Grow Your Business Online For Free
Through the Canada Digital Adoption Micro-Grant
Update: The CDAP Grow Your Business Online micro-grant is scheduled to close on September 30th, 2024. If you are thinking of applying, ensure you do it quickly!
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 or thousands 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:
Build or improve your eCommerce platform(s)
Optimize your eCommerce platform(s)
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:
Business registration documents: www.companiesoffice.gov.mb.ca (for Manitoba Businesses)
Federal business number: www.canada.ca/en/services/taxes/business-number
Industry & NAICS: www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p3VD.pl?Function=getVD&TVD=1369825
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!