Hey there!
The Productivity Solutions Grant is undoubtedly one of the most commonly talked about grant available out there in Singapore for Singapore SMEs. Many companies are interested in the Productivity Solutions Grant and during the pandemic of 2020, there has been many claims on PSG. The most popular was the PSG laptop claim that expired in December 2020.
Most SMEs or businesses in Singapore that are looking to buy laptop or looking for ecommerce website development would know of this PSG grant that funds up to 80% of the qualifying amount.
With up to 80% funding support, PSG actually has a multitude of other options that SMEs or businesses in Singapore can actually claim for. Some of the examples are:
- Hubspot – customer relationship management software and marketing automation
- XERO – financial software for accounting
- Google Workplace – for emails and work suites.
We have a list of partners that we work with that are also PSG approved vendors. In the Business Grant Portal , you can find the respective solutions that are available for each industry.
Over the years, we have became more familiar with the government grant and its process. If you are interested, you can check out our website for some of government grants available to SMEs.
You may have read up about the Productivity Solutions Grant on Enterprise Singapore website, here are 10 FAQs that are commonly asked by Singapore SMEs in our business:
1. What is the Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG)?
The Productivity Solutions Grant is focused on adopting internet technology solutions in several selected industries. These include retail, finance, logistics, engineering, food, and landscaping industries. Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG) has brought together three types of existing grants including national parks board ‘s landscape grant, spring Singapore innovation voucher, and Media Development Authority‘s SMEs Digital programme.
In a nutshell, it is digital solutions for your industry or business that you can claim for up to 80% in government funding from the qualifying amount?
2. Why is the eventual claim not 80% of the stated price?
The key phrase for most government grants is “up to”. Most grants are subject to approval and you would need to submit your proposal through the Business Grant Portal for the relevant officer to approve before allowing you to proceed with the grant claims. There are cases where the business is not eligible for the grant and we advise SMEs to apply first before proceeding with the project.
Another thing to note is that you might find that the actual price you pay and the amount claim is not 80% is because the claims excludes cost such as Government Service Tax (GST) etc.
3. Who is eligible for PSG Grants?
The majority of SMEs in Singapore qualifies for this grant.
Below is the stated requirement as found in Enterprise Singapore‘s website:
- Registered and operating in Singapore
- Purchase/lease/subscription of the IT solutions or equipment must be used in Singapore
- Have a minimum of 30% local shareholding; with Company’s Group annual sales turnover less than S$100 million, OR less than 200 employees (for selected solutions only)
Will your startup qualify? You can apply through the Business Grant portal and it will be up to the accessing officer to approve or reject your submission.
4. Is there a cap to the number of applications?
There is no cap to the number of applications per year unlike the market readiness grant.
You can apply for more than one solution under the PSG but you can only apply for 1 solution once. Hence, it is important for SMEs to understand how the PSG grant works and which PSG approved vendor would you like to work with before submitting your application for approval.
For applications supported by Enterprise Singapore (ESG), there is also a grant cap of $30,000 for each business entity between 1 April to 31 March of every year.
As announced in Budget 2021, the PSG grant will support up to 80% of qualifying expenditure up to 31st March 2022.
5. PSG Grant is too troublesome, is there a template or can the vendor do it for me?
As much as we would like to, the answer for this is no. It will have to be the client that submits the claims and also the request for approval through the business grant portal. The client will be required to login through Corpass and that will also mean that it can’t be done by an external vendor.
As with most government grants, it will be the client that has to justify to the government on how the solution can effectively improve the productivity of their operations and this differs from customer to customer.
From our experience, PSG is one of the most straight forward grant application.
Some of the common solutions that many SMEs claim would be the laptops and financial software such as Xero or Quickbooks.
6. What are the payment terms for PSG?
It is as with most government grants. It will be on a reimbursement basis. Hence, it is required of the customer to make full payment before submitting to business grant portal for reimbursement.
In most cases for PSG, you will need to provide proof of usage and how this solution helps your business. The usual terms is that you will need to use the software/solution for at least a month before you can submit for claims.
Different solution providers have different payment terms for their project. It is best to check with each solution providers to see their payment terms.
7. Can I add modification or ask for cash back from the solution provider to lower my cost?
This Unfortunately, the answer is no. PSG are for pre approved solutions. Every solution provider have submitted their requirements to Enterprise Singapore and this is evaluated by the officers. It comes as a pre approve package and only what is in the pre approved package is claimable. However, customers are free to pay on their own for the additional modification.
Cashback is strictly not allowed for all government grants.
8. How long does it take for me to apply for PSG Grant?
It can take up to 6 weeks. Typically, it depends on the volume of work at Enterprise Singapore side when you apply for the grant. It also depends on which solution are you applying for.
Another criteria is that if all your documents and proposal are in order, if it is, it can be pretty quick i.e. 3-4 weeks to get approved.
We would suggest speaking to us to find out more about what are the solutions under the PSG grant that can potentially help your business.
Want To Get More Leads Online?
You can looking into our Web Delegate Products for a start if you are a small business. If you are looking into government grants, here is a detailed list of government grants including PSG for SMEs in Singapore.
We also help SMEs run Digital Marketing Campaigns such as Google Ads PPC or Facebook Ads.
Are you looking for a web design and development company that can take your website global? If so, contact us today to get started.
