Small businesses are to be given a new support package starting today to help adopt new digital technologies.
Help to Grow:Digital is set to help boost a small business's productivity with eligible claimants to get access to free advice and up to 50 percent off software costs (max £5,000).
There are a number of eligibility clauses and caveats to the types of software and providers however.
The business must be registered with either Companies House or the FCA Mutuals register, have between 5 and 249 employees, traded for over 12 months and incorporated over 365 days before applying to claim.
The software being purchased must be the first time the business had made such a purchase, and only one discount will be provided toward one software purchase up to 50% (max £5000 ex.VAT). The discount can cover 12 months' worth of sofware costs ex.VAT
Unfortunately for now the software must be in the CRM or Digital Accounting categories but more software categories are to be added soon such as e-Commerce.
CRM software (Customer Relationship Management) allows businesses to maintain a database of activity with customers, from contacts to orders to many other interactions. For now CRM software can be purchased with discount from:
- Zestia Ltd
- Zymplify
- Livepoint Software Solutions Ltd
- Esteiro Business Solutions Ltd
- Deskpro Ltd
Digital accounting software manages the processes of creating invoices, capturing financial activity, providing insights and sharing financial data. For now Digital Accounting software can be purchased with discount from:
- Sage
- Intuit Ltd
- E-crunch