Although Bluevine no longer accepts new loan forgiveness applications, Bluevine PPP loan forgiveness is essentially Bluevine’s mechanism for assisting over 300,000 small businesses in having their COVID-19 relief loans forgiven. Bluevine is a financial technology service provider that offers business lines of credit of up to $250,000, making it a viable alternative for small-business owners seeking quick working capital.

The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which debuted in April 2020, was a tremendous hit, prompting a second round of financial support as well as an improvement Flexibility Act to contribute to the betterment of American smaller companies.

The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) provided 100% government insured loans to small companies to help them survive the challenges caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. Smaller companies may be eligible for close to 2.5x their monthly payroll expenses, or more under specific conditions.

A PPP loan would have a 2-5 year maturity, a 1.00% interest rate, and might work efficiently as a grant if companies fulfilled specific forgiveness requirements. The volume of forgiveness made available by the SBA is generally influenced by employee-related issues, including how the funds were expended.

The program provides complete forgiveness to companies with workers who retain staff levels, do not decrease salaries by more than 25% for workers earning below $100,000 per year, and then use at least 60% of overall cash to pay workers.

If you had used just under 60% of your income to pay workers, you are also still able to qualify for forgiveness, but the portion forgiven may be lowered.

Note that you will need to forward a completed PPP loan forgiveness application form, coupled with certain documents, to your lender to start the procedure. If you obtained your loan from Celtic Bank through Bluevine, note that this process is digitized, and you will be contacted when the time is right.

How to Qualify for Bluevine PPP Loan Forgiveness

All PPP loan forgiveness applicants, with the exception of those using the 3508S form will be required to demonstrate how they invested their cash. The above evidence would include PPP-eligible payroll and non-payroll expenditure, as well as other documentation demonstrating how you utilized your PPP loan to retain or hire new workers and/or meet requisite operational costs.

Even when a forgiveness application somehow doesn’t necessitate it, you must always keep any records that concerns your PPP eligibility. For about six years right from the day of your forgiveness, the SBA may request records even when they were not actually needed on the forgiveness application.

If you obtained your PPP loan from Bluevine, they will send an email especially towards the end of your covered period with details regarding how to apply, what records are needed, and so on. Visit the SBA’s website for more information on loan forgiveness applications. If you choose to not apply for or are not eligible for PPP loan forgiveness, you must repay the loan at 1% interest.

Requirements tor Bluevine PPP Loan Forgiveness

Aside from the fact that you must have obtained your PPP loan through Bluevine, the funds should be used correctly and certain conditions must be met in order to be eligible for this loan forgiveness. Among these conditions are:

  1. Expenses that qualify

  • Remuneration, wages, all types of leave, and health perks are all part of the payroll. Independent contractor payments are not considered payroll, but worker bonuses are.
  • Rent
  • Utility costs, which would include the conventional utilities of electricity, water, gas, and sewage, along with telephone, internet, and transportation.
  • Covered expenditures such as facility improvements for worker and client safety, refurbishments due to public disturbances, updates to internet & cloud computing, etc.
  1. Payroll percentage

To be forgiven, at least 60% of the loan balance should be used for payroll benefits. When you use below 60% of your line of credit for payroll, you may still be able to qualify for forgiveness, with the portion you invest positively tied to forgiveness. For instance, if you  only spend 40% on payroll, 40% of your loan is able to qualify for forgiveness.

  1. Keeping headcounts fixed

The PPP program was designed to assist companies in maintaining or returning to their original staffing levels in the middle of COVID-19 layoffs.

To qualify for loan forgiveness, you must demonstrate that you retained your headcount or hired back workers inside the specified time frame. Company owners must determine their FTE (full-time employees) by comparing employment history to employment throughout this PPP loan window.

  1. Window of coverage

Expenditures must come from the authorized groups mentioned above and must be accomplished within a 24-week period. The Coronavirus Relief Act allows company proprietors to select their own coverage window, as long as it is at least 8 weeks and no longer than 24 weeks.

This gives business owners enough oversight over their financing and enables them to reduce worker compensation to achieve maximum forgiveness.

  1. Maintaining pay

Loan forgiveness is also contingent on employers continuing to reimburse their workers. Owners can and should keep 75% of their total salary throughout the loan period.

This figure is determined for each individual worker (as long as they would not earn over $100,000 per year) and evaluated by comparing to the quarter preceding the loan disbursement window. If you pay workers less than 75% of their original salary or wages, your forgiveness will be whittled down in proportion to the amount.

Conclusion

Bluevine is no longer taking on new loan forgiveness applications, and if your application is currently in the works, you must finish it as promptly as possible. If you do not complete your application by the deadline, you will be required to reapply either through their bank partner or the SBA.

If you still have any queries concerning your Celtic Bank PPP loan, please contact them mostly through email at pppforgiveness@celticbank.com for forgiveness inquiries, orloanservicing@celticbank.com for other servicing/payment issues. Celtic Bank can also be reached by phone at (800)509-6191.