SBA will continue to fund outstanding approved PPP applications, but the PPP application portal has stopped accepting new applications.

 

SBA Prioritizes Micro Businesses

As an effort to help the smallest businesses impacted by COVID-19, from February. 24th to March 9th, the SBA will exclusively accept PPP applications from businesses with 20 or less employees.

Businesses with more than 20 employees can still apply. BankFinancial will continue to process all applications and will submit them when SBA submissions resume on March 10, 2021.

SBA PPP is Reopening

On 12/27/2020 the new Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 (CRRSAA) was signed which provides additional funding for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to further assist small businesses harmed by the impact of the pandemic. The SBA is expected to release more details and guidance over the coming weeks.

SBA Releases Detailed PPP Data

On December 1, 2020, the SBA released detailed Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan data to comply with a federal judge ruling issued November 5, 2020. The information includes borrower names, loan amounts, addresses, industry codes and lender information for the COVID relief program. For more information, please visit the US Department of the Treasury.


SBA Announces Simpler PPP Forgiveness for Loans $50,000 or Less 

On October 8, 2020, the SBA announced that recipients of Paycheck Protection (PPP) loans of $50,000 or less will be able to apply for forgiveness using a simplified application (Form 3508S).

The new SBA Form 3508S can used by PPP borrowers applying for forgiveness on PPP loan with a total amount of $50,000 or less, unless those borrowers together with their affiliates received loans totaling $2 million or more. The advantage to using the SBA Form 3508S is that it requires fewer calculations and less documentation for eligible borrowers than the other SBA PPP forgiveness forms.

PPP Flexibility Act Changes

On June 5, 2020, the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 (PPPFA) made significant changes to the program guidelines.

Payroll Expenditure Requirement: It was reduced from 75% to 60%, allowing the remaining 40% to be spent on rent, utilities and/or interest on pre-existing debts, to still be eligible for loan forgiveness.

Covered Period: It was increased from 8 weeks to 24 weeks. Borrowers now have 24 weeks to spend their PPP loan proceeds. 

Loan Term. The PPP loan term was changed from 2-years to 5-years for PPP loans closed as of June 5, 2020.

Payroll Tax Deferral. Borrowers can defer the employer's share of 2020 payroll taxes even if their PPP loan has been forgiven.  Only half the payroll taxes will be due on December 31, 2020, and the remaining half will be due December 31, 2021. 

Payroll Level Requirements. Originally, to qualify for maximum loan forgiveness, borrowers had to maintain payroll levels only through the 8-week Covered Period, or qualify under the Restoration Rules, and restore payroll levels by June 30, 2020.

Safe Harbor. (2) exceptions were added, which allows borrowers to still be eligible for full loan forgiveness, even if they were unable to restore their all their full-time equivalent employees. 

1)  If the borrower can document that they were unable to rehire the individual employed on February 15, 2020 AND unable to rehire similarly qualified employees before December 31, 2020. 

OR

2) The borrower was unable to return to the same level of business activity as of February 15, 2020 due to compliance with government issued worker or customer safety requirements related to COVID-19.   


Good-Faith Certification Concerning Necessity of PPP Loan

Loans Below $2 Million. The SBA has determined the following Safe Harbor: any borrowers with a PPP loan below $2 million will be deemed to have made the required certification concerning the necessity of the loan request in good faith. Borrowers with loans below this threshold are generally less likely to have had access to adequate sources of liquidity in the current economic environment.

Loans Above $2 Million. Borrowers with loans greater than $2 million, will be subject to review by the SBA for compliance with the good-faith certification as set forth in the PPP Interim Final Rules and Borrower Application Form.  For more information, please refer to the SBA FAQ.

  

SBA Guidance

The SBA continues to make changes and provide additional guidance on the Paycheck Protection Program requirements. For more information on the SBA PPP, please refer to the SBA's FAQ.  

When can I apply for PPP loan forgiveness?

Applicants have the option to apply as early as the end of the 8-week covered period beginning the date that you received your PPP loan funds, or opt for a longer covered period of up to 24-weeks  after the loan is disbursed, depending on how long of a period you want to use to calculate your forgiveness.

Which PPP loan forgiveness application should I use?

In an effort to make it easier for some businesses to apply for PPP loan forgiveness, the SBA has published two additional PPP Loan Forgiveness Applications - Form 3508EZ and Form 3508S, for borrowers who meet certain requirements. To determine if you are able to use either of those applications, you should review the Checklist for Using SBA Form 3508EZ and the Form 3580S on the SBA’s website.

Borrowers who do not meet the requirements for using Form 3508EZ or Form 3508S will need to apply using the updated PPP Loan Forgiveness Application Form 3508.

 

Do I still need to submit backup documentation for my payroll expense, rent expense and other categories I used the PPP proceeds for?

Yes!

While a detailed computation is not being sent with the application for forgiveness, the borrower will need to send in documentation to support their SBA Loan Forgiveness Application to the Bank as part of their submission.


