Administrator Isabella Guzman who leads the Small Business Administration (SBA), announced changes to streamline the process for small businesses to submit Work-in-Process information used in the SBA Surety Bond Guarantee program by leveraging machine-readable data standards (XBRL). The SBA Surety Bond Guarantee program backs surety bonds for small businesses wishing to submit qualified bids in partnership with surety companies and their agents, allowing them to offer bonds and bonding capacity to small businesses that might not qualify otherwise. Read the SBA announcement.
The new process implemented by the SBA allows the agency to consume XBRL-formatted Work-in-Process reports generated by an application that leverages XBRL-CSV. Bond agents, sureties, and contractors can efficiently prepare and update facts in a spreadsheet application and submit the reports directly to the SBA. The program, which is voluntary for bond agents, sureties and contractors who submit WIP reports, can be used instead of today’s time-intensive process which requires manual data entry of contract price, cost to complete, billings and dates for multiple projects, into an online form.
“SBA’s Surety Bond Guarantees are critical for small businesses to be able to qualify, compete for, and complete major projects—including many of the improvement projects being funded as part of President Biden’s $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Bipartisan Infrastructure Law),” said Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman. “Streamlining and simplifying these Work-in-Process submissions will make it easier for more small businesses—especially those in historically underserved communities —to participate in the SBG program, seize these infrastructure opportunities, and continue to lead the way in building a stronger, more equitable, and resilient American economy.”
“We’re very pleased to roll out this new process. The SBA’s Surety Bond Guarantees are going to drastically change the way small businesses gain access to funding opportunities,” said Associate Administrator for the SBA Office of Capital Access, Patrick Kelley. “Ultimately, these small business-friendly improvements will be a game-changer for our nation’s small business owners.”
See the official SBA Notification: SBA Notice on WIP 6 29 2022
Access the SBA conversion app.
Listen to a podcast about the modernization:
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