Alignable: 78% Support PPP Deadline Extension, But Other Problems Remain Requiring Repair

BREAKING NEWS | DATA INSIGHTS | TREND TRACKER | The Alignable PPP Process Poll taken this week among 5,306 small business owners shows 78% are supportive of legislative efforts to extend the PPP deadline, as overall optimism about their ability to stay afloat continues to decline. 

At the same time, the survey revealed several other problems with the PPP process that must be addressed to make it truly helpful to the largest number of small businesses -- many that are suffering more than ever a year into the COVID Crisis. 

The Alignable PPP Process Poll, conducted from 3/13/21 to 3/16/21 asked, "Do you think Congress should vote to extend the March 31st deadline for the PPP?" 

While it's not surprising that more than three-quarters of the respondents answered "yes," the many ways they qualified their answers gives a larger picture of their views about the program and their current needs:

• 30% said they thought extending the deadline would help their business
• 23% said the extension wouldn't help them, but could benefit other SMBs
• 19% said the government needs to coordinate more effectively with lenders to make sure the new loan formula is implemented universally
• 11% said the government also needs to clarify the process.

Another 11% thought a deadline extension might be helpful, but they weren't sure.

And 6% said the current PPP is so complicated that the Biden administration should just start with something entirely new.

When asked about what the new deadline should be, 31% figured May 31st would work, while 69% were hoping for July 1st or beyond, with 44% saying there should be no deadline and SMBs should be able to apply until the money allocated to them runs out. 

Other PPP Process Issues Exposed

Another poll question attempted to dig into some of the issues further, which asked anyone who has applied for the 2021 PPP: "How has the PPP process been for you?"

The good news is that more than one-quarter of those respondents (26%), said it has been smooth. They applied and received their loan quickly.  

However, the rest experienced a variety of issues:

• 21% said they're still not sure what's happening with their application
• 17% said the process is slow and it took a lot of time to get to the next step after applying 
• 12% said the paperwork was hard to complete
• 11% expressed frustration that their lending institution was not up to date with the new terms
• 9% said it was just too much trouble and they gave up 
• 4% said it was maddening, as their bank refused to take more applications and they're currently looking for new lenders.

Assuming the Senate approves the PPP Extension Act of 2021, hopefully banks and the SBA will have some extra time to remedy a few of these challenges. 

PPP Needed More Than Ever: 75% Of SMBs Fear Closing 

Meanwhile, the urgent need for a PPP extension, has never been more clear, as 75% of small business owners surveyed this week said they are concerned their businesses might not stay afloat for the rest of the COVID period. 

And of that group, 45% said they were "highly concerned" about keeping their businesses alive as long as COVID's effects remain. 

Beyond frustrations with the current PPP process, other reasons cited included cash flow issues (41% have only a month or less of cash on hand), a lack of returning customers, and an overall drop in revenue by at least 50 percent compared to pre-COVID levels.  To see more about those underlying issues, read our recently released Alignable's March Road To Recovery Report. 

To review other Alignable polls conducted since March 2020, please visit the Alignable Research Center. 

ABOUT THE ALIGNABLE RESEARCH CENTER

Alignable is the largest online referral network for small businesses with over 6 million members across North America. 

We established our research center in early March 2020, to track and report the impact of the Coronavirus on small businesses, and to monitor recovery efforts, informing the media, policymakers, and our members.

For more details about any of these findings, including the methodology behind our latest polls, please contact Chuck Casto at chuck@alignable.com.