According to a recent Paychex survey, only 39% of employers with fewer than 500 employees are aware of the employee retention tax credit. However, under the provisions of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, the Employee retention tax credit can now be used in conjunction with a Paycheck Protection Program (P3) loan.

This significant change provides another source of financial relief for businesses that continue to fight the financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. To help maximize the benefits of the stimulation options available, Paychex, Inc., the HR software and services company that brings the power of simplicity to increasingly complex workplaces, has extended paycheck protection program support in Paychex Flex®.

Paychex Flex is the first HR software solution to introduce integrated tools to help businesses maximize tax credits without impacting the PPP rebate. Within the app, employers can easily navigate the complexities of changes to the Paycheck Protection Program and the Employee Retention Tax Credit.

“We have extended our PPP forgiveness estimator to give clients the ability to run ‘what if’ scenarios to determine how the inclusion of non-wage costs can increase the wage dollars available for tax credits,” explained Martin mucci, President and CEO of Paychex. “Integrating this functionality into our PPP solution can help customers identify the money they might be leaving on the table if they don’t take advantage of the tax credits. “

“PPP financing has been of great help to businesses, but cash flow management remains extremely complicated,” added Mucci. “For this reason, I am incredibly proud of the Paychex Flex solutions that our team has continued to develop to help our clients maximize the financial relief available to them.

According to the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, the Employee Retention Tax Credit is now available to businesses that have taken out a PPP loan, including initially ineligible borrowers. The new law also expands the definition of non-wage costs under the PPP, increasing what can be forgiven, including operating expenses. By allowing users to track these salary and non-salary costs and run calculations in real time, Paychex Flex is the only HR technology application that helps businesses understand how relief packages work together and maximize the potential stimulus. for employee retention. Tax Credit and PPP.

This new feature is the latest enhancement to the robust PPP solutions that Paychex has made available to its clients and the CPA community over the past year, often in near real time as the adoption of the new legislation. To date, Paychex clients have secured $ 30 billion in PPP relief funds.

“Paychex is the only vendor in our industry to offer an end-to-end solution that connects employers with an SBA-approved lender, tracks remittance costs, identifies opportunities for additional savings through loans from tax and prepare a forgiveness request ready to be signed,” mentionned Tom hammond, Paychex vice president of corporate strategy and product management. “Our solutions facilitate very complex processes by using real customer business data from a single HR application. “

For Mike Biewer, executive producer of Funnel, a Portland, Oregon-based video production company, Paychex’s solutions have made it easier for them to obtain PPP funding and keep employees on the job.

“I knew that getting a PPP loan was really the only chance we had to keep the staff employed through it all,” says Biewer. “It turns out that getting the loans – and canceling them – ultimately comes down to providing the right payroll documents. Paychex has all of this information at your fingertips – it’s all there. We were funded in the first round and luckily we were able to keep the whole team together. I know when it’s time to apologize, I won’t have to waste time digging through a bunch of files for the information I need. I can focus on transferring my business. This is what allows me to have a partner like Paychex.

For more information on these solutions and other resources available to help businesses overcome cash flow challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, visit Paychex COVID-19 Help Center.