The Grow Digital Voucher covers half the cost of new software and the expert setup and training that goes with it. AI systems are on the eligible list. Most businesses that qualify have never heard of it.
Up to €5,000, at 50% of eligible costs
Covers software subscriptions, setup, integration and staff training
One prerequisite catches most applicants out. We check it first
Free to useNo signup requiredBased on official Local Enterprise Office criteria
Eligibility checker
Six questions. One clear answer.
Nothing is stored and nothing is sent until you choose to send it. Answer honestly and you will know exactly where you stand.
Grow Digital Voucher checker
Question 1 of 6
How many paid employees does the business have?
Include yourself if you are on the payroll. If the business is part of a larger group, you may need to count the group's employees too.
Has the business been trading for at least six months?
It also needs to be registered and operating within the area of the Local Enterprise Office you apply to.
Have you completed a Digital for Business project in the last two years?
This is the one that catches almost everybody. Digital for Business is a separate free LEO programme, and its report is a prerequisite for the voucher.
Is the business a current client of Enterprise Ireland or the IDA?
Businesses supported by Enterprise Ireland or IDA Ireland are outside the scope of this scheme.
Is the business solvent and holding current tax clearance?
You will need up to date financial statements, a Tax Reference Number and a Tax Clearance Access Number so Revenue status can be verified.
Which sector does the business operate in?
A small number of sectors are excluded from the scheme entirely.
You look eligible for up to €5,000
Based on your answers, the business meets the published criteria for the Grow Digital Voucher. The next step is a conversation with your Local Enterprise Office and a quote for the project you want funded.
What that project could look like:
A year of a new off-the-shelf AI or business software subscription
Our setup, integration and configuration work
Training your team so the tools actually get used
One rule to plan around: your application must be submitted before any spending starts or any work begins. Quote first, apply, then start. Doing it in the wrong order can make the whole project ineligible.
Everything else lines up. The missing piece is the Digital for Business report, which has to be completed within the two years before you apply for the voucher.
This is the single most common reason applications get stopped, and it is entirely fixable. Digital for Business is a separate Local Enterprise Office programme that gives you a consultant-led review of your systems and a written report with recommendations.
Sequence that works: complete Digital for Business first, then apply for the voucher against the recommendations in that report. Businesses that do it in this order tend to have a much smoother application.
The Digital for Business report has to be from within the previous two years. Yours sits outside that window, so it will not support a voucher application as it stands.
The good news is that you have been through the process before, so you know what it involves. Speak to your Local Enterprise Office about refreshing it. A current report also means current recommendations, which is no bad thing given how much has changed.
The Grow Digital Voucher is written for businesses with between 1 and 50 paid employees. Outside that range, this scheme is not the right door.
That does not mean there is no support available. Larger businesses and pre-trading ventures are served by different Local Enterprise Office and Enterprise Ireland supports, and it is worth a conversation with your local office about which ones apply.
The scheme requires at least six months of trading. It is a timing issue rather than a permanent no, so this is worth revisiting.
In the meantime, your Local Enterprise Office runs supports aimed specifically at newer businesses, and the Digital for Business report is worth lining up early so the voucher is available the moment you qualify.
Current Enterprise Ireland and IDA clients are outside the scope of the Grow Digital Voucher, because they have access to their own, generally larger, funding routes.
Your development adviser is the person to ask about digital and AI adoption supports on that side.
Applications need current tax clearance and financial statements showing the business is solvent. Both are verified as part of the process, so there is no way around them.
Neither is usually a long job. Your accountant can normally sort tax clearance quickly, and once it is in place the rest of the criteria still look promising for you.
A short list of sectors is excluded from the Grow Digital Voucher, including primary agriculture, fishery and aquaculture, coal and steel, and gambling, adult entertainment and tobacco.
Sector rules can be more nuanced than a checker like this can capture, particularly where a business spans more than one activity. If you think yours might be a borderline case, your Local Enterprise Office can confirm it properly.
The grant covers 50% of eligible costs, with a minimum of €500 and a maximum of €5,000. There is one structural rule worth understanding before you plan a project: training and configuration combined can be no more than half of the total project cost.
