A Roundup of Government Schemes specifically for SMEs

SMEs can now gain more funding support for technology under various government-funded capability development programmes. Read on to see a short compilation of the most popular schemes that you can leverage on to jumpstart technology use in your business.

By the myBusiness techblog team

The Singapore government has unveiled several schemes aimed at helping businesses accelerate their growth. Here is a summary of all the schemes that you can leverage on to help jumpstart technology use in your business.

Productivity and Innovation Credit (PIC) Scheme

The Productivity and Innovation Credit (PIC) Scheme has been enhanced to encourage local firms to invest in structures and processes to lead to an increase in innovation and productivity. For YA 2011 to YA 2015, the PIC scheme allows up to 400% tax deduction or allowance (up to S$400,000) on each of the six qualifying activities:

• Acquisition or leasing of PIC Automation Equipment* (223KB);
• Training of employees;
• Acquisition of Intellectual Property Rights;
• Registration of patents, trademarks, designs and plant varieties;
• Research and development activities; and
• Design projects approved by Design Singapore Council .

* PIC Automation Equipment means:

• Any automation equipment that is prescribed by the Minister for the purposes of PIC (refer to?PIC Automation Equipment List); or
• Any automation equipment which the Minister or the Comptroller of Income Tax has approved as PIC automation equipment on a?case-by-case basis.

Note: There is a restriction where you need to apply for iSPRINT first and have it approved before you apply for the PIC scheme. You cannot apply for iSPRINT if you have PIC approved before that.

>For more information you can read the article here

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Increase SME Productivity with Infocomm Adoption & Transformation (iSPRINT) by iDA

Click to enlarge

iSPRINT (Packaged Solutions) ???????????????????????

The iSPRINT (Packaged Solutions) grant covers both basic and intermediate packaged solutions, and provides businesses with up to 70% of qualifying costs, capped and $2,000 and $20,000 respectively.

>Click here to download the latest list of Basic/Intermediate Packaged Solutions.

Grant will be moderated based on:

• Whether SMEs have any existing software/ system that performs a similar set of functions as the Packaged Solution that SME purchased;
• Size of SME?s operations, impact and complexity of project; and
• Benchmark against average cost for similar software/ system

How does your business qualify?

Your business must meet the following requirements to qualify for iSPRINT:

1. You are a local SME with

• Minimum 30% local shareholding AND
• Company?s Group annual sales turnover not more than S$100 million OR
• Company?s Group employment size not more than 200 workers

2. You do not already own/ use any other solutions that you are going to adopt (i.e. accounting, payroll or POS solution).

How Do I Obtain Support?

Please refer to the Step-by-Step guide on claiming for iSPRINT (Packaged Solutions).

iSPRINT Funding For Customised Solutions

This scheme is suitable if you are planning to implement a customised infocomm solution such as customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions. You can also use the grant to cover any associated consultancy service fees and training costs related to these types of software. Customised solutions that require extensive development efforts and business re-engineering, and you should contact IDA to get advice on the assistance that is suitable for your infocomm project.

Alternatively, you can send the following documents to IDA for a preliminary consultation, through this email: ida_ino@ida.gov.sg

• Business Proposal (Click to download the template)
• Latest ACRA business profile of your company, parent company (if any) and/or subsidiary (if any)
• Latest ACRA business profile of your appointed ICT Solution Provider
• Audited financial statements of your company for the last 2 years
• ICT Consultants? CVs/Track record
• Quotations ? strongly encouraged to source for multiple quotations from different ICT Solution Providers to ascertain that identified solution is value-for-money

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Innovation and Capability Voucher (ICV) by Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore

ICV replaces the old Innovation Voucher Scheme (IVS), which previously only supported technology innovation services. The S$5,000 voucher now allows businesses to pay for services in three more areas ? Productivity, Human Resources Development and Financial Management.

You should remember that:

• Technology innovation services under the previous IVS are still supported under ICV. These include technical feasibility studies, support and knowledge development, which are categorised as Innovation under ICV.
• A business may apply for two vouchers per area. The vouchers can be redeemed for supported services at any of the 120 service providers participating in the ICV scheme. Companies that wish to further upgrade their capabilities in any of the areas may tap other assistance programs.
• ?To be eligible for ICV, your local business must be:
  • Physically present and registered in Singapore
  • Have at least 30% local shareholding, and;
  • Have group annual sales of not more than $100 million?or?group employment size not exceeding 200 workers
• Each ICV project must be completed before a new application will be considered. The duration for each project should not exceed six months.

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The schemes above are not an exhaustive list, and showcase just a few of the assistance?programmes available to companies in?Singapore. For information on the full?range of support available, you can visit myBusiness,?EnterpriseOne, iDA or SPRING.

Tagged as: Business Management, By myBusiness techblog, Grants & Schemes, SMEs

Source: http://mybusinesstechblog.com/archives/blog/roundup-government-schemes-specifically-smes

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