New PPP Loans Cover Cloud Computing and Business Software

The U.S. government recently approved $284 million in loan assistance for small businesses to ease financial strain due to the global pandemic.

Regulations for the loan program were announced this week, and this second round of PPP funds includes forgiveness for “operations expenditures,” including but not limited to business software or cloud computing services for accounting, inventory tracking, and more.

The PPP provision expanding coverage to cloud and software investments, introduced by Rep. David Scott, D-GA, will “help small businesses provide improved service in today’s modern economy,” Scott said in an October announcement.

To qualify for the loans, you must be a business, independent contractor, eligible self-employed individual, sole proprietor, nonprofit organization, veteran’s organization, Tribal business concern, housing cooperative, small agricultural cooperative, eligible 501(c)(6) organization, or eligible nonprofit news organization.

Also, you must:

• Maintain fewer than 300 employees
• Experienced a loss of 25% or more in revenue in 2020 when compared to 2019
• Received a First Draw PPP Loan
• Expended or slated to expend the full amount of the first PPP loan prior to receiving the second

Covered operating expenditures, which refer to payments for any business software or cloud computing service that facilitates business operations; product or service delivery; the processing, payment, or tracking of payroll expenses; human resources; sales and billing functions; or accounting or tracking of supplies, inventory, records, and expenses.

Forgivable costs have now been expanded to include:

• “Covered worker protection expenditures” such as costs of facility modification and personal protective equipment
• “Covered operations expenditures” including business software or cloud computing services for accounting, inventory tracking and other needs
• “Covered supplier costs” including payments to suppliers for goods that are essential to operations at the time of purchase, so long as they are purchased under a contract or purchase order in effect before the covered period or, for perishable goods, in effect before or during the covered period
• “Covered property damage costs” resulting from public disturbances in 2020 that were not covered by insurance