In plain terms, the software has to be the larger half. Move the sliders and the calculator will flag it if the balance tips the wrong way.
One year of a new off-the-shelf subscription. Must be new to the business.
Expert configuration and team training. Capped at 50% of total project cost.
€5,000
Grant towards a €10,000 project
€10,000Project cost
€5,000Your net cost
Want these numbers scoped around your actual business?We will map what you need, price it, and structure it so it stays inside the eligible rules.
The order matters more than anything else on this page. Get it wrong and the project can be ruled ineligible.
Digital for Business
Complete the free LEO programme and get your report. It has to be from within the previous two years.
Scope and quote
We map what you need against the report's recommendations and give you a written quote to attach to the application.
Apply, then wait
Submit to your Local Enterprise Office before spending anything or starting any work. This is the step people get wrong.
Build and claim
Once approved, we implement and train. You pay the costs, then claim 50% back up to €5,000.
Step two is the one we handle.You need a written quote to attach to the application. That is the piece we can have back with you inside a couple of days.
Your application has to be submitted before any expenditure is incurred and before any project activity begins. Not before the invoice. Before the work.
If you have already ordered the software, signed the contract or asked someone to start, the Local Enterprise Office can reasonably conclude the project was going ahead regardless of funding. That is called deadweight, and it makes the project ineligible.
So get quotes, apply, and hold off on everything else until you hear back.
Software is half the project. The other half is us.
Setup, integration and training are eligible costs, up to half the total. That is the part that decides whether the software gets used or quietly abandoned in month three.
Assess
AI Readiness Assessment
We map your actual workflows, find where the recoverable time sits, and recommend the specific tools worth buying. You get a costed plan you can take straight into an application.
Implement
Setup, integration and training
We configure the software, connect it to what you already run, and train your team properly. Both the configuration and the training are eligible costs under the voucher.
Grow
Web, marketing and design
Fifteen years of web development, digital marketing and brand work sits behind all of it. E-commerce and website software subscriptions are eligible too, so the voucher can stretch further than AI alone.
One person, not four vendors.The software, the setup, the training and the marketing that follows it all come from the same place.
Tell us where you are and we will come back with a scoped, written quote. If you are not eligible yet, we will tell you that too and point you at the right next move.
Talk to us about your voucher
No obligation, and no charge for the conversation. We usually reply within one working day.
Got it, thanks
Your details are with us and we will come back to you within one working day.
In the meantime, remember: apply before you spend anything or start any work.
Questions
The things people ask most often
Do I need to use an approved supplier?
No. The Grow Digital Voucher has no approved supplier panel. You choose your own provider and submit their quote as part of your application. That is why the quote itself matters, and why it needs to describe eligible costs clearly.
Can the voucher pay for AI tools specifically?
Yes. Analytics software including AI systems appears on the official list of eligible software examples. The subscription has to be off the shelf and new to the business, and it is covered for a maximum of one year.
What exactly is Digital for Business?
It is a separate Local Enterprise Office programme where a digital consultant reviews your business and produces a report with recommendations. Completing one within the previous two years is a prerequisite for the voucher, and the voucher project should line up with what that report recommends.
How much of the money can go on services rather than software?
Training and IT configuration combined can be no more than 50% of the overall project cost. So on a €10,000 project, up to €5,000 can be setup, integration and training, with the software making up the rest.
Can I apply more than once?
You can be approved for a maximum of two Grow Digital Voucher projects, with a combined grant value capped at €5,000. Approval of a second voucher depends on showing real progress against your Digital for Business report.
When do I actually receive the money?
Afterwards. The business has to incur the costs first, including the annual subscription, and then claim the grant. Plan your cashflow on that basis rather than expecting funds up front.
Is this checker official?
No. It is a free tool we built from the published Local Enterprise Office criteria to help you work out where you stand before you pick up the phone. Final eligibility decisions are made by your Local Enterprise Office, and you should always confirm details with them directly.
There is €5,000 sitting there. Go and get it.
Most businesses that qualify never apply, usually because nobody told them the scheme existed or nobody explained the order to do things in. Now you know both.
