Business owners struggling to ready applications round 2 of Paycheck Protection Program

Business owners like Jim Dragoni are desperate.

With the second round of Paycheck Protection loans coming, he wants to make sure his application is ready.

“I’m exasperated, I don’t know what to do,” he said.

He owns the Cape Auto Clinic and, like other small businesses, it’s taking a hit.

But when he applied for a PPP loan, he says his bank notified him that the payroll tax form he provided wasn’t enough.

“So what proves your payroll besides a payroll tax return? I don’t know,” he said.

Dragoni says he both emailed and called his bank with no luck. He says he also tried the Small Business Administration, who referred him back to the bank.

“I figured that push come to shove, this would save our business. Right now I don’t know,” he said.

Bryan Simmering is with First Horizon Bank. While Dragoni is not his customer, he has advice for owners looking to apply.

First, see if your bank offers a document checklist.

“The checklist will provide the information that they need to apply for the loan,” Simmering said.

Then, double-check your payroll calculation because there’s a $100,000 salary cap.

“If they have, let’s say, for example, an employee that’s making $125,000 a year and they use $125,000 for the calculation—that application is going to be incorrect when it gets verified,” Simmering said.

The SBA also says they’re offering live Q&A sessions online for people who still have questions. The next Q&A session is April 24 and registration is required.

After WINK contacted his bank, Dragoni says they reached out and that his application is now good to go.