The Small Business Administration is urging owners to start the process now if they need a loan through the Payroll Protection Program. The deadline for the approval of a loan from the SBA is June 30.
"It is a fantastic program," says SBA Regional Administrator Justin Crossie. "It is a forgivable loan, assuming you utilize the funds the way it was set up, which is basically to cover payroll, so you can keep your employees on staff."
Through June 20, the SBA says 372,077 payroll protection loans had been approved in Texas, totaling more than $40 billion. Still, Crossie says $128 billion was available across the country.
"Everyone says this is unprecedented. We've never faced anything like this before, but as cliche as it sounds, it's absolutely true," he says.
The deadline next week is the last date SBA can approve loans. Crossie is urging people to move forward now to begin their applications and start working with a participating bank.
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In addition to loans, Crossie says the SBA can also provide education and information resources to help businesses plan budgets and how to recover long-term.
"Maybe they need to think about how to move forward, 'I'm a restaurant. I used to need this many people to pass through the doors to make my numbers; now I can only get this many. How do I structure myself to be successful?'" Crossie says.
Crossie says the average loan size has been $110,000, but two thirds of loans have been $50,000 and under. He says 45% of those loans have been made in low-income counties.