CDAP - Grow Your Business Online Grant
Please note that the Grow Your Business Online grant is no longer accepting new applications as of September 30, 2024
Rest assured, all applications submitted before this deadline will be reviewed in the order they were received.
Due to limited grant funding, only those with a signed and valid grant agreement will be eligible for funding. Grant agreements will be processed and sent out on a first-come, first-served basis until all grant funds have been committed.
For further assistance, feel free to contact us at cdap@alacritycanada.com
How it Works
Your business was eligible if:
- Operated a registered for-profit business (social enterprises and cooperatives included) in British Columbia
- Earned more than 30k revenue in a year OR had at least one employee other than the owner
- Didn’t sell online or they wanted to make improvements to an existing e-commerce site
- Had a business that is customer-facing
Get Connected With Your Ecommerce Advisor:
- Work with an Ecommerce Advisor to design a plan to maximize your online business. This is available for applicants who are already registered in the CDAP program.
Money spent on e-commerce improvements will be reimbursed upon review of receipts and/or invoice copies, with proof of payment.
Alacrity Is Here To Help
Adding an online store to supplement your small business doesn’t need to be overwhelming, intimidating, or take away from your physical business.
Going online is an excellent way to reach more customers, but where do you even begin? Fortunately, there’s an easy solution to help you build your new e-commerce platform…
Say hello to Alacrity Canada!
We’re here to help you take advantage of government micro-grants you may not even know are available to you!
Plus, get the guidance you need to get started. Sound too good to be true? It really isn’t!
Grant Program Details
Costs Covered
Eligible Expenses Explained
- To develop a new e-commerce website or add functionality to your existing site (e.g. online reservation/booking tools, online ordering systems, electronic payments)
- Redesign of an existing site is not eligible
- To install an e-commerce platform (including subscription fees/costs)
- To hire a consultant to help with digital marketing strategies for your e-commerce store that could include activities such as website search optimization and social media advertising.
- Your grant cannot be used solely for marketing or SEO purposes; such uses must be tied to an overall e-commerce implementation plan and not a standalone item
- To track and manage inventory and sales, market to customers, offer discounts, maintain a loyalty program, or increase cyber security using e-commerce software
- To pay up to 20% of the total cost of hardware and software
Eligible costs must be directly tied to the sale of goods and services online.
- Internet connectivity
- Shipping of goods purchased through the e-commerce platform
- Purchases made prior to grant approval
- Renewal of digital services such as domain names or software subscriptions (including existing e-commerce subscriptions)
- Signage and printing
- Logo redesign and rebranding
- Owner’s salary or current employee salary for executing the project
- Purchase of land, buildings or vehicles
- Intangible assets such as goodwill, whether capitalized or expensed
- Depreciation or amortization expenses
- Interest on invested capital, bonds or debentures
- Bond discount
- Monthly mortgage, loan and/or rent payments
- Refinancing of an existing debt
- Losses on investments, bad debts and any other debts
- Fines or penalties
- Litigation
- Fees for administrators, including payments to any member or officer of the business’s board of directors
- Opportunity costs
- Hospitality and entertainment costs
- Franchise fees and/or franchise licence costs
- Lobbyist fees
- New capital expenditures
- Consulting fees for submission of CDAP application or any costs not related to the acquisition or set-up of technology solutions
Frequently Asked Questions
Select A Topic Below
Select A Topic Below
Businesses are asked to participate in follow-up surveys, agree to having their business information shared with the Government of Canada (ISED and Statistics Canada), and agree to their business name being published as a recipient of funding.
Funding will continue until 2025.
Businesses must agree to maintain their digital adoption strategy for 6 months post-intervention.
Stream 1 – the Grow Your Business Online program helps small businesses take advantage of e-commerce opportunities.
- Eligible businesses will receive a micro-grant of up to $2,400 to help with the costs related to adopting digital technologies.
- Access to e-commerce advisors who will advise and help small businesses adopt e-commerce.
- Learn more about the Grow Your Business Online program here.
Stream 2 – the Boost Your Business Technology grant helps small and medium-sized businesses with at least $500,000 of annual revenues, adopt new digital technologies.
- Use a free digital assessment tool to evaluate your own digital readiness
- The grant covers up to 90% of the eligible cost of retaining the services of a digital advisor, up to a maximum grant value of $15,000 per SME, to develop a digital adoption plan
- Businesses also have the opportunity to secure a 0% interest loan from the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) to facilitate the acquisition of new technology
Learn more about the Boost Your Business Technology grant here.
Please review the full list of eligible and ineligible expenses in our Program Guide
The following improvements are examples of eligible SEO costs:
- Keyword Research and Metadata Optimization
- SEO to enable mobile-Friendly Design
- Page Speed Optimization
- Linking – Creating a clearly defined system of internal links that directs both users and search engines through the small business’ content effectively.
Corporate chains, franchises, or registered charities are not eligible.
If the proposal is for improvements and/or something new it may be eligible. However, a replacement of existing features would not be.
As the website already has a functioning online shop, expenses related to photography would not be eligible.
Your employee must have been working at the business for at least 3 months.
Only for-profit businesses (including for-profit social enterprises and cooperatives) are eligible for this funding.
Micro-grants will be issued based on the cost of the expense(s) before taxes; tax charges will not be reimbursed.
Costs can only be incurred from the date on which your application has been deemed eligible.
You can claim your micro-grant within three (3) months of your application being deemed eligible or meeting with the Ecommerce Advisor, whichever date is later. You must provide both your invoice and proof of payment within these three (3) months.
Your business has to attest that you had a gross revenue of at least $30,000 in the last 12 months of operations or since incorporation/registration. Therefore you would not be able to apply if you are “on track” to meet the threshold; you would have to wait until the threshold has been met.
