The $349 billion Paycheck Protection Program is out of money.

Some small business owners, watching their receipts shrivel up in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic sheltering measures, got a loan to keep things going until shoppers return.

And some didn’t.

Congress is expected to pump more money into the program, while the U.S. Treasury is considering other programs to fund small business through more traditional loans.

But among many small business owners are questions about how loans were approved, what businesses left on the outside are supposed to do going forward, and how effective the loans will be in the long run in saving an essential part of the economy.

According to the Alabama Bankers Assocation, Alabama small businesses received about 28,000 loans worth $4.86 billion through the program. Nationwide, there were a total of 1.6 million loans, with the overall average size of the loans approved on a national level totaling $206,000.

The loans went out at a dizzying speed and volume. Banks like BBVA received hundreds of applications within minutes. Regions, in its quarterly earnings report, said it assisted business customers in securing PPP loans totaling $2.8 billion.

Melissa Kendrick, 56, owns Sojourns, a boutique with clothing and handcrafted items on Third Avenue South in Birmingham. She had just spent about $20,000 to add a clothing line to her store when the pandemic shutdown began. Her last day of regular business was March 18.

Since then, she’s offered curbside pickup for customers and sold items online. Sales have dropped to 25 percent of what they were when the pandemic measures started, she said.

When the Small Business Administration offered emergency disaster loans, she applied on the very first day. Then she was notified the form changed, so she reapplied. She submitted a third application when the process changed again. By the time that application went through, the program had run out of money.

Then, she inquired about the PPP loan, but was told she was considered a sole proprieter as she had only one part-time employee. By April 10, though, she was informed she could apply. But her regular bank said she would only qualify for a loan of $3,500, and that was below their threshold for applications.

“They said they were not processing for less than a $10,000 request,” she said. The next day, the program ran out of money.

Kendrick says she understands the pandemic measures. She worked in developing countries and even contracted malaria.

“I have asthma – I’m high risk,” she said. “I understand it. I think we should have done these measures earlier and in a more unified effort. I think the way we did it was like just putting Band-aids on stab wounds.”

But she feels the loan programs – in particular the PPP – started at the “wrong end of the spectrum.” Larger companies that were considered small businesses in spite of being part of national franchises received money while other businesses either didn’t get in line fast enough or were not eligible.

“All that money could have literally saved thousands of mom-and-pops,” she said. “The micro businesses are the ones hurting the most.”

Jodi Burnett owns A Little Bird Boutique, a women’s clothing store in Grove Hill, with locations in Atmore and Saraland. She planned to open another location in Tuscaloosa a week before the shutdown began there. Just prior, she saw business dropping about 80 percent as customers began staying home.

Easter and graduation are traditionally big sales seasons that get her through the summer months. She was anticipating Easter sales of about $80,000 – this year, she had about $3,000.

Now, she’s just trying to hold the business together for employees to have jobs when things open up again. “I might have an $18 pair of shorts at one store that I’m driving one hour to mail out,” she said. “I can’t shut it down. It’s like a ball rolling.”

On the advice of a friend, Burnett applied for a PPP loan at a smaller community bank. She met a bank employee in the parking lot with her application and had all the relevant documents ready online.

She learned Friday that she will receive a loan of about $21,000, having gotten approved just before the program ran out of money. That amount will take care of rent for two months. Recipients can use the loan for payroll, rent, utilities or mortgage interest, but must show they used the money for those purposes. She will also receive a $10,000 disaster grant.

But she also wonders about other businesses she knows in her community that have been able to remain open – such as restaurants – which were also able to apply and receive funds. Others forced to close were not so lucky.

“I think there were businesses that didn’t need it as much as others and took advantage of it,” she said. “I’m only about 10 percent of what I used to be.”