Newly-launched government Help-to-Grow Digital scheme can help fund financial and accounting software for small businesses
25th February 2022
Designed to support businesses in their adoption of digital technologies, the Help-to-grow Digital scheme is a UK-wide government initiative launched earlier this year.
It provides support in two key ways:
- Free access to practical, impartial advice about digital technology and its suitability for a specific business
- Financial support for up to 50% of the cost of approved digital technologies, worth up to £5,000
What is Help-to-Grow Digital
The scheme is a government-funded initiative, aimed at helping businesses to adopt digital technology that will ease their path to growth and help them become more resilient moving forward. It offers access to impartial help and guidance on selecting a digital technology, as well as partial funding on the cost of purchasing approved software.
What funding is available?
The funding is currently available as a 50% discount, valid across an approved shortlist of CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and digital accounting software (other technologies e.g. ecommerce are expected to be added shortly.)
Within the digital accounting software options, you can currently apply for funding against solutions from three approved accountancy software providers:
- Sage
- Intuit (Quickbooks)
- E-crunch
The funding offers a discount of up to 50% on software for the first 12 months and is awarded based on a company meeting the eligibility criteria.
Am I eligible for funding
To be eligible for the scheme your business must:
- Have a registered office in the UK
- Be registered at the relevant Companies House or be a registered society listed on the Financial Conduct Authority’s Mutuals Register
- Have been actively trading for over 12 months prior to the date of application and have an incorporation date at least 365 days prior to the date of application
- Employ between 5 and 249 employees
- Be purchasing the approved software for the first time
In addition to this, any individual applying for the scheme must be aged over 18 and be able to confirm that the grant does not take the business over the Small Amounts of Financial Assistance (De Minimus) thresholds. Certain other conditions apply, including timelines of purchasing the software from the awarding of the financial discount. Full terms and conditions can be viewed here.
How do I apply?
You can only apply for one discount per business and it can’t be split across more than one software.
You will need to visit the Help-to-grow: Digital website. On the website you will find the free and impartial advice to help you choose which digital technology will most help your business. This includes a software comparison tool.
You will need to go through the following application steps:
- Read the information available to you within the support and guidance tools
- Utilise the software comparison tool to understand your digital needs and which software suits them best
- Complete your application process, which include business and applicant information, as well as email verification
- Complete fraud and eligibility checks
- Select final software and purchase with your discount
You will need to know:
- The Companies House or FCA Mutuals Public Register number of your business.
- Your name, position in the company and work email address
- The number of employees within your business
The whole process is done via the Help-to-grow: Digital website
Is it right for me
Whether or not you have already identified your need for software, the scheme provides some great advice and tools to see if you would benefit from increasing your digital technology adoption. Without any obligation you can get access to tools that help highlight your needs and compare appropriate software to fill those needs. For some businesses, identifying and filling that digital gap could really help improve their business and ability to move forward. For a relatively small amount of your time, it could well be worth checking out what is recommended for you and whether you are eligible for 50% discount towards the cost.
Speak to one of our expert team by clicking here.
