Grow Your Business Online For Free

Grants
Written By Abbigail Fehr

Through the Canada Digital Adoption Micro-Grant

As a small business, growing online is a goal that many have—but often the initial cost is high enough that it can be tempting to just put it off. While a new website could potentially bring hundreds of dollars in revenue from new leads, and a social media management strategy and consistent posting could expose your business to thousands of potential clients, taking the time to set up a better online presence is still not easy for many small business owners—much less spending the money to do it right.

Enter the Canada Digital Adoption Micro-Grant. It’s a one-time grant for Canadian businesses, and provides eligible businesses with a $2,400 micro-grant to cover costs relating to growing your business online—specifically in the e-commerce sphere. The grant covers the cost to:

  1. ​​Build or improve your eCommerce platform(s)

  2. Optimize your eCommerce platform(s)

  3. Utilize digital marketing in support of your eCommerce platform(s)*

* Digital marketing activity is eligible when accompanied by one of the first two categories.

This means you can build a website, create an online ordering system, add an online reservation/booking system or online scheduling system, implement a CRM, or engage in social media marketing, and be reimbursed 100% of the cost, up to $2,400!

 

What is eCommerce?

eCommerce is an online transaction between business-and-consumer for the purposes of quoting, or booking/reserving/scheduling, or buying of products and/or services.

 

This is a great opportunity for small businesses, but how do you know if you’re eligible? We’re going to walk you through the key points of this program: are you eligible, what you need to apply, and what are the main things covered (and not covered).

Eligibility

In order to qualify for the Micro-Grant, you need to meet the following criteria.

Your business must be:

  • For-profit (including for profit social enterprises and cooperatives)

  • Registered and operating in Canada

  • Consumer-facing (services or products provided to individuals)

  • Public-facing (accessible by consumers)

And meet one of the following conditions:

  • Hired a minimum of one employee (other than the business owner) OR

  • Earned over $30,000 in annual gross revenue in the most recent tax year

That’s it! It’s important to note that there are some businesses that are not eligible:

  • Companies engaged in only business-to-business sales (No B2C component)

  • Corporate chains, franchises, or registered charities

  • Representatives of multi-level marketing companies

  • Brokerage firms, such as real estate agents, investment advisors, insurance agents, etc.

  • Wholesale or distribution businesses and manufacturers (unless you sell directly to consumers)

Application Checklist

So, you’re eligible. Now, it’s time to gather the information you need to apply. You’ll need:

  • Business and owner’s contact information

  • Federal business number

  • Start date of the business

  • Industry Type and NAICS Code

  • Ownership Diversity and inclusion data

  • Government issued document proving registration in your province** (Review the applicable information below depending upon how your business is structured)

**For Corporations (Provincial or Federal):

Provide one of the following government issued documents that displays your federal business number:

  • Articles of Incorporation

  • Annual Return (must not be expired - updated annually)

  • File Summary

OR

**For Sole Proprietorships & Partnerships:

Provide one of the following government issued documents that displays your federal business number:

  • Record of Filing (must not be expired – updated every 3 years)

  • File Summary

For information on how to obtain your:

Applicants will be required to complete a quick digital assessment about their business’ current status in the following categories:

  • Business Directory Registrations

  • Email Marketing Practices

  • Website Optimization

  • Social Media Strategy

  • eCommerce Application Usage

  • Back Office Solutions

  • Cybersecurity Considerations

So before you apply, be sure to think about the status of your company’s efforts in these areas.

What’s Covered (and what’s not)

For a claim to be approved, recipients must demonstrate that functional eCommerce is available to their consumers.

After your project’s completion, you’ll be asked to submit the following online:

  • Narrative describing the project outputs (i.e. links, screenshot, plans, etc.).

  • Transactions of all related invoices and proof of payment receipts.

Eligible Expenses

All expenses must be tied to the implementation or improvement of eCommerce activity:

  • Online Platform fee(s) 

  • Subscription fee(s)

  • 3rd party consultant fee(s)

  • Hardware fee(s) – 20% of the receipt amount up to a maximum of $480.00 dollars

It’s important to note that any expense that is not directly tied to eCommerce activity will not be considered an eligible expense. Other examples of ineligible costs include:

  • GST

  • Connectivity

  • Freight

  • Office Software (e.g., Microsoft Office, iWork, Google Workspace, etc.)

  • Renewal of digital services such as domain name, software subscription, etc.

  • Signage and printing

  • Logo redesign and rebranding

  • Business owner(s) or employee salaries

  • Any capital expenditure including costs of land, building or vehicle purchase

  • Costs of intangible assets such a goodwill

  • Depreciation or amortization expenses

  • Monthly mortgage or rent payments

  • Hospitality, entertainment, travel costs

  • Consulting fees related to the submission of the application

Once your claim is approved, reimbursement will be issued within 10 business days. Recipients are required to maintain their digital project for six months post completion. This means that, for example, if you create an e-commerce website, you need to be able to continue to maintain that website for at least 6 months afterwards.

That’s it! Are you ready to apply? Simply go to the website here and choose your province, and then follow the link:  https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/canada-digital-adoption-program/en/grow-your-business-online-get-started 

We’ve gone through this process for our own business as well, and we’re here to work with you to build your business with this grant in mind specifically. If you’d like a quote on implementing or growing the e-commerce aspect of your business, reach out to us today!

Abbigail Fehr