The PSG Grant is a government grant for Singaporean small businesses. PSG stands for Productivity Solutions Grant. The PSG Grant subsidies up to 80% of the cost of services such as accounting software and eCommerce website development. So small businesses such as retail stores that want to “go digital” can develop eCommerce platforms and take advantage of the PSG Grant for lower costs.
Many small businesses usually use the PSG Grant for accounting since accounting is something that every small business needs. And you typically need to comply with strict government regulations. So you have to invest in the best accounting software that won’t take up your time with unnecessary and repetitive bookkeeping. And even Forbes talks about the importance of accounting for small businesses.
The PSG Grant saves you up to 80% of the original cost. For example, say that an eCommerce web developer charges you $10,000 for an eCommerce platform. With the PSG Grant, you can get 80% of that cost – $8,000 – rebated back to you from the government! This is like shopping with an 80% discount!
But of course, there are some limitations. For starters, you can only use the PSG Grant for pre-approved vendors. These are private limited companies registered in Singapore. This means that you can’t engage a freelance eCommerce web developer to build your eCommerce platform – you have to engage one of the pre-approved web development agencies that you can find on the Enterprise SG government website. (They list all their pre-approved vendors for each digital service on their website.)
You can always build your own custom-built accounting software instead of using a premade option like Xero. You can also choose to develop an eCommerce platform yourself using Shopify or Wordpress. WooCommerce is a great solution for many small business owners looking to save costs in hiring an external team.
But the benefit in doing so is to also get advice and help from professionals. Especially in a small country like Singapore, your network and connections are everything.
We’ve written about some tips regarding getting started with your first eCommerce platform. But there are a lot of things that you can learn from professionals regarding optimising your website. For example, you can add an abandoned cart feature. You can use something like Hotjar to monitor user activity and improve your conversion rate on your eCommerce platform.
Accountants are more likely to be familiar with Xero (than you are) and give you helpful tips and tricks. They can also recommend great channels for you to learn from in your free time. This advice from professionals in any industry is extremely valuable and the PSG Grant offers you the opportunity to engage these professionals at a small cost of their usual rate.
If you have any questions, check out the Enterprise SG website. They are a government agency so a lot of information is out publicly on their websites. This grant will end soon so don’t waste your time and find out how you can take advantage of this government grant by contacting a pre-approved vendor today!
Written by Jin from Wiz Consultancy
