How To Get Free €2,500 Voucher In Ireland To Help You Get Your Business Up Online

Right now it is more important than ever to take full advantage of the aids that the Government offers you in your country.

In Ireland, one of these aids is the Trading Online Voucher (TOV) is operated under a matched investment arrangement and has been around for quite some time. However, during Covid-19 this scheme has become even more attractive; before you had to commit 50% funds to get 50% matched up to €2,500. Now it’s only 10%(sadly only relevant until 30th September 2020). So, in other words, you need to spend €250 (10%) on your business improvements to get €2,500 from the government. Before you would need to put €2,500 (50%) of your own towards getting a matched €2,500 from the Government (still a great deal and a huge help to businesses. (*please note this will likely change back to 50% / 50% matching again once the foreseeable future once the pandemic is behind.)

“In 2020 the scheme is being expanded by €14.2m after the Local Enterprise Offices received three years’ worth of applications in three months following the outbreak of Covid-19 . There were 1,218 applications for the scheme last year, but the scheme saw 3,962 applications from the middle of March to early June of this year alone.”

Source; RTE.ie , 8 June 2020

As of 2020, it is estimated that only about 25% of SME Irish businesses invest in e-commerce. For businesses employing less than ten people, this percentage could be even lower. It is now believed that, of online purchases made in Ireland, up to 70% of these are done in overseas markets. To help smaller businesses grow online the Local Enterprise Office (LEO) trading online grant was created specifically targeting the eCommerce and digital marketing in order to help small businesses in this area. Any SME business that passes the eligibility requirements can apply for this voucher. When filling out the form keep in mind that the objective of the Trading Online Voucher Scheme is to help small businesses grow their sales, exports and ultimately create jobs (we will touch on this again).

Eligibility Criteria

This grant is available from your Local Enterprise Office (LEO). It’s aimed to help small businesses and in particular :

• Limited Online Trading presence;
• 10 or less employees;
• Turnover less than €2m;
• Applicant business must be registered and trading for at least 6 months; (before pandemic was 12 months)
• Business must be located in the area covered by this phase of the scheme i.e. within the remit of the participating LEOs;

Pro Tip: Businesses that have already received a Trading Online Voucher can now apply for a second voucher, where upgrades are required. As under the scheme, small businesses can claim up to €5,000 in two grants worth €2,500 each.

Ineligible Projects

• Companies with charitable status, commercial semi-state companies, “not for profit” organisations, trade associations and company representation bodies such as Chambers of Commerce are not eligible to participate in the scheme;
• Professional services specialising in IT type services who are already capable of trading online using existing in-house systems;
• Conferences and Seminars;
• Projects which are contrary to public policy;
• Projects deemed to be capable of proceeding in any event without scheme assistance i.e. deadweight;
• Duplication of support for projects which would be eligible for assistance from other State Agencies of EU funded Operational Programmes;

What else should you know about the vouchers

• Vouchers will be available to a maximum value of €2,500 or 10% of eligible expenditure (Exclusive of VAT), whichever is the lesser; (*please note again this will likely change back to 50% / 50% matching once the pandemic is behind us.)
• Voucher approval must be gained prior to incurring any expense;
• Own labour is not an eligible expense;
• Third-party costs only will be considered;
• All third party/supplier invoices must contain proper business details (e.g. Tax and Business Registration details);

What The Vouchers Can Be Used For

The voucher can be used towards any or a combination of the following:

• IT consultation;
• Development or upgrade of an e-commerce website;
• Implementing Online payments or booking systems;
• Purchase of Internet-related software;
• Purchase of online advertising (this purchase cannot make up any more than 30% of approved Voucher costs and can only be drawn down in one payment phase);
• Developing an app (or multiplatform webpages);
• Developing/Implementing a digital marketing strategy i.e. Social media marketing or anything else specifically tailored for your business;
• Training/skills development specifically to establish and manage online trading activity.
• SEO Audit of your Website & SEO upgrades to improve your Google search ranking.
• Professionally designed and implemented Email Marketing Campaign
• New Content expertly written for your website, blog and social media posts
• Production & Editing of Promotional & Informational Videos for your business
• A Google Adwords &/or Facebook Ads Audit and improvements to your existing campaigns &/or development of new campaigns to increase your web traffic, queries and sales.
• Finally, funding can be used towards adding payment facilities or booking systems to your website or developing new apps for your customers and can also be used towards subscriptions to low cost online retail platform solutions, to help companies quickly establish a retailing presence online.

