Grow Digital Voucher
Up to €5,000 Towards Software. Not Towards a Website.
The Grow Digital Voucher is a Local Enterprise Office grant covering half the cost of new business software, up to €5,000. It's genuinely useful, and it's widely misunderstood, so this page sets out exactly what it pays for, what it doesn't, and whether you qualify before you spend a cent.
We'll tell you if you don't qualify
No application fee, ever
Details checked October 2026
Grow Digital Voucher at a Glance
Grant rate
50%
of eligible costs
Minimum grant
€500
Maximum grant
€5,000
What it funds
New off-the-shelf
software subscriptions
Before you apply
Digital for Business
in the last 2 years
Source: Local Enterprise Office. Checked 14 October 2026. Confirm with your LEO before applying.
Working with Irish businesses since 2015 · 34 projects delivered · 12+ clients
The part people get wrong
What It Actually Pays For
This is a software grant. A lot of agency pages imply it will fund a new website or a marketing campaign. It won't, and applying on that basis wastes your time and the Local Enterprise Office's.
Eligible
New Software, and Setting It Up
✓
Subscription fees for business software that is new to your business, for up to one year
✓
Off-the-shelf products: e-commerce, CRM, online booking, cloud accounting or payroll, cyber security, analytics
✓
Expert configuration and integration of that software
✓
Training your staff to use it
Training and IT configuration together can't exceed 50% of the total project cost.
Not eligible
Anything Built Specially for You
✕
Custom or bespoke software, including a bespoke website build
✕
Extra licences for software you already use
✕
Systems bought for regulatory compliance
✕
Agency services on their own: SEO, social media, content, branding
✕
Hardware, advertising spend and general running costs
Website development can qualify where it is bought as an off-the-shelf software subscription rather than built bespoke.
The mistake that disqualifies people. You must apply and be approved before you spend anything, commit to anything, or start the project. Signing up for the software first and applying afterwards makes the whole thing ineligible, and there is no way to undo it. If you take one thing from this page, take that.
The numbers
How Much You Can Get
50%
Of eligible costs. You pay the other half
€500 – €5,000
Minimum and maximum grant per application
Up to 2
Projects per business, capped at €5,000 in total across both
12 months
The longest subscription period that can be funded
A worked example. Say you take on a €4,000 annual e-commerce platform subscription, plus €2,000 to configure it and train your team. Total project €6,000, and the setup portion is within the 50% limit. The grant at 50% would be €3,000, so you'd pay €3,000. You pay the costs first and claim afterwards, so you need the cash available up front.
This page is information, not advice, and the scheme changes. Figures checked against the Local Enterprise Office on 14 October 2026. Eligibility is decided by your Local Enterprise Office, not by us. Confirm everything with your LEO before you commit to any spending.
Before you apply
Do You Qualify?
Every one of these has to be true. The first catches most people out.
The Prerequisite
You must have completed a Digital for Business project with your Local Enterprise Office within the previous two years. It's a mentoring programme that produces a digital plan, and the voucher is designed to fund what that plan recommends.
If you haven't done it, that's your starting point rather than a dead end. Talk to your LEO about joining the next one.
Your Business
✓
1 to 50 employees
✓
Annual turnover or balance sheet of €10 million or less
✓
Trading at least six months
✓
Registered and operating in your LEO's area
✓
Solvent, as shown in your financial statements
✓
Not a current client of Enterprise Ireland or IDA
✓
Tax clearance, with your Tax Reference and Access numbers to hand
Who can't apply. Non-qualifying charities and not-for-profits, semi-state bodies, trade associations and chambers of commerce. Also excluded: coal and steel, primary agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture, gambling, adult entertainment, tobacco and unauthorised cannabis products. If you're unsure where your business sits, ask your LEO before doing any work.
Where we fit
How We Can Help, and What You'd Pay For Separately
We're not a Local Enterprise Office and we don't approve or administer the voucher. Here's the honest split between work the grant can cover and work it can't.
