What is a Trading Online Voucher?

The voucher is a financial incentive to small businesses to develop or enhance their ability to trade online.
Under the scheme  a qualifying business may apply for funding to a maximum value of €2,500 or 50% of eligible expenditure (exclusive of VAT), whichever is the lesser.

Following approval of their application, a successful applicant can engage suppliers and upon completion of the work, submit a request for payment to the LEO in line with the terms and conditions of their voucher. Information seminars will be made available online or by conference call to prospective applicants to support them in their application process and it will be a condition of applying for the vouchers that applicants participate in one of these seminars. At each seminar attendees will be informed of the purpose of the scheme and how best to use and get value from the application of the voucher. The application process for the vouchers will be a competitive process.

Note that applications made on behalf of clients by third parties will not be accepted.

What are the eligibility criteria?

The vouchers are targeted at businesses with the following profile:

1. Limited or no e-commerce presence
2.  10 or less employees
3. Turnover less than €2m
4. Applicant business must be trading for at least 6 months
5. Business must be located in the area covered by the LEO to whom they make their application i.e. LEOs cannot accept applications from businesses located outside their jurisdiction.  Note that businesses within the Gaeltacht should contact Údarás na Gaeltachta as Údarás for their range of supports and not apply for this scheme via the LEO
6. Previous voucher recipients may only apply for a second voucher after the completion of their final claim for their first voucher.
7. Applicant business must provide clear proof of trading for a minimum of 6 months to their Local Enterprise Office

What are ineligible projects for this scheme?

1. Companies with charitable status, commercial semi-state companies, trade associations and company representation bodies such as Chambers of Commerce are not eligible to participate in the scheme;
2. “Not for profit” and social entrepreneurship applicants unless they operate in a commercial domain;
3. Professional services specialising in IT type services who are already capable of trading online using existing in-house systems;
4. Conferences and Seminars;
5. Projects which are contrary to public policy;
6.  Duplication of support for projects which would be eligible for assistance from other State Agencies of EU funded Operational Programmes;
7.  Projects with employees in excess of 10 people;
8. Projects deemed to be capable of proceeding in any event without scheme assistance i.e. deadweight;
9. Projects essentially comprising importation and distribution
10. Specified Ineligible Business Sectors- click her for a listing

What can the vouchers be used for?

• 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 an 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.
• Purchase of online advertising (this purchase cannot make up any more than 30% of all other approved Voucher costs and can only be drawn down in one payment phase);
• Purchase of Professional Photography (this expenditure cannot make up any more than 80% of all other approved voucher costs and can only be drawn down in one payment phase)

What are the things the vouchers cannot be used for?

• Development of brochure websites*;
• Purchase of non-internet related software;
• Anything other than e-commerce trading related activity.

* A brochure website is digital version of a printed brochure. They show the products or services your company provides, however, unlike an e-commerce website, they do not sell the product or service online or have an interactive booking function. With a brochure website, the goods and services are only displayed, so customers will have to contact the company to place an order.

What else do I need to know about vouchers?

• Voucher approval must be gained prior to incurring any expense;
• Third party costs only will be considered. Own labour is not an eligible expense (labour of spouse or children also considered own labour);
• Claims can be made in either one or two installments, and only made in respect of actual work completed (i.e. in respect of the components of the project works completed at the time the claim is being made). Expenditure on the various project components can only be claimed once.
• 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).
• Applications must be accompanied by written/ emailed quotes for project works from three suppliers.

What is the voucher application and drawdown process?

Application Process:

• Read the terms & conditions;
• If satisfied you are eligible and wish to apply register to participate in an information event;
• Participate in information session;
• You will then be provided with a link to our online application system

Evaluation
• Evaluation of applications will be conducted by each LEO who will make recommendations for approval;
• An evaluation committee will assess the applications and make recommendations for approval;
• A competitive process will be put in place to assist with selection process. Selection of successful applicant will be based on the following criteria:
• Project Suitability;
• Value Added potential;
• Export potential;
• Job creation potential;
• How will the project aid the business during the COVID-19 Pandemic;
• Financial sustainability.
• Record decisions and report to the Local
Enterprise Office approvals committee;
• As part of the application process applicants will be required to participate in an information session on how to use and get the best value for money from the voucher

For further information

Contact the Local Enterprise Office Kerry. Tel: 066 71 8 3522 or E-mail: Leotov@kerrycoco.ie to find out about upcoming TOV information seminars /webinars which will provide all the details as to how to apply but also how to best use and gain value from the voucher to support your online trading proposition. Attendance is FREE and pre-registration is essential.  Note that you cannot proceed with a Trading Online Voucher application until you have attended a seminar/webinar.