Did you know that Longford businesses and companies located anywhere in Ireland can apply for a Trading Online Voucher with their Local Enterprise Office and get up to €2,500 off the costs of their website??

The Government have a National Digital Strategy to help grow your business. The scheme is designed to help small businesses with up to 10 employees to trade online, boost sales and reach new markets. Participating in this scheme can make the process of trading online much easier for you.

As per the local enterprise office website:

“LEO 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. Cutting the cost of developing your online trading capacity by up to 50% can make this investment very affordable for many small businesses out there”

Free help and training are provided by your local enterprise office and cover topics, including developing a website, digital marketing, social media for business and search engine optimisation. The information provided will help you decide on what trading online options, are right for your business.

The vouchers are targeted at businesses with the following profile:

• Limited or no e-commerce presence;
• 10 or fewer employees;
• Turnover less than €2m;
• Applicant business must be trading for at least 6 Months;
• Businesses must be located in the area covered by the LEO to whom they make their application – ie a Longford Business must apply in the Longford jurisdiction.

The voucher can be used for the following reasons:

• IT consultation;
• Development or upgrade of an e-commerce website;
• Implementing Online payments or booking systems;
• Purchase of Internet-related software;
• Developing an app (or multiplatform webpages);
• Development of a digital marketing strategy;
• Implementing a digital marketing strategy;
• Training/skills development specifically to establish and manage online trading activity.
• Subscriptions (excluding transaction costs) to low-cost online retail platform solutions, which would allow applicants to quickly establish a retailing presence online.
• Purchasing of online advertising (this purchase cannot make up any more than 30% of all other approved Voucher costs;
• Purchasing of professional photography/videography (this expenditure cannot make up any more than 80% of all other approved voucher costs)

What are the things the vouchers cannot be used for?

• Development of brochure websites
• Purchase of non-internet-related software
• Anything other than online trading-related activity.

What else do I need to know about vouchers?

• The voucher must be approved before incurring any expense
• Own labour is not an eligible expense
• Third-party costs only will be considered
• All third-party/supplier invoices must contain proper business details (e.g. tax or business registration details or proof that the supplier is a registered business in the territory in which the supplier is located).
• Once the web designer has been paid the full amount, and receipts are supplied your business will be reimbursed!

You can apply for the voucher in 3 easy steps:

1. Find your Local Enterprise Office

Guidelines on the application process can change per county/city so do check in with your Local Enterprise Office first (find yours here!)

2. Attend a free Workshop

You need to attend a 3-hour workshop before you can apply for the voucher. Workshops can be booked online in the majority of cases. Depending on your location, these workshops may not be very frequent so check your local enterprise office website for more details. If you are a Longford Business click here to see when the next workshop is.

3. Complete the Application

Once you have completed the workshop and you meet the requirements for the Trading Online Voucher scheme you can apply to your Local Enterprise Office.

Longford Businesses – click here to link to the Longford LEO website with more information on the Trading Online Voucher or email info@leo.longfordcoco.ie.

I Do Website Design is an eligible business for the LEO trading online voucher. If you want to get in touch about building a website for your business email nikita@idowebsitedesign.com or fill out the contact form here.

*All information obtained from the Local Enterprise Office website. I Do Website Design has no affiliation with the LEO in any way.