Trading Online Voucher Schemetrading online voucher local enterprise

Trading Online Voucher Scheme – up to €2,500 grant available

Take advantage of the Government funded Trading Online Voucher today.

In today’s market, people are buying everything online.

If you are not selling your services or products online you are missing out.

Stated in a report last year Irish people are spending €850,000 an hour online.

 

Can you afford to ignore this figure?

No.

So what can you do about it?

 

First, you need to get your business online and introduce an Ecommerce element to your site.

Now, this doesn’t have to be a full-blown online shop. You just need the ability for customers to be able to pay you through your website.

Some examples below highlight the different use cases for this:

  • A voucher system for services
  • A Booking function where clients can pay a deposit
  • Sell your products through your website.
  • Digital invoicing and payment gateway

We have worked with numerous clients in their successful application and deployment of web services as part of the online trading voucher system and the results have been very positive.

Think about it…

A customer goes online and does some research – they find a product they want but have to go back to the old system of getting into the car and driving to your shop to make the purchase.

With the advancements in sites like Amazon, you are going to lose out big time because now a customer can go online, pick what they want, pay for it in 10 seconds and it’s delivered to their door a few days later.

Find Out More

What is the Trading Online Voucher?

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

How easy is that?

What can I use the Trading Online Voucher for?

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

How do you qualify for the grant?

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?

You can download the forms right here in both digital or printable options

Online Trading Voucher E-Form | Online Trading Voucher Form Printable Version

How long does it take?

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.

When do I get the funding?

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.

How can you get started?

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.

Just give us a call on 059 9105049 or contact us here