AN ACCOUNTANT’S PERSPECTIVE

Brian Lang, chief executive officer of SS&C Solutions Inc., oversees a firm that provides businesses with payroll, tax planning and preparation, auditing, wealth management and other services in Topeka, Lawrence, Shawnee, Salina and Meriden. When the Small Business Administration Paycheck Protection Program became available in March, Lang and his team immersed themselves in the new regulations to ensure their clients throughout Kansas could benefit.

“The best thing an advisor can do for you is gather information and help you make decisions specific to your business, including discussing ‘what if ’ scenarios and creating contingency plans,” Lang said.

While few, if any companies, previously considered a pandemic in their continuity plans, Lang said hospitality clients, dental practices and other businesses that had to immediately lay off employees to comply with enforcement orders were eager to pursue PPP loans, especially in the absence of a timeline for when they would be allowed to reopen.

“The program helped our clients retain employees and hit the pause button so they didn’t have to make a reactive, potentially long-lasting decision that would negatively impact their business and employees,” he said. “The economic effects of the pandemic were swift, and the loans gave business owners a shot in the arm to buy some time.”

PRESERVING PRODUCTIVITY

SS&C clients include construction contractors, nonprofits, manufacturing companies, health care organizations and restaurants. Given that many small companies foster a family feel, Lang said owners not only want to preserve their employee relationships but also want to protect productivity and profitability by retaining experienced workers. Many also want to safeguard their investment so they can pass along the business to someone else someday.

“Small businesses often don’t have plug-and-play positions or the ability to cross train,” he said. “If you had to replace 20 percent or more of your workforce because of COVID-19, your productivity level now would be much less than it would have been pre-pandemic. PPP loans help prevent or at least forestall that fallout.”

With the tax season extended to July 15, SS&C accountants who typically spend March and April preparing and filing tax returns, instead worked with local banks to submit PPP applications in the midst of ever-evolving regulations.

“There were worries that the program would run out of money, so the whole process was all hurry, hurry, hurry,” Lang said. “We knew we just had to get it done fast. Local bankers were working around the clock to help people. When clients started getting their loans funded, there was a collective sigh of relief from everyone involved.”

The first loans were approved April 3, followed by a second wave of application submissions April 27.

“Never in my career have I gone a week without opening income tax software in April until this year,” said Lang, who has been with the company since 1998. “We shifted priorities. Our clients certainly had other things to worry about this spring besides pulling documents for our accountants. They were dealing with kids out of school and navigating working from home.”

PPP EXTENSION

The PPP has been extended from eight weeks to 24 weeks, further relieving pressure on businesses as uncertainty about the pandemic continues.

Lang said in the coming months his firm will be embarking on “a massive undertaking” to make sure documentation is in order and all government agency rules and requirements have been followed to facilitate loan forgiveness. The SBA will forgive loans if certain criteria are met and the funds are used for qualified expenses.

“A lot of businesses will benefit from the extension to use funds for qualified purposes because some places, such as restaurants, still haven’t been able to open at full capacity,” he said.

Although the pandemic has prompted several small businesses—and even major retailers too—to close, other entrepreneurs will step in, said Lang.

“Small business owners are risk takers,” he said. “Entrepreneurs make things happen and allow our community to attract new talent and fresh ideas and retain our workforce.”

Lang said it’s gratifying for the SS&C team to assist small business clients not only through the pandemic but through all the years prior and yet ahead too.

“We enjoy helping them and their families and their businesses thrive for generations to come, and if it means we need to learn about the Paycheck Protection Program overnight, then we do.”