Grow Digital Voucher – Financial Support to Embrace Digital Solutions

The Grow Digital Voucher offers small businesses an opportunity to improve and bridge the digital gap for their companies. It is a replacement and improvement of the Local Enterprise Office’s Trading Online Voucher. The new grant is based on the Digital for Business report that has been completed within the last two years.

What are the details for the Grow Digital Voucher?

The new scheme is aimed at small to medium businesses with up to 50 employees and that is based in an area which is covered by one of the 31 Local Enterprise Offices in Ireland. Funding is available for projects and will cover up to 50% of eligible costs with a minimum grant of €500 up to a maximum of €5000 to invest into new software training/IT configuration and software subscription fees. Companies will need to have been established and trading for at least six months to be eligible.

• This grant hopes to streamline operation and enhance businesses with new productivity tools to boost efficiency via digitalisation.
• The Grow Digital grant will expand your companies reach and help businesses open up to new customers. 
• A digital transformation to remain competitive in today’s competitive marketplace

Companies can apply for the grow digital voucher for a second time too. Approval for this application depends on clear progression as is outlined in the previously mentioned Digital for Business report. You can only apply for a maximum of two grow digital projects. 

Am I eligible for the Grow Digital grant?

The Grow Digital Voucher is available to small enterprises who have between 1 and 50 paid employees who:

• have completed a Digital for Business Project within the previous two years.
• are not currently clients of Enterprise Ireland or IDA.
• are established and trading for at least 6 months, registered, and operate within the area of the Local Enterprise Office.
• are solvent as demonstrated in the financial statements supplied.
• An enterprise will be eligible to apply to the Scheme where it is a company, self-employed individual or partnership carrying on a trade or profession, the profits of which are chargeable to tax under Case I or Case II of Schedule D by virtue of section 18(2) of the Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997 (TCA). Pay As You Go (PAYG) customers are within the scope of the scheme.
• Sporting bodies that carry on activities which would be chargeable to tax under Case I or II of Schedule D but for an exemption set out in section 235 TCA are eligible to apply to the scheme.
• Charities that carry on activities that would be chargeable to tax as trading income, but for an available tax exemption under section 208 TCA, are also included within the scope of the scheme.
• Businesses must have current tax clearance from Revenue. Businesses must supply a Tax Reference Number and a Tax Clearance Access Number to allow for verification of their Tax Clearance status on Revenue’s online portal.

Ineligible Applicants according to the Local Enterprise Office

• Companies with charitable status, commercial semi-state companies, “not for profit” organisations – which do not meet the above criteria, trade associations, company representation bodies such as Chambers of Commerce, Sporting Bodies – which do not meet the above criteria and other non-commercial bodies or associations are not eligible to avail of the Grow Digital scheme. 
• Are operating in the coal or steel sector.
• Are active in the primary agricultural, fishery or aquaculture sectors.
• Are involved in activities that Local Enterprise Offices considers as ineligible or as involving an unacceptable reputational risk. Ineligible activities include activities relating to:

1. The gambling sector, including ‘gaming’ (as defined in the Gaming and Lotteries Act 1956).
2. Adult entertainment.
3. Tobacco and tobacco related products.
4. Cannabis-based products which are not authorised as medicines.

Eligible Expenditure with Grow Digital Voucher

1. Software subscription fees

• for eligible business software that is NEW to the business for a maximum of one year subscription (the business must incur the annual subscription cost before the grant can be paid).
• that are “off the shelf”.
• expanding on the number of existing software licenses for software systems already in use does not qualify.

Eligible software examples include:

• E-commerce software
• Software for customer relationship management
• Online booking, payments or appointments
• Job tracking including field service management software.
• Order management or stock control software
• Industry specific cloud SaaS software (where new to the company)
• Field management or workflow management software
• Electronic invoicing or electronic signature software
• Standard office software (for email, documents, spreadsheets, etc.) where not already in use by the company
• Cyber security software (if new to the company)
• Cloud based accounting or payroll software (if moving to the cloud for these systems)
• 3D modelling software (including building information modelling)
• Analytics software (including AI systems)

2. Training and/or IT Configuration

Where the business requires expert assistance in the set up; and/or integration of new software systems or ICT processes or where the business management or team require training to engage with/maintain the new system to allow for ease of use and to garner most benefit for the business. (Training and Configuration amount combined can be no more than 50% of the software subscription fees).

Ineligible Expenditure with Grow Digital Voucher funding

• Custom or bespoke software is not eligible for grant support.
• Systems for regulatory compliance do not qualify.

Find out more at: https://www.localenterprise.ie/Portal/Growdigital/WHO-IS-ELIGIBLE-/WHO-IS-ELIGIBLE-.html

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