Have you ever heard of a PPP loan forgiveness spreadsheet template? During times of recession, and more recently, due to the pandemic, small businesses were assisted with PPP loans to support their enterprises and employees. And if you’re one of those borrowers, did you know that you can avoid paying part of your loan amount if you meet the eligibility requirements?
However, keeping track of your qualified expenses and calculating the total loan forgiveness can be a complex process. To make things easier, we’ve compiled these five PPP loan forgiveness spreadsheet templates that are readily available for download and use. And the best part is — they are free! Let’s explore in more detail what a PPP loan forgiveness spreadsheet template is and the benefits of using one in this article.
What Is a PPP Loan Forgiveness Spreadsheet?
This is actually pretty self-explanatory, but to reiterate, it’s a tool that helps small businesses track and calculate their estimated loan forgiveness amounts under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). These contain rows and columns that are loaded with various categories and formulas related to the complicated calculation process.
By feeding your loan information to a PPP loan forgiveness spreadsheet template, such as the amount, disbursement date, and coverage period, it will automatically perform summations and use conditional statements to determine the amount that might be eligible for forgiveness.
In our templates, we made sure that the calculations are based on the rules and guidelines set by the Small Business Administration to ensure that users meet compliance requirements.
Why You Need a PPP Loan Spreadsheet Template
One of the most important reasons why you should have a PPP loan tracker is to have on file an application that is eligible for the loan forgiveness program. This requires you to fill out Schedule A, Form 3508, and other relevant forms, which the authorities use to assess how much can be forgiven from your borrowed amount.
Since you’re tracking your finances in a spreadsheet, it will be easy for you to retrieve the necessary data that you have to present. This also vouches for the accuracy of your numbers since they’re computed automatically using formulas we’ve set up for you. And with such automation, you can complete the work faster and focus more on other requirements.
Free PPP Loan Forgiveness Spreadsheet Templates
There are a couple of template types that you can use to cover different aspects of the PPP loan forgiveness program. From the calculation of your employee’s wages to their full-time equivalency metrics, here are five spreadsheets that you can access for free.
1. Payroll Cost Calculator for PPP Loan Forgiveness
One of the reasons why PPP extends an olive branch to small business owners in terms of loan forgiveness is to help them keep employees on payroll during the COVID-19 pandemic. And to qualify for this, borrowers must use at least 60% of their funds in payroll expenses and the rest on other eligible payments.
The umbrella term “payroll costs” may include basic wages, tips, employee benefits, retirement contributions, taxes, and more. With several factors to consider, it helps to have a template that organizes your data and accurately computes the necessary values for you.
Get the template here:
2. Non-Payroll Expenses Tracker
Another eligibility requirement for loan forgiveness is that the borrower should use only up to 40% of the total loan amount on non-payroll costs. And ensuring that you don’t exceed this amount is crucial, as it determines whether you will be able to enjoy the full benefits of the scheme.
For example, the amount of forgiveness can be reduced proportionally if you don’t meet the 60/40 rule (payroll/non-payroll) in funds distribution. Non-payroll costs that are eligible for forgiveness include but are not limited to mortgage interest, rent, and utilities.
Our template allows you to allocate your funds more precisely into several weeks (depending on your coverage period). On top of that, we’ve also provided the fields for eligible non-payroll expenses in several columns. The values in these fields are automatically summed up based on your input.
Get the template here:
3. FTE Calculator for PPP Loans
Calculating your FTEs is the most crucial part of maximizing your loan forgiveness amount. Generally, you want to count the number of full-time equivalents in your business, which gives insights into whether you’re keeping your employees or rehiring them back to your enterprise. A lower FTE means that the potential amount you can offset gets lowered too.
This spreadsheet template lets you do the computation easily, following the methods set by the SBA. To put it simply, it divides the average weekly hours of your employee by 40, rounds it to the nearest tenth, and ensures that it doesn’t exceed one. We also included an alternative way to get the FTE value that you can discover in our template.
Get the template here:
4. PPP Forgiveness Calculator
After preparing your total payroll costs, non-payroll expenses, and FTE calculations, you can now start calculating your PPP loan forgiveness amount. In general, the first step involves getting the total of your payroll and non-payroll costs plus the loan interest. Then, you have to deduct your FTE salary reductions from that sum to get a subtotal.
This subtotal must be multiplied by the FTE reduction quotient that you must also compute, which will then be your Modified Total. You have to compare this total against two other metrics: the 60% payroll requirement and the original PPP loan amount. Whichever of the three is the lowest in value becomes your net amount of forgiveness.
That was quite messy, right? This is where our spreadsheet calculator might come in handy. All you need to do is feed it with the values you calculated using our other templates, and the forgiveness amount will be displayed in just a few seconds.
Get the template here:
5. PPP Schedule A Worksheet for Cash Compensation
As we’ve briefly mentioned earlier, borrowers must also file their Schedule A to qualify for loan forgiveness. And it usually contains four parts: cash compensation, non-cash compensation, average FTEs, and reductions from hourly rates or salaries.
Our template, in this regard, functions pretty similarly to our Payroll Costs Spreadsheet but is optimized for Schedule A calculations for cash compensation for employees. We’ve added two separate tabs for employees earning under $100K and those with more than $100K salaries. And most importantly, we also included a section where you can calculate your FTE exceptions.
Get the template here:
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What Is the Formula for PPP Loan Forgiveness?
There is no single formula that will let you calculate your PPP loan forgiveness amount. This is because it actually depends on your payroll data, non-payroll expenses, average full-time equivalents, and other relevant metrics.
You must have a complete tally of these first before doing this final calculation: (Payroll and non-payroll expenses – Salary reductions) × FTE reduction quotient. Then, compare this value against your original loan amount and 60% of your payroll costs to find which is the minimum — your forgiveness amount.
2. What Reports Are Needed for PPP Loan Forgiveness?
Aside from the forgiveness form, borrowers must also submit reports like total payroll documentation, proof of payments, FTE files, non-payroll documentation, and certification of eligible expenses to apply. Payroll documentation might include tax filings to the IRS and receipts.
Final Thoughts
PPP loan forgiveness spreadsheet templates can help streamline and automate your calculation processes when filing your application. They also ensure that your numbers are accurate and organized. Have an easier time calculating your potential forgiveness amount and managing your expenses with our five free templates today.
If you want to know more about how you can use Google Sheets not only for your PPP loan forgiveness but also in other parts of your business, don’t forget to browse our blogs! Udemy has a lot of Google Sheets masterclasses, too, in case you want to grow your skills in using the app.
Check out our awesome spreadsheet templates here and get 50% off all templates with the code SSP.
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