Local Enterprise Office
Trading Online Voucher Scheme – up to €2,500 grant available for small businesses.
New or upgrading websites & online stores, online marketing, booking integrations etc.
- Take advantage of the Government funded Trading Online Voucher today.
- If you’re not selling your services or products online, you’re missing out.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR A TRADING ONLINE VOUCHER?
- small business with up to 10 employees
- limited or no e-commerce presence;
- turnover of less than €2 million
- applicants must be registered and trading for a minimum of 6 months
GROW YOUR BUSINESS ONLINE
Boost your business online with the Trading Online Voucher, created by LEO (Local Enterprise Office) to assist small businesses in combating the COVID-19 Crisis.
It offers financial assistance of up to €2,500 with co-funding of 50% from the business along with training and advice to help your business trade online, increase sales and get to new markets.
What is the LEO Trading Online Voucher?
The Local Enterprise Office (LEO) Trading Online Voucher scheme is designed to help small and medium-sized Irish enterprises improve their digital capabilities and online presence. The purpose of the scheme is to enable businesses to sell products and services online, reach new customers, and expand their market reach. Grants are available up to €2,500.
How the scheme works
With the Trading Online Voucher scheme (TOV), the Government offers support of up to €2,500.00 for 50/50 funding to get your business trading online.
So for example the government will match 50% of your costs up to a maximum value of €2,500.00. This means if you spend €4000 to get your business trading online you will get €2000 back. If were to spend €5000 or above, you will receive a maximum of €2500.
*Important*
You must first get approval for the scheme before incurring any expenses
HOW CAN TOV HELP YOU?
Online Trading Voucher Uses
Your Online Trading Voucher can contribute towards…
A brand new or upgrading website
Start trading online with a brand new website or eCommerce website for your business.
Upgrading business website or eCommerce Website
Upgrade your current business or eCommerce Website with a new up to date platform.
Digital Marketing Strategy & Implementation
Drive customers & business to your online shop by implementing a digital marketing strategy.
FREE CONSULTATION
Did you know there is a grant available of up to €2500 for all SME’s to implement Ecommerce on their website?
Leave us a message and we’ll get straight back to you. This service is brought to you by, Craig Murray Digital. You will receive a free consultation and help through the entire process. We have a very high success rate for applicants.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
It is a Government funded initiative that will pay up to 50% or a max of €2,500 (ex VAT) of the costs to small business owners when you implement online payments and eCommerce functionality on your website.
You fill in the form and submit to your local Enterprise Office and once you have completed a pre-qualifying training session you are good to go.
Once you pay for the work you submit copies of the paid invoices to the LEO and they send you out a cheque for 50% of the cost.
The voucher is not just limited to online trading capabilities on your site. Below are the main categories when the funding is applicable:
- IT consultation
- Development or upgrade of an e-commerce website
- Implementing Online payments or booking system;
- 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)
- Implementing a digital marketing strategy
- Development of a digital marketing strategy
- Training/skills development specifically to establish and manage an on-line trading activity
There are some guidelines available on the LEO websites but to break it down into plain points see below:
- No more than 10 employees
- Less than €2m in turnover
- Trading for at least 12 months
- Be located in the region of the local enterprise office to whom they are applying.
Nothing too challenging here, and from our dealings with Local Enterprise Offices around the country the success rate for qualifying companies is very high once they involve a knowledgeable web design company to assist them with their application.
Where can I get the trading online voucher forms?
Visit the Local Enterprise Office Website for more info or Contact Us and we can help you with all the questions you may have.
It really depends on you. Once the application is submitted you have 3 months to complete the project. From experience, we can typically turn around a project in a couple of weeks.
Content and imagery are crucial to the success of your online venture as without this there is no way for Google to understand what you are promoting or selling.
Our aim with every project is to get your site ranking in the search results because of our strategic approach to content and site structure. This is more of a long term play but there are other options available for an immediate return.
We can use targeted advertising on platforms such as Facebook, Google Ads or even Twitter and LinkedIn if that’s where your potential clients hang out. This method is great for jump starting campaigns until the content starts to rank on page one of Google.
Typically once the site is finished and the full invoice is paid we see clients receiving a cheque within a couple of weeks. There are no payment options available for your web developer except a final payment in full.
On receipt of the payment, your web developer needs to submit a copy of the paid invoice and their tax clearance number to the LEO, and that’s it.
The easiest way to get the ball rolling is to talk to one of our web developers or consultants and see if your business is suitable for the grant.
We offer this service free of charge with no obligation to use our team in the actual work. Our team are on standby and will talk you through everything you need to know.