Yes. However, you will be required to declare that the programs are not used to pay the same expense twice, i.e. the funding provided through the Online Shops Program will be used toward expenses not covered by the other programs your business has participated in.
Money spent on e-commerce improvements will be reimbursed upon review of receipts and/or invoice copies, with proof of payment.
This grant can not be used solely for marketing purposes, as the purpose of this grant program is for small businesses to create new or improve existing e-commerce solutions.
Micro-grant disbursements require the receipt of both an invoice and proof of payment. The exchange rate can be based on the rate stated on the credit card statement or a copy of the canceled check.
No. All submitted expenses will require both proof of service completed and proof of payment.
Yes. The grant funds are taxable and should be reported on your corporate tax return.
All receipts must be submitted within 90 days from the project start date, receipts must be submitted together for a maximum amount up to $2400 and proof of payment must be provided for each receipt.
The micro-grant can be used to pay a contractor only if the contractor operates an independent business (registered and/or incorporated) that provides digital adoption services. The grant cannot be used to pay an employee’s salary.
Costs can only be incurred from the date on which your application has been deemed eligible.
You can claim your micro-grant within three (3) months of your application being deemed eligible or meeting with the E-Commerce Advisor, whichever date is later. You must provide both your invoice and proof of payment within these three (3) months.
Businesses are asked to participate in follow-up surveys, agree to having their business information shared with the Government of Canada (ISED and Statistics Canada), and agree to their business name being published as a recipient of funding.
Funding will continue until 2025.
Businesses must agree to maintain their digital adoption strategy for 6 months post-intervention.
Stream 1 – the Grow Your Business Online program helps small businesses take advantage of e-commerce opportunities.
- Eligible businesses will receive a micro-grant of up to $2,400 to help with the costs related to adopting digital technologies.
- Access to e-commerce advisors who will advise and help small businesses adopt e-commerce.
- Learn more about the Grow Your Business Online program here.
Stream 2 – the Boost Your Business Technology grant helps small and medium-sized businesses with at least $500,000 of annual revenues, adopt new digital technologies.
- Use a free digital assessment tool to evaluate your own digital readiness
- The grant covers up to 90% of the eligible cost of retaining the services of a digital advisor, up to a maximum grant value of $15,000 per SME, to develop a digital adoption plan
- Businesses also have the opportunity to secure a 0% interest loan from the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) to facilitate the acquisition of new technology
Learn more about the Boost Your Business Technology grant here.
Please review the full list of eligible and ineligible expenses in our Program Guide
The following improvements are examples of eligible SEO costs:
- Keyword Research and Metadata Optimization
- SEO to enable mobile-Friendly Design
- Page Speed Optimization
- Linking – Creating a clearly defined system of internal links that directs both users and search engines through the small business’ content effectively.
Corporate chains, franchises, or registered charities are not eligible.
If the proposal is for improvements and/or something new it may be eligible. However, a replacement of existing features would not be.
As the website already has a functioning online shop, expenses related to photography would not be eligible.
Your employee must have been working at the business for at least 3 months.
Only for-profit businesses (including for-profit social enterprises and cooperatives) are eligible for this funding.
Micro-grants will be issued based on the cost of the expense(s) before taxes; tax charges will not be reimbursed.
Costs can only be incurred from the date on which your application has been deemed eligible.
You can claim your micro-grant within three (3) months of your application being deemed eligible or meeting with the Ecommerce Advisor, whichever date is later. You must provide both your invoice and proof of payment within these three (3) months.
Your business has to attest that you had a gross revenue of at least $30,000 in the last 12 months of operations or since incorporation/registration. Therefore you would not be able to apply if you are “on track” to meet the threshold; you would have to wait until the threshold has been met.
Yes. However, you will be required to declare that the programs are not used to pay the same expense twice, i.e. the funding provided through the Online Shops Program will be used toward expenses not covered by the other programs your business has participated in.
Money spent on e-commerce improvements will be reimbursed upon review of receipts and/or invoice copies, with proof of payment.
This grant can not be used solely for marketing purposes, as the purpose of this grant program is for small businesses to create new or improve existing e-commerce solutions.
Micro-grant disbursements require the receipt of both an invoice and proof of payment. The exchange rate can be based on the rate stated on the credit card statement or a copy of the canceled check.
No. All submitted expenses will require both proof of service completed and proof of payment.
Yes. The grant funds are taxable and should be reported on your corporate tax return.
All receipts must be submitted within 90 days from the project start date, receipts must be submitted together for a maximum amount up to $2400 and proof of payment must be provided for each receipt.
The micro-grant can be used to pay a contractor only if the contractor operates an independent business (registered and/or incorporated) that provides digital adoption services. The grant cannot be used to pay an employee’s salary.
Costs can only be incurred from the date on which your application has been deemed eligible.
You can claim your micro-grant within three (3) months of your application being deemed eligible or meeting with the E-Commerce Advisor, whichever date is later. You must provide both your invoice and proof of payment within these three (3) months.
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHT - CDAP STREAM 1:
This World's Ours
“This World’s Ours is an inclusive centre in the heart of Vancouver providing a safe, social space and a variety of programs for neurodiverse children and families. ALL children are welcome to participate in our programs.”
– Koryn Heisler, ‘This World’ Ours’
- A new Wix website
- Social Media Advertising
- Google Advertising
- Amilia SmartRec, an online booking system
- QuickBooks
- Dropbox
- Slack
- Shopify/Square
- Email marketing”
- A new Wix website
- Social Media Advertising
- Google Advertising
- Amilia SmartRec, an online booking system
- QuickBooks
- Dropbox
- Slack
- Shopify/Square
- Email marketing”