You’ll be pleased to know that since May 2019 the Online Trading Voucher is even more accessible to SMEs than ever before.
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Previously, businesses had to trade for over 12 months and the grant was mainly for website design & development fees. Now businesses only need to be trading for a minimum of 6 months and the grant covers other online expenses too.
About the Trading Online Voucher Scheme
Grow your business with help from this grant that is designed to assist small businesses. It offers financial assistance of up to a maximum of €2,500 along with training and advice to help your business trade successfully online.
Cutting the cost of developing your online trading capacity by up to 50% can make the investment extremely affordable. For example, if the whole project costs €5,000 you will only have to pay €2,500.
What is the eligibility criteria?
- Limited online trading presence
- Less than 10 employees
- Turnover less than €2m
- Businesses have to be in the same county as the Local Enterprise Office
- A Tax Clearance Certificate is required for partnerships & sole traders
What are ineligible projects for this scheme?
- Companies with charitable status & commercial semi-state companies
- Trade associations and company representation bodies
- Non profit organisations and social entrepreneurship applicants
- Professional IT type services who are already capable of trading online
- Conferences and Seminars
- Projects which are contrary to public policy
- Agencies of EU funded Operational Programmes
- Projects with 10 or more employees
- Projects that are not viable
- Projects essentially comprising of importation and distribution
What the vouchers can’t be used for:
- Development of brochure websites (non eCommerce websites)
- Purchase of non-internet related software
- Anything other than online trading related activity
The Trading Online Voucher is part of the National Digital Strategy that is being run by the Local Enterprise Offices throughout Ireland on a pilot basis. So don’t leave it too long to apply just in case this scheme gets axed!
The Trading Online Voucher can be used for:
- IT consultation
- Development or upgrade of a current website to an e-commerce website
- Installation of online payments or booking system
- Internet-related software
- Online advertising (maximum of 30% of approved Voucher costs)
- Developing an app
- Development of a digital marketing strategy
- Implementing a digital marketing strategy
- Training specifically to establish and manage an online trading presence
As a Digital Marketing Agency in Mullingar, we can provide all of the services listed above with the exception of building an app.
Conclusion
Businesses that have already participated in the scheme reported that, on average, they saw their sales increase by 20%.
2,000+ small businesses have received the Trading Online Voucher and some of them could even be your competitors!
There is a 14-page form that needs to be completed beforehand and I know that some of you would rather visit the dentist for a root canal treatment than fill it in, so I would be more than happy to run through the form with you.
The Westmeath LEO is located in Mullingar and all their contact details can be found here and a list of all the Local Enterprise Offices in each county of Ireland can be located here.
I would be happy to advise you which areas to invest in that would prove most beneficial to your business after some initial research into your industry and provide you with a competitive quotation.
So feel free to get in touch with me here, if you have any questions as I am only a few clicks away.
– Gary
Gary Gleeson
I am a professional website designer and a certified digital marketer with the Digital Marketing Institute since 2017
I have been building websites since 2010 and I hold a 2019 BSc Degree in Digital Technology & Design with Distinction from Technological University Dublin