The Grow Digital Voucher is a Local Enterprise Office grant that pays 50% of eligible costs, from a minimum grant of €500 up to €5,000, for businesses with 1 to 50 paid employees. It replaced the Trading Online Voucher in September 2024. It pays for new off-the-shelf software subscriptions, plus training and setup. It does not pay for a bespoke website build or redesign, and you must complete a Digital for Business project before you can apply.
Several agency pages still describe this grant as money towards a new website. The official Grow Digital Voucher page says otherwise, so this guide sticks to what the Local Enterprise Offices publish. We checked every point below against those pages on 11 November 2026.
Who qualifies
According to the Local Enterprise Office eligibility criteria, your business must:
- Be a small enterprise with between 1 and 50 paid employees, and turnover or a balance sheet total of €10 million or less.
- Have completed a Digital for Business project within the previous two years.
- Be established and trading for at least 6 months, registered, and operating in the area of the Local Enterprise Office you apply to.
- Not be a current client of Enterprise Ireland or IDA.
- Be solvent, shown in the financial statements you supply, and hold current tax clearance from Revenue.
Companies, sole traders and partnerships can all apply. Some sectors are excluded, including primary agriculture, fishery and aquaculture, coal and steel, gambling and tobacco. Most charities, trade associations and chambers of commerce are also outside the scheme.
What the Grow Digital Voucher pays for
The grant is 50% of eligible costs, so a project with €4,000 of eligible spend earns a €2,000 grant. A business can be approved for up to two vouchers, but the two together cannot pass €5,000. Eligible costs fall into two groups:
- Software subscriptions. The software must be new to your business, off the shelf, and the grant covers a subscription of up to one year. The official examples include ecommerce, CRM, online booking, job tracking, stock control, cyber security, cloud accounting or payroll, and analytics software.
- Training and IT configuration. Expert help to set up the new software, connect it to what you already use and train your staff. Training and configuration combined can be no more than 50% of the overall project cost.
What it does not pay for
- A bespoke website. The scheme page states that the voucher does not support bespoke website development. Website development only qualifies under the same rule as everything else: a software subscription that is new to the business.
- Custom or bespoke software of any kind.
- Extra licences for software you already use.
- Systems for regulatory compliance.
- Anything you ordered, signed for or paid for before your application went in.
Digital marketing, SEO and advertising are not mentioned on the official pages at all. They are not in the list of eligible costs, so do not budget on the grant covering them unless your Local Enterprise Office confirms it in writing.
How it differs from the Trading Online Voucher
The Trading Online Voucher was for businesses with 10 or fewer employees and turnover under €2 million, and paid up to €2,500. It was aimed at getting small businesses trading online, for example by adding payment or booking facilities to a website. The Department of Enterprise announced its replacement in September 2024: a larger grant, open to businesses with up to 50 employees, covering a wider range of business software.
How to apply, step by step
- Contact your Local Enterprise Office. Every application has to be discussed with them first. In Laois that is Local Enterprise Office Laois in Portlaoise.
- Complete a Digital for Business project. An independent digital consultant reviews your current systems and recommends improvements. Laois describes the assessment as free. Without it, you cannot apply for the voucher.
- Pick the software and get prices. Base the project on what the Digital for Business report recommends. Get quotes, but do not accept any of them yet.
- Submit the application. Have your tax clearance details and financial statements ready.
- Only then buy. The rule is that the application must be submitted before any spending or project work starts. Waiting for written approval is the safer course.
- Pay, then claim. You pay the subscription cost first. The grant is paid afterwards.
The public pages do not set out claim deadlines or the paperwork needed for a claim, so ask your Local Enterprise Office for both when you apply.
Common mistakes
- Planning a website build around the grant. It will not be approved as bespoke work.
- Paying a deposit or signing a contract before applying. This can make the whole project ineligible.
- Loading the project with setup and training so that it passes the 50% limit.
- Expecting €5,000 twice. Two vouchers share one €5,000 ceiling.
- Relying on old Trading Online Voucher rules, such as the 10 employee limit.
What Brandstart can and cannot do under the scheme
Most of what we do is designed and built to order: websites, redesigns and custom online shops. Under the scheme rules that is bespoke work, so the voucher will not pay for it. The same goes for ongoing SEO and advertising work, which is not in the list of eligible costs. If a website is what you need, plan to fund it yourself. Our guide to what a website costs in Ireland gives realistic ranges.
Where we may fit is the training and configuration part. If your project is a new off-the-shelf subscription, such as a hosted ecommerce platform or an online booking system, we can set it up, connect it to your existing site and train your staff. Whether a particular subscription and our setup work qualify is your Local Enterprise Office's decision, not ours. For any grant-funded part, nothing should be signed or paid until your application is in, and we work to that. Care after launch, such as our website support plans, sits outside the grant.
Not sure which parts of your project could qualify? Tell us what you are planning and we will say plainly which parts look eligible and which do not, before you apply.
Grow Digital Voucher FAQ
Does the Grow Digital Voucher pay for a new website?
Not a custom one. The scheme page says it does not support bespoke website development, which rules out a designed and built site or a redesign. A website or ecommerce platform sold as an off-the-shelf subscription that is new to your business may qualify. Your Local Enterprise Office decides.
I already had a Trading Online Voucher. Can I still apply?
The Grow Digital pages do not say whether an earlier Trading Online Voucher affects eligibility or counts towards the €5,000 limit. Ask your Local Enterprise Office before you plan around it.
Does it cover SEO, Google Ads or other digital marketing?
Digital marketing is not mentioned on the official pages. The eligible costs are software subscriptions, training and IT configuration, so do not assume marketing services or ad spend are covered. Confirm with your Local Enterprise Office.
How much do I need to spend to get the grant?
The grant is 50% of eligible costs. The minimum grant is €500, so the project needs at least €1,000 of eligible spend. The maximum grant of €5,000 needs €10,000 of eligible spend.
Is VAT included in the eligible cost?
The official pages do not say. Ask your Local Enterprise Office how VAT is treated before you work out your figures.
Scheme rules can change. Confirm the details with your Local Enterprise Office before you commit to anything.