Can I submit a paper application for PPP loan forgiveness?

Applications for PPP loan forgiveness at BankFinancial must be submitted digitally through our online PPP loan forgiveness application portal. We will not accept paper loan forgiveness applications.


How can I prepare to apply for loan forgiveness?

Once you determine which SBA Loan Forgiveness Application Form you will use, we recommend that prior to applying online through BankFinancial for PPP loan forgiveness, you carefully review and fill out the applicable form, and gather the required documentation specified in the instructions:

 
My PPP forgiveness link has expired, or I cannot find the email. How can I access the PPP loan portal to submit my loan forgiveness application? 

Please send an email to BF Payroll Protection Closings pppclosings@bankfinancial.com to request a new link. Please ensure to include the company name when requesting a new link!

Note: The PPP links expire after three days if not used for security purposes.

How do I submit my PPP loan forgiveness application to BankFinancial?

Once you received the PPP Forgiveness Application link, please fill out the application online. You can upload your documentation within the website link. Once complete, BankFinancial will send you the completed PPP Forgiveness Application to sign electronically via DocuSign.

Your electronically signed DocuSign PPP Forgiveness application will then be sent to the SBA for processing.

How long before I know if my loan forgiveness application was approved? What is the processing timeline? 

BankFinancial has a maximum of 60 days to submit the SBA Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Forgiveness documents to the SBA for processing. Once the SBA has received the file, they have announced that they have a maximum of 90 days to review and respond to the file submission. Any potential loan forgiveness payments will be remitted to the Bank and paid down on the loan as directed by the SBA.


What is the deadline to apply for forgiveness?

The SBA has not formally announced a deadline to apply for forgiveness. If you elect not to apply for forgiveness, simply follow the terms of your PPP Promissory Note.


For more information on the Paycheck Protection Program, please refer to the SBA's FAQ.  

PPP – Form 3508 Instructions

STEPS TO COMPLETE FORGIVENESS APPLICATION - BORROWER:

1. Click on the Client Portal Link provided to you by BankFinancial via email.

2. Create a PIN that you will need to use in the future to access your forgiveness application.     
  • This pin will need to be between 6-12 characters. It can include numbers, letters, and special characters.
3. HINT: If you would like to find more information about any fields in the app, utilize the tool tip icon by clicking directly on the available question mark icon beside the corresponding field.
 
4. Complete the Business Information Tab.
  • Verify the information in the gray-ed out fields. If anything needs to be corrected, contact BankFinancial to update.
  • Select Yes or No if you would like to provide demographic information about your principals (voluntary).   
  • If Yes is selected, a new section will open that will allow you to identify for each principal.
  • Under Employment Information answer the required fields.
  • If the loan was disbursed before 6/5, chose which duration you would like to use for your cover period (8 weeks or 24 weeks). Loans disbursed after 6/5 will default to 24 weeks.
  • In the Payroll Information section select the frequency with which payroll is paid to employees.
  • Select Yes or No if you are using an Alternative Payroll Covered Period.
  • If Yes is selected, enter the day of the first pay period following the PPP Loan Disbursement Date on the page that appears. 
5. Complete the Loan Information Section.
  • Enter relevant EIDL information.
  • Check box next to “Check if Borrower (together with affiliates, if applicable) received PPP Loans in excess of 2 Million” (if applicable).
6. Complete Schedule A.
  • Option (1) Download the Excel Worksheet.
  • Fill out and Upload Excel Worksheet based using instructions provided on worksheet.
  • Option (2) If calculations have already been made, numbers can be plugged directly into the corresponding fields without the need for the excel sheet.
  • Upload Documents.
    • Click the upload documents button.
    • Check the boxes beside related field you would like to relate each document to.
    • Drag and drop file or click to upload.
    • Click upload at the bottom of the page.
    • Repeat this process for each document.
7. Complete Owner Compensation Section (if Applicable).
  • Enter 2019 and Amount Paid.
  • Click the Upload Documents button if applicable.
8. Complete the FTE Reductions Section.
  • Review information uploaded from the Schedule A worksheet .
  • Upload Relevant Documents.
9. Complete Non-payroll Costs Section.
  • Enter any relevant non-payroll line items in the table.
  • Upload any relevant documentation by clicking the upload documents button.
10. Review Calculate Forgiveness Section.
 
11. Submit:
  • Select an Authorized representative of Borrower
  • Select from individuals related to the application on the related people tab
  • Use the create new person tab to add an authorized signer that is not already related to the relationship through an application
  • Verify or enter the email of the authorized signer in the email box
  • After information is verified hit the Submit or Submit and (if applicable) Send Email for E-signature button, hit Confirm and Send for E-signature.
  • If prompted, review and complete any of the missing required fields
12. E-Sign 3508 document through received signature request email.
 
A video tutorial on how to complete the PPP Forgiveness Online Application is also available.