All services that we offer at the www.thestartupstudio.ie if you need to get a free quote (as it’s mandatory to get 3 quotes).

What the vouchers cannot be used for

• Development of brochure websites
• Purchase of non-internet related software;
• Anything other than online trading related activity.

Pro Tip: Apply early. Grant aid cannot be retrospective. So any expenditure prior to date of approval is not eligible.

How to give yourself the best chance

The Trading Online Voucher Scheme and application process for the Vouchers are very competitive. Some counties are more competitive than others, as in, some county LEO’s have more grants available.

Each Trading Online Voucher Scheme application is measured on a scoring system and applications with the highest score will qualify for the trading online voucher scheme. The scoring factors are:

• Value-added potential/increased online sales
• Export potential
• Job creation potential
• Financial Sustainability

Once you understand what the scoring factors are(above^) you will be in the best position to provide answers for the application.

So, when answering the questions within the form, think about the above four points. Is there some export possibilities, even if it’s potentially further down the road, do mention it in the application. And be realistic with your job creation forecast, but do make sure you will be increasing your headcount over the coming years.

Pro Tip: So, take notice of the requirements above and gear your answers based on what the Trading Online Voucher Scheme is for. (The same way you would do to score highly in any exam, answer with the marking scheme in mind.) And also, you don’t want to answer questions within the trading online voucher scheme application that could rule your application out.

How to apply

1. If satisfied you are eligible and wish to apply then register to attend an information event, as this is compulsory. Link to the bookings page where the TOV, and other seminar dates are available. These are available as virtual sessions and will give you information on the grant as well as general marketing information to help you make an informed decision about your digital strategy. The training sessions cover various topics, including developing a website, digital marketing, social media for business and search engine optimisation.
2. Once you have attended (and signed the online form received during the webinar as proof of attendance) LEO Fingal will be in touch with slides from the webinar and the application link.
3. If you have already attended a webinar, received the application link, and started your online application, we would encourage you to complete your draft application and submit online without delay.
4. It is compulsory to get three quotes before selecting a supplier. We would be delighted to provide you with a free quote, to help you get one of the three quotes. Just contact us www.thestartupstudio.ie.
5. Submit a copy of the completed and signed application form in hard copy to your local LEO;
6. Soft copy of the completed application to be supplied by email to your local LEO.

The application process itself is pretty straight forward and should not take longer than 10 minutes to read and 15 minutes to fill out. Just Google TOV application to see the sample of the form, you will get this anyway after the information event.

Pro Tip: Play the agencies of eachother a little bit to get the maximum value for your money from the quotes. So for example if you had an agency you preffer see if they can throw in something extra for you.

Approved

All applicants approved must draw down in full within 9 months of the date of the offer, or in exceptional circumstances within 12 months (i.e. 9 months, plus 2 months extension, and a further 1-month extension). Note this used to be 4 months before the pandemic. It’s best to just use it immediately as failure to draw down all or any portion may result in automatic de-committal without notice, i.e. loss of voucher.

If your application is successful, a letter of offer will be sent to you for you to forward to your preferred supplier. Letter of offer needs to be signed, accepted and returned. The successful applicant must complete the work within the approved time.

Conclusion

Have you been thinking of making some upgrades to your business? Could not be the best time to do this with the help of this voucher?

At www.thestartupstudio.ie we have helped companies in Ireland apply for the Trading Online Voucher Scheme, and we have delivered stunning websites and marketing services that helped companies sell online. Some of our core LEO services are; development or upgrade of an e-commerce website, Implementing Online payments or booking systems, Development / Implementing of a digital marketing strategy.

We are also happy to see if we can give you an extra consulting service or digital service to convince you we’re the best value option for you.

If you need any help at all with your application just get in touch with us at info@thestartupstudio.ie.

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