NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and its business and technology arm, CPA.com, today announced the launch of a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness platform, PPPForgivenessTool.com, which 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.
For more information, visit www.pppforgivenesstool.com. A brief overview of the tool for borrowers is available in this video, while another demonstrates how CPA firms can make use of the platform.
About CPA.com
CPA.com brings innovative solutions to the accounting profession, either in partnership with leading providers or directly through its own development. The company has established itself as a thought leader on emerging technologies and as the trusted business advisor to practitioners in the United States, with a growing global focus.
Our company’s core mission is to drive the transformation of practice areas, advance the technology ecosystem for the profession, and lead technology research and innovation efforts for practitioners.
A subsidiary of the American Institute of CPAs, the company is also part of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, the world’s most influential organization representing the profession. For more information, visit CPA.com.
About the American Institute of CPAs
The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) is the world’s largest member association representing the CPA profession, with more than 431,000 members in the United States and worldwide, and a history of serving the public interest since 1887. AICPA members represent many areas of practice, including business and industry, public practice, government, education and consulting. The AICPA sets ethical standards for its members and U.S. auditing standards for private companies, nonprofit organizations, and federal, state and local governments. It develops and grades the Uniform CPA Examination, offers specialized credentials, builds the pipeline of future talent and drives professional competency development to advance the vitality, relevance and quality of the profession.
About Biz2Credit
Founded in 2007, Biz2Credit has arranged more than $3 billion in small business financing. Biz2Credit is focused on funding what’s next for small business. The company leverages data, cash flow insights, and the latest technology to give business owners an automated small business funding platform to fit their financial needs. With over 350 employees globally, the Biz2Credit team – made up of top-notch engineers, marketers, and data scientists – is building the next generation in business lending solutions.
Biz2Credit has been named to Inc. Magazine’s Private Titans list for 2020, is a three-time winner of the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 and was named a Great Place to Work in 2020 and 2019. Headquartered in New York City, the company recently raised a $52M Series B round of investment in 2019.
Visit www.biz2credit.com or Twitter @Biz2Credit, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
About Biz2X
Biz2Credit’s Biz2X Platform offers banks and other financial institutions the ability to streamline their digital loan application processes, better manage risk. Biz2X is a global SaaS platform that powers growth
with a modern client experience and leading risk tools. Leading financial brands from the Fortune 100 to regional and community banks have chosen to launch new online lending initiatives with the platform’s modular architecture, digital loan origination workflow and proven risk analytics.
For more information, visit Biz2X.com.
