When we applied for and received our Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan funds, I did not anticipate that the forgiveness process would be so difficult or time consuming. While our company received just over $500,000, many of the requirements were as if we received $2 million or more.

I will admit that while preparing for forgiveness I made a serious error: I did not involve our banker from the very beginning. If I had, it would have saved me an enormous amount of time.

We are very fortunate to have a banker with a large national bank that is service oriented and was well informed on the rules of forgiveness. As many of you did, I listened to and watched every webinar from every source available and found the differing opinions and information discouraging. Once I sorted all of my notes by checking on the SBA’s website (which wasn’t easy), I proceeded to gather the documents I thought necessary for a successful forgiveness application.

As it turns out, there was a difference between what was on the SBA website and what my bank required. Though it was the same information, the actual documents that were required were very different. Plus, the bank required extra documents – likely because they were in charge of the initial approval.