May be covered by the voucher
Choosing and Setting Up Software
✓
Working out which software actually suits how you operate
✓
Configuring and integrating it with what you already run
✓
Migrating your data across properly
✓
Training your team so it gets used after week one
✓
An AI assistant for your website, where it's bought as a subscription
Subject to the 50% limit on configuration and training, and to your LEO's approval.
Not covered, paid for normally
Our Other Services
✕
Bespoke website design and development
✕
SEO and search visibility
✕
Social media management
✕
Content and blog writing
✕
Brand identity
✕
Custom-built enterprise AI assistants
All worth doing. None of it fundable through this particular voucher.
Why we're being this blunt about it. Plenty of Irish agency pages list their full service menu under this voucher as though the grant will pay for all of it. It won't. At best you waste a week on an application that gets refused; at worst you commit to spending on the strength of funding that was never going to arrive. We'd rather tell you now and quote you honestly for the parts you still want.
How to apply
The Order That Matters
1
Complete Digital for Business
If you haven't done it in the last two years, this comes first. Contact your Local Enterprise Office and ask about the next intake. It produces the digital plan the voucher is meant to fund.
2
Decide What Software You Need
Pick the product, get a written quote for the annual subscription, and a separate quote for configuration and training if you need them. We can help with this part, and it's where most of the value is: choosing wrong is expensive whoever pays for it.
3
Apply, and Wait for Approval
Submit through your Local Enterprise Office with your quotes, tax clearance details and financial statements. Do not buy anything, sign anything or begin the project until you have written approval. Spending first makes the costs ineligible.
4
Buy, Implement, Then Claim
Once approved, go ahead. You pay the costs yourself and claim the 50% back afterwards with receipts, so plan for the full amount leaving your account first. Then we set the software up and train your team.
Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the voucher pay for a new website?
Not a bespoke one. Custom-built software, including a website built specifically for you, isn't eligible. Website development can qualify where you're buying it as an off-the-shelf software subscription, a hosted e-commerce platform for instance, rather than commissioning a bespoke build.
If what you want is a bespoke site, it's still worth doing; it just isn't funded by this voucher. We'd quote it normally and say so plainly.
Can it pay for SEO, social media or content?
No. Those are services, not software subscriptions. Some agencies list them under this voucher anyway. If you've been told the grant will cover marketing services, ask for that in writing and check it with your Local Enterprise Office first.
Do I really have to do Digital for Business first?
Yes. It must have been completed within the previous two years. It isn't a formality either; the voucher is designed to fund what that project recommends. If you haven't done it, contact your LEO about the next one rather than treating it as a blocker.
What happens if I buy the software before applying?
The costs become ineligible, and it can't be fixed retrospectively. Applications have to be in before any expenditure, commitment or project activity begins. This is the single most common way businesses lose the grant.
Do I get the money up front?
No. You pay the costs and claim 50% back afterwards with receipts, so you need the full amount available first. Worth factoring into your cash flow before committing to an annual subscription.
Can I apply more than once?
A business can be approved for up to two projects, but the cumulative maximum stays at €5,000. A second voucher depends on showing what the first one achieved.
Do you charge to help with the application?
No. We'll talk you through whether you qualify and what's eligible at no charge, and we'll tell you if the answer is no. If you then want us to help choose and set up the software, we quote that as normal work, and that part may itself be eligible for the grant.
Is this the same as the Trading Online Voucher?
No. The Grow Digital Voucher has replaced it, and the rules are different in ways that matter.
The Trading Online Voucher was up to €2,500, for businesses with fewer than 10 employees and turnover under €2 million, and it was aimed squarely at e-commerce. The Grow Digital Voucher goes up to €5,000, is open to businesses with 1 to 50 employees and turnover or balance sheet up to €10 million, covers a much wider range of software, and requires a Digital for Business project first.
So if you looked at the old Trading Online Voucher and decided you were too big to qualify, it's worth looking again: the thresholds moved a long way. Any guidance you find about the Trading Online Voucher no longer applies.
Not Sure Whether You Qualify?
Book a 30-minute call. We'll go through the criteria with you, tell you honestly whether it's worth applying, and point you at your Local Enterprise Office either way. No charge and nothing to sign.