The Grow Digital Voucher pays half the cost of new business software for small Irish businesses, from €500 up to €5,000 in total. Your Local Enterprise Office runs it. It opened in September 2024 to replace the Trading Online Voucher, and it’s open in 2026.
It’s a good grant. It also has a catch. You can’t apply until you’ve done a Digital for Business project with your Local Enterprise Office. Every rule is from the Local Enterprise Offices’ own pages, checked in September 2026.
What is the Grow Digital Voucher?
A grant towards software your business hasn’t used before, plus the set-up and training to make it work. The Department of Enterprise launched it on 4 September 2024. The 31 Local Enterprise Offices run it.
The idea is simple. Plenty of small businesses know they should be booking online, keeping customers in a proper system or selling from a website, and never quite get round to paying for it. The voucher halves the bill.
How much is the Grow Digital Voucher worth?
It pays 50% of eligible costs, with a minimum grant of €500 and a maximum of €5,000.
That €5,000 is a lifetime total, not a per-project figure. You can have up to two projects, but the two together can’t go past €5,000 of grant.
| Your eligible costs | Grant | You pay |
|---|---|---|
| €1,000 | €500 (the minimum) | €500 |
| €4,500 | €2,250 | €2,250 |
| €10,000 | €5,000 (the maximum) | €5,000 |
| €16,000 | €5,000 | €11,000 |
So a project under €1,000 is too small to qualify, and anything over €10,000 gets no more than €5,000.
Who is eligible for the Grow Digital Voucher?
Your business has to tick every one of these:
- between 1 and 50 paid employees
- trading for at least six months
- operating in the area of the Local Enterprise Office you apply to
- a Digital for Business project completed in the last two years
- not a client of Enterprise Ireland or IDA Ireland
- solvent, with tax clearance
Some sectors are ruled out altogether: primary agriculture, fishing and aquaculture, coal and steel, gambling, adult entertainment, tobacco and unauthorised cannabis products.
Digital for Business, the step you need first
This is the part that catches people out. The Grow Digital Voucher isn’t a standalone application. You need a Digital for Business project from your Local Enterprise Office, done within the last two years, before you can apply.
Digital for Business gives you time with an expert digital consultant, who looks at how you work and what would help. You come away with a plan to apply against. It’s open to the same businesses, 1 to 50 paid employees, trading for six months, not Enterprise Ireland or IDA clients.
The LEO pages don’t put a price on it. An EU programme page describing it in January 2025 said there was no cost to the business. Ask your Local Enterprise Office how long the wait is in your area, because it sets your timeline for everything after.
The government’s Grow Digital portal, growdigital.gov.ie, has a self-assessment that’s a useful warm-up before the consultant arrives.
What the Grow Digital Voucher covers
New, off-the-shelf software subscriptions, for up to one year. The Local Enterprise Office’s own examples are:
- ecommerce software
- website development, as long as it isn’t custom-built
- customer relationship management (CRM) software
- online booking, payments or appointments
- order management or stock control
- cloud accounting or payroll
- cybersecurity software
- analytics software, including AI systems
It also pays towards training your team and configuring the systems. The two together can be no more than 50% of the whole project, so the software has to be at least half of what you spend.
A quick check: €3,000 of software, €1,000 of set-up and €500 of training is a €4,500 project. Set-up and training are €1,500, a third of it, so that’s fine, and the grant is €2,250.
What it won’t pay for
Custom-built software, and systems for regulatory compliance, are ruled out by name. Software you already use doesn’t count, because it has to be new to the business. Subscriptions are covered for a year, not forever.
Unlike the old Trading Online Voucher, it doesn’t list digital marketing or advertising among the things it pays for.
Does the Grow Digital Voucher cover a website?
A website bought as an off-the-shelf subscription, on a standard platform, can. A website designed and built for you can’t. The Local Enterprise Office says in plain words that the voucher “does not support bespoke website development”.
That’s the biggest difference from the Trading Online Voucher, which paid for ecommerce sites built by a web designer. We build websites, so we’d happily tell you otherwise. It wouldn’t be true, and an application built on it would waste your time.
If the voucher does suit your plan, the platform and its set-up can qualify. If what you need is a site built to your spec, price it without a grant: the website cost calculator gives Irish prices line by line.
How to apply for the Grow Digital Voucher
- Check the list above. Employees, trading time, your area, not an agency client, tax clearance.
- Book a Digital for Business project with your Local Enterprise Office if you haven’t had one in the last two years.
- Pick the software the plan recommends and get the costs: subscription, set-up and training.
- Talk to your Local Enterprise Office about the project before you apply.
- Apply before you spend a cent. The rules say an application “must be submitted before any project expenditure is incurred”, and that you must not “commit to, order, purchase, contract for, or commence” any part of it first.
- Wait for approval, then buy, pay and claim.
Step five is where good projects die. Signing up for a free trial that rolls into a paid plan, or paying a deposit to lock in a price, could count as starting. If in doubt, ask first.
How the grant is paid
After you pay, not before. The Local Enterprise Office says the business “must incur the annual subscription cost before the grant can be paid”. Keep every invoice and proof of payment, because that is what you claim against.
No processing time is published. The LEOs’ customer charter promises to acknowledge emails within 48 hours and arrange meetings within five working days, which is a fair guide to how quickly the first conversation happens.
Can you get a second Grow Digital Voucher?
Yes, once. A business can be approved for two projects, as long as the grant for both together stays within €5,000.
The second isn’t automatic. The LEO says approval “is dependent on the demonstrated achievement of the progression of the business”, so the first project needs to have moved you on.
Grow Digital Voucher vs the Trading Online Voucher
The old voucher paid up to €2,500 towards selling online, including ecommerce websites and digital marketing, for businesses with up to 10 employees. It closed on 13 December 2024.
The Grow Digital Voucher pays up to €5,000 towards software, for businesses with up to 50 employees, and asks for a Digital for Business project first. Our guide to the Trading Online Voucher sets the two side by side.
For every other grant open to small businesses this year, see our round-up of small business grants in Ireland.
Questions about the Grow Digital Voucher
How much is the Grow Digital Voucher?
50% of eligible costs, from a minimum grant of €500 to a maximum of €5,000 in total across up to two projects.
Who can apply for the Grow Digital Voucher?
Businesses with 1 to 50 paid employees, trading for six months, that have done a Digital for Business project in the last two years and aren’t Enterprise Ireland or IDA clients.
Is the Grow Digital Voucher still open in 2026?
Yes. The Local Enterprise Office pages are live with no closing date, and LEO Carlow’s application form is open from 1 January 2026 to 21 May 2030.
Can I use the Grow Digital Voucher for a website?
For a website bought as an off-the-shelf subscription, yes. For one designed and built for you, no: the LEO rules that out.
Can I apply after I’ve bought the software?
No. The application has to go in before you commit to, order or pay for any part of the project.
Where do I apply?
To the Local Enterprise Office for the area your business operates in. Each of the 31 only takes applications from its own area.
Sources
Checked in September 2026: the Local Enterprise Office pages What is the Grow Digital Voucher? and Who is eligible?, Digital for Business, the Department of Enterprise announcement of 19 September 2024, LEO Carlow’s application form, and the LEO customer service charter. Rules change, so confirm your project with your Local Enterprise Office before you commit to anything.
