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Has your SME applied for the Brexit business grant?

Following on from the Brexit deal agreed with the European Union, the UK government launched a grant scheme designed to help SMEs with any customs declarations in dealing with members of the European Union. 

In this blog article, we will provide you with all the details that you need to know around this! 

Who can apply for this grant? 

In order to be able to apply for this grant, your small and medium sized enterprise must not have previously failed to meet its tax obligations as well as being able to meet either of the following criteria: 

  • currently be based in the UK 
  • have been established in the UK for at least 12 months before submitting the application or hold Authorised Economic Operator status 

As well as meeting the above criteria, your businesses must meet one of the below descriptions: 

  • Complete or intend to complete customs declarations on behalf of your clients 
  • be an importer or exporter and complete, or intend to complete, declarations internally for your own goods 
  • be an organisation which recruits, trains and places apprentices in businesses to undertake customs declarations 
  • trade with the EU and do not intend to complete your own declarations, but want to undertake customs training 

So what can you spend the grants on? 

You can use the funding for recruitment, training and IT improvements, however for the purposes of this article, we will focus on the IT improvements side of the grant. 

For IT improvements, you must use the IT funding to purchase software that will help your business to complete customs declarations much more effectively. 

It is important to note that this must be a ready-made solution such as Dynamics 365 Business Central or Dynamics 365 / CRM. You are not able to use the funding to commission bespoke software. 

You are also able to use the funding for the following: 

  • Purchasing hardware that’s required to enable the software to run correctly. 
  • Install and configure the software and hardware. 
  • Purchase the first year licence. 
  • Training employees to use the software. 

Furthermore, you are not able to use the funding for unrelated networking costs. 

Another great perk is the fact that the grant can be used to reimburse what your business has spent on relevant IT improvements and training since 12 June 2020! 

If you want to apply for the grant you can so do by going to this page

How can Advantage help your business 

If you are a small and medium sized business that has recently successfully applied and received the above grant, Advantage is here to help you whether it be upgrading your existing ERP system to Business Centralupgrading your existing CRM system to Dynamics 365 / CRM or looking to maximise your use of your current IT systems in your business. Get in touch with our team of experts today to discuss your specific requirements. 

Want to find out more about grants like the above, then simply signing up to our mailing list