In his advisory work as the de facto CFO for many of his physician clients, Brett Tushingham has had the opportunity to see the good, bad and downright ugly when it comes to the small business loan process set forth in the CARES Act five weeks ago.

Now that President Donald Trump has signed the third funding package into law to provide $310 billion to replenish the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)—the much sought-after initiative to provide forgivable loans to small businesses with 500 or fewer employees devasted by the pandemic—the advisor, who founded Tushingham Wealth Strategies in Wilmington, N.C., hopes his hard work to help clients get loans continues to pay off.

“I’ve had clients get loans, but the majority are pending and one client who applied with Wells Fargo hasn’t had any response,” Tushingham told Financial Advisor.

Clients who had established banking relationships with credit unions and local or regional banks fared well, while those who ran the gauntlet with national banks have not yet received funding, he said.

“I’ve experienced both ends of the spectrum. The slowest application processes have been with the biggest banks. They’re just backed up and clients are getting no followup,” Tushingham said.

About one-third of Tushingham’s business clients who applied for a PPP loan have gotten funding while the rest are still waiting.

“As soon as the CARES Act came out, I spent three days reading it to get in touch with business clients to educate them about their funding options. I had the feeling it would be first come, first served for the funding, which turned out to be true. I assume it will be true again for this latest $310 billion,” added Tushingham, who along with other advisors interviewed anticipates a another funding package or two to replenish the program.

Tushingham said his proactive strategy has paid off for his physician and business clients, many of whom have told him he knows more about the PPP process than the bankers they’re dealing with.

Acting as his clients’ CFO has also allowed Tushingham  to work with their CPAs and bankers to ensure that all information needed for loan applications, such as payroll records, are complete, he said.

Because of his clients’ low debt level and emergency reserves, no physician clients have had to seek private financing, he said.

But he has helped them make determinations regarding staffing, layoffs, reduced work weeks and pricey equipment purchases.

“One more action I'm taking is having my clients look into refinancing their commercial and personal mortgages. Loans are near all-time lows and one client freed up over $500 a month by refinancing,” Tushingham said.

He’s also advised doctors to suspend their federal student loan payments until September 30—another option created by teh CARES Act. “A lot of physicians have hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans, so it’s beneficial to have a six-month reprieve,” he said.

Jon Harrington, a senior advisor at Milestone Financial Planning LLC in Bedford, N.H., said he has had several nonprofit clients and one business owner with 150 employees who have been approved for PPP loans.

The business’s “revenue was down 50% so it was crucial to help them not lay off anyone for the next two months,” said Harrington.

Harrington said he has heard anecdotally from his network of advisors that local and regional banks and credit unions have been more nimble, responsive and successful at procuring loans for their clients, while small businesses seem to have gotten lost at big, commercial banks and still need funding.

Harrington said his recommendation for any business still waiting for a PPP loan is to shop your business banking relationship to smaller or regional institution that are successfully procuring PPP loans for smaller companies. “They should look at what banking relationships they can move to a smaller bank or credit union and offer to move their relationship there now. Have you called other banks? Keep calling other banks.” Harrington said.

Larry Luxenberg, founder of Lexington Avenue Financial Management in New York City, said about 10 of his business clients have been successful in getting PPP loans, while 10 have not.

Some of the national banks his clients work with have been slow, but some have been very good in processing his clients PPP loans, added Luxenberg, who said all his clients have relationships with commercial banks.

“Some will be successful in this round, but some will probably not. But I don’t think this will be the last round. I’m expecting a difficult economy for a year or two,” Luxenberg said.

“It’s really a bank-by-bank story. While one client who operates a one- to two-person business had a personal account with Chase, they hadn’t worked with the bank’s business unit, which is why their PPP application was overlooked. I’ve suggested they open a business banking account now, so in future rounds their application will get traction,” he said.

“It’s hard to say how critical this funding has been for businesses just yet. Conditions are still unfolding. But a month or two months from now, the funds may be very critical,” added Luxenberg.