The Federal, State and Territory governments are continually updating and changing government grants.
Products like ESS BIZGRANTS are continually changing to incorporate amendments and new grants.
One significant change that has been made in the last couple of weeks relates to the Business Growth Grant and Research Connections. Both of these grants are under the Entrepreneurs’ Program.
As part of the Federal government’s Northern Australia strategy, the minimum turnover for companies operating north of the Tropic of Capricorn has been reduced to $750,000, to bring companies in that area on to the same basis as those companies that are applying within the remote and very remote locations.
The minimum turnover for companies located in other parts of Australia for the Business Growth Grant and Research Connections is $1.5M. In all cases, the maximum turnover is $100M.
The Business Growth Grant is targeted at companies operating in one of the government’s “priority industries’, which include:
• Food and Agribusiness
• Mining Equipment Technology and Services
• Medical Technologies and Pharmaceuticals
• Oil, Gas and Energy Resources
• Advanced Manufacturing
• Enabling technology and service industries that support one or more of the priority industries listed (or are able to supply services to those industry categories), including:
– Freight and Logistics
– Infrastructure Related Construction
– Information and Communication Technology
– Professional Services – primarily Scientific Services
The maximum grant is $20,000 on a 50% basis, meaning that a project can be for a total amount of $40,000.
The Business Growth Grant enables an applicant to contract for virtually any type of work, to be undertaken by an external organisation (which could include an accountancy business) that will add value to the business.
There’s no doubt that accountancy businesses are encountering changing market conditions, whether it’s the ATO’s standard business reporting, competition from tax agents and, now, competition from accountancy businesses that have outsourced part of their compliance work to overseas countries.
By being proactive in offering government grant services to small/medium enterprise clients, accountants will be differentiating themselves in the marketplace.
David Smith, Managing Director of Smithink and former President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, summed up the position on government grants as follows:
“If accountants want to make a client happy – get them some government money! ESS BIZGRANTS is the tool that can quickly help accountants quickly assess whether a client might be able to access a grant.”
You can obtain additional information on the Business Growth Grant and Research Connection grant from ESS BIZGRANTS and ESS BIZTOOLS.
You’re invited to sign up for a no-obligation two-week trial of ESS BIZGRANTS, whereby you will be given the opportunity to test the system. Click here to try ESS BIZGRANTS for free, or visit www.essbizgrants.com.au.
For Accountants and ESS BIZGRANTS have negotiated a 10% discount for all For Accountants’ members who subscribe to ESS BIZGRANTS. To obtain this discount, please quote ESS3FORA when completing the ESS BIZGRANTS’ subscription form.
Peter Towers, ESS BIZGRANTS. www.essbizgrants.com.au
For further information, Ph 07 4724 1118
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