The U.S. Small Business Administration has announced changes to streamline the submission of work-in-process information by small businesses that receive bonding support through the SBA’s Surety Bond Guarantee Prior Approval Program. Surety bonding is required for any business to bid on most major construction projects. 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 otherwise qualify. With the implementation of XBRL technology, users will now be able to use a free Microsoft Excel-based template and application to prepare and submit WIP reports in a machine-readable format directly to the Capital Access Financial System. Those using this process can update a small business’s WIP in seconds, regardless of the number of projects contained in the WIP report, according to the SBA. “NASBP has been encouraging greater automation for years, and so we are elated with SBA’s decision to embrace the automation of WIP report data, which will help all bonding stakeholders,” said Mark McCallum, CEO of the National Association of Surety Bond Producers.