New Government scheme to help small firms adopt digital technologies

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The Help to Grow: Digital scheme will pay up to £5,000 towards software costs for businesses buying them for the first time.

The Government has launched its Help to Grow: Digital scheme to support smaller businesses in adopting digital technologies to boost their growth.

Eligible businesses can apply to receive discounts of up to £5,000 off the retail price of approved Digital Accounting and CRM software from leading technology suppliers to help them effectively manage their finances and build customer relationships.

The UK-wide government-backed scheme comes in two parts:

  1. It offers free impartial advice and guidance about what digital technology is best suited to your business
  2. Targeted financial support, if your business is eligible, worth up to £5,000 towards the costs of buying approved digital technologies

What support can I get?

The Help to Grow: Digital website offers free, impartial advice, guidance, and tools to help identify the digital technology needs of your business, the software products available and how to adopt them.

It also offers financial help to buy digital technology. If you are eligible, you can access a discount of up to 50% on the costs of buying approved software, worth up to £5,000, on the Help to Grow: Digital website.

What type of software can I get?

Discounts will be available for approved software that helps build customer relationships, increase sales, manages accounts and finances digitally. Sage and Quickbooks are among the software available under the scheme. Additional software products, including e-Commerce software, are not yet available under the scheme but are expected to become available for Help to Grow: Digital discounts soon.

Who is eligible?

The financial discount is available to UK businesses that meet all four eligibility criteria below:

  • Your business must have a registered office in the UK (England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland) and be registered at the relevant Companies House or be a registered society listed on the Financial Conduct Authority’s Mutuals Register.
  • Your business must have been actively trading for over 12 months prior to the date of application and have an incorporation date of, at minimum, 365 days prior to the date of application.
  • Your business must have a total of between 5 and 249 employees.
  • Your business must be purchasing the approved software for the first time.

Eligible businesses will only receive one discount towards the purchase of one approved software product up to a maximum of £5,000 (not including VAT).

The financial discount covers 12 months’ worth of approved software product core costs, exclusive of VAT.

Visit the Help to Grow: Digital website for more information.

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