Recently, legislation was passed for another round of financial relief to small businesses affected by the pandemic. The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021, targets smaller businesses and is an extension and expansion of the original Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The first PPP loan was passed to provide businesses with funds to keep employees on the payroll and help meet some operating expenses.
The best part of the PPP Loan Round 2? Funding has been expanded to cover even more operating expenses …including updating your technology to modern workplace strategies such as cloud computing to keep your employees safe and connected while working remotely.
The PPP Loan Second Round Now Includes Funds for Technology Spending
The first PPP Loan covered expenses such as utilities, rent, and payroll costs. The PPP Second Round expands the use of funds to include the tech spending businesses rely on to keep employees working remotely, such as software and cloud computing expenses.
Specifically, the Second Round PPP allows payments for computer services that enable business operations, such as product service and delivery, payroll tracking, billing and accounting, inventory and supply tracking, and more. The funds can be used for administrative and IT services, such as cloud adoption and migration.
What this means for your business is a chance at a “technology make-over” with funds that are tax-deductible and may be eligible for forgiveness.
Chris Hoose, Integris’s VP of Finance, is optimistic at this chance for small to medium-sized businesses to align themselves with the technology they need to expand their remote workforce capabilities.
Chris explains, “This is another fantastic opportunity for small businesses that are struggling during this pandemic. Technology upgrades are one thing that takes a back seat to other pressing expenses during a downturn. However, in today’s technology-driven world, falling behind in technology can have a bigger impact for small to medium-sized businesses than the economy will.”
Chris goes on to say, “I am happy to see this 2nd round of PPP include technology as one of the forgivable expenses. I am confident that many intelligent business owners will take advantage of this provision and prepare their company’s technology for the future.”
Sitima Fowler, Co-Founder of Integris, explains why savvy business owners rely on cloud computing as the only viable way to sustain the modern workplace. “When the pandemic first hit, everyone grabbed their laptops and headed home. This was never a long-term solution. There are cybersecurity issues, employee productivity concerns, system accessibility issues, and software compatibility problems.”
Sitima continues, “We’ve found that cloud computing is a life saver, for both Integris and our clients. Now, more than ever, we need to join cloud technologies and our remote workers together to completely redesign the modern workplace. This combination is the best way to disaster-proof our businesses.“
Recently, Integris client Kingman County (Wichita, Kansas) used their PPP loan to create a new Emergency Operations Center, as well as to replace hardware throughout several departments using the CARES Act-KDEM Grant for Services funds.
Integris Was at the Front of Technology Expansion Funding in the PPP Loan Second Round
Integris understood that many small to medium-sized businesses were facing difficulties in finding the funds to expand their remote capabilities.
Mike Fowler, CEO of Integris, explains: “We aligned with our partner, ConnectWise, back in April 2020 to lobby congress to allow PPP money to be used for cloud services, cybersecurity, and outsourced IT services. We saw a major need for this with many businesses forced to more to a remote workforce. We are very happy that those businesses hardest hit will be able to use the PPP funds available from this second program to cover cloud services and software.”
What Businesses Qualify for the Second Round PPP Loan (PPP Round 2)?
This latest legislation was created for smaller businesses who were hit hard by the pandemic.
Small to medium-sized businesses may find themselves eligible for the 2nd Draw PPP Loan if they have:
- Less than 300 employees
- A 25% reduction in revenue for at least one quarter during 2020
- Used all the funding from the first PPP loan, if applicable
- Been in business since at least February of 2020
If your business took advantage of the first PPP loan, you are still eligible to apply for the Second Draw PPP Loan. Independent contractors, some non-profit industries, sole proprietorships, and other small business models may find themselves eligible for the PPP Round 2.
Integris is in Your Corner
Integris has been enabling businesses to transition smoothly to remote work by providing the equipment and services they need for cloud computing since before the pandemic. Always forward thinking, Integris has been using these solutions within our own company for years.
We have the strategies small to medium-sized businesses need to begin the transition to a remote workforce, make your remote workforce more permanent, and every step in between.
We are the home of no monthly contracts and a 30-day money-back guarantee. This is the perfect time to contact us for a short, no-obligation, risk-free consultation and let us show you how your PPP 2nd Draw funds can be leveraged to boost your security, connectivity, productivity, reliability, and efficiency.
Not ready to chat? Download our free, no obligation Modern Workplace Journey Essentials Kit full of checklists, audits, eBooks, assessments, informative on-demand webinars, sample policies, and many other do-it-yourself tools you can use right now to help you make the most of your remote workforce.
