Paycheck Protection Program reopens Tuesday for second round of loans

LAKE MARY, Fla. - The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is back for round two, officially opening up for applications on Tuesday. 

Already, the second round is causing headaches for local business owners.

"Yes PP-P is overwhelming," said CPA Adam Markowitz during a Zoom meeting Monday night.

He is not the only one who thinks so. In Melbourne, Michele Lowell is the part-owner of a computer consulting company that applied for PPP last April.

"Never would have dreamt that this would still be going on..." Lowell said.

PPP helped keep them afloat last year. The startup is now down to three employees because of the pandemic. They don't know if they should apply for the second round.

The company received funds in the form of a loan to be forgiven if used for the intended purpose. It was, and now the company doesn't know if they can ask for more funds before they are forgiven for the first loan.

It's questions like this that were asked in the Zoom meeting with Markowitz and State Rep. Anna V. Eskamani.

"Portals are going to crash, it's going to take a long time to do things. You're going to have to upload things multiple times. It's going to be a frustrating process. That's not to say: you're not going to get shut out, that's not to say you shouldn't do it, the money's going to be there for you. Be prepared if you're going to go with this loan, this is probably going to be frustrating," said Markowitz, preparing business owners for the process of applying for a loan.

Here is who is eligible this time around, according to the Treasury Department. Those seeking a second PPP loan must have:  

• Previously received a PPP loan and plan to or already have used the full amount for qualifying expenses
• No more than 300 employees
• Experienced at least a 25% reduction in gross receipts between comparable quarters in 2019 and 2020
• Asked for no more than $2 million; the amount granted will be based on an applicant’s payroll