The government has opened up a scheme for small businesses and entrepreneurs to access funding worth up to £5,000 per business to pay for digital accounting and customer relations management (CRM) software

Under the Help to Grow: Digital scheme, eligible businesses can now receive discounts of up to £5,000 off the retail price of approved digital accounting and CRM software from leading technology suppliers. The funding is capped at 50% of the total cost of the investment and is open to businesses with 249 employees or less.

Currently three accounting software providers are signed up to the scheme – Sage, Intuit and E-crunch.

This software will help them to manage their finances and build customer relationships, and is part of the government’s levelling up agenda.

The next phase of the programme will see the scheme extended to e-commerce software.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: ‘Small and medium sized businesses are the backbone of our economy, creating jobs and prosperity across the UK. When I announced this at Budget I said we wanted to help businesses become more innovative, more competitive and more profitable and I am excited this programme allows them do that.

‘Help to Grow: Digital will help them to grow and flourish by adopting new technologies that are proven to improve processes and boost productivity, levelling up their digital technology and skills.’

Mike Cherry, national chair at the Federation of Small Businesses, said: ‘Small businesses are often keen to embrace new technologies, but we know that one in four lack confidence in their own basic digital skills. For those small firms who are eligible, providing the means to make improvements through projects like this will make a real difference for those that are keen to expand their knowledge and skills.

‘Our own research has shown that just 40% of small business owners have used applications like cloud services and online data storage or back-up. It’s crucial that practical changes like this scheme are put in place to help small firms adopt digital technologies, making improvements to their own business and driving growth.

‘We’re encouraging as many eligible small firms to apply and make the most of this new scheme.’

A dedicated website is also supporting the digital scheme rollout, providing free, impartial support to improve training and knowledge on digital skills for businesses. They can access practical, specialised support and advice on how to choose the right digital technologies to support their growth and productivity through the new online platform.

Lord Karan Bilimoria, CBI president, said: ‘The launch of Help to Grow digital will help thousands of SME businesses invest in technologies. Supporting businesses on their digital transformation journey is fundamental to unlocking economic growth, boosting productivity and creating a more resilient future for firms.

‘Driving greater technology adoption continues to be a central aspect of the government’s innovation strategy, and will be essential in delivering a high skill, high wage economy.’

The new Help to Grow: Digital scheme sits alongside the Help to Grow: Management scheme launched in 2021, which provides 12 weeks of free management training for SMEs at leading business schools. The programme is 90% funded by the government so businesses only pay £750 for the training.

Further information about Help to Grow: Digital is available here

Useful links

Croner-i Navigate provides guidance, commentary and tools on accounting for small businesses. See the Small companies Quick Link, the FRS 102 1A section of Navigate UK GAAP Accounting and the Navigate eCPD module FRS 102: Small and micro accounts for a selection of these resource