Whilst we here in the Innovations Team never recommend our Clients spend money just for the sake of spending it – when there is a clearly defined business need or potential for improvement that can be gained from investing in new technologies for your business, then obviously it is well worth the initial outlay.
Recently, we have had great success in assisting our Clients to make that initial outlay even less of a burden, leveraging the Queensland Government Small Business Digital Grant Program.
Now having completed its fourth iteration, the Small Business Digital Grants exist to help Queensland headquartered Small Businesses with fewer than 20 employees and having less than $2M in turnover invest in digital technologies and services – particularly those which are deemed to be beneficial to business growth, competition, and the potential for the creation of additional jobs within the business.
Examples of previously accepted projects for some of our Clients include:
- Rolling out new VoIP Phone Systems to replace limited Analog Systems
- Upgrades to Server Equipment to modernise & reduce risk of Data Loss
- Modernising Workstations to use Dual (or Triple!) Screens for better productivity
- A Company Website refresh/overhaul to make it more modern and interactive
The requirements to achieve assistance with these projects are not onerous ones. It does require some strategic thinking to work out where your systems are lacking or potentially behind those of your competitors – for which it is often best to get some external input on as well. Once Quotes are sourced to remedy these shortfalls or provide a brand new service, then some additional time will need to be spent on putting together your application and a thorough description of how this technology will help your business to succeed and grow – and not become another statistic.
If your application is approved, the Grant will then co-fund your Project at a rate of 50%, contributing from $1,000 to $10,000 maximum – so try and limit your Project to between $2,000 & $20,000 to ensure you get the most bang for buck.
Additional information can be found at the Business Queensland website – which includes a link to sign up for notifications from them on when the next round of Grant Applications will be accepted. As the window to accept applications is usually only 28 days from start to finish, I highly recommend carrying out your strategic review sooner rather than later, to ensure you have everything prepared once the next round opens up.
If you would like assistance in reviewing your current technologies and any unmet business needs, please contact the Innovations Team.