LEO Grow Digital Voucher: what it covers

If you're a small business in Ireland thinking about investing in your digital presence, there's a grant worth knowing about: the Grow Digital Voucher, run through your Local Enterprise Office (LEO).

It covers 50% of eligible costs, from a minimum of €500 up to a maximum of €5,000 (you can hold up to two vouchers, capped at €5,000 combined). One important thing to understand up front: it funds off-the-shelf software subscriptions that are new to your business — not a bespoke website build. More on that below, because it changes what you'd realistically use it for. (Wondering whether Fáilte Ireland funds your digital work too? We cover the honest 2026 picture in our Fáilte Ireland funding guide.)

What is the Grow Digital Voucher?

The Grow Digital programme is run by your Local Enterprise Office. It's designed to help small businesses adopt the digital tools that let them trade and operate online.

The voucher pays 50% of eligible costs, minimum grant €500, maximum €5,000.

Who qualifies?

To be eligible, your business must:

• Have between 1 and 50 paid employees
• Be established and trading for at least 6 months, solvent, with current tax clearance
• Have completed a Digital for Business project within the previous two years — this is a hard prerequisite (it's a free LEO consultation of up to three days of a consultant's time; you do it first, then you can apply for the voucher)
• Not be currently supported by Enterprise Ireland or IDA Ireland

Most small tourism, hospitality, and service businesses in the West of Ireland meet the size and trading tests — but the Digital for Business step is the one operators most often miss, so start there.

What does it actually cover?

This is where the voucher is widely misunderstood. It funds off-the-shelf software subscriptions new to the business (up to a 12-month subscription), such as:

• Booking and payment systems — a SaaS booking engine or online-payment platform
• E-commerce platforms — Shopify, Wix and similar, to sell products or vouchers online
• CRM and cloud accounting tools — customer-management or finance software new to you

Website development is eligible only as a software subscription (a SaaS website platform) — it explicitly excludes bespoke, custom-built websites. Training and IT configuration can be included, but together they can't exceed 50% of the total project cost.

It does not cover: custom or bespoke software, regulatory-compliance systems, additional licences for software you already use, social-media advertising spend, or any expenditure incurred before your application is approved.

How to apply

1. Complete a Digital for Business project first — book it through your Local Enterprise Office; it's free and it's the gate to the voucher
2. Find and contact your Local Enterprise Office — at localenterprise.ie — to discuss your project and confirm eligible costs
3. Complete the application — describing the software subscription you want to adopt
4. Get approved before you spend — pre-approval expenditure isn't eligible
5. Adopt the software, then submit your claim — with invoices and proof of payment

Application windows and processing times vary by county — confirm the current dates with your LEO rather than assuming.

What to use it for first

Given what the voucher actually funds, the highest-value uses for a small tourism operator are usually:

1. A SaaS booking-and-payments system that takes commission-free direct bookings
2. A Shopify or similar storefront if you sell souvenirs, gift vouchers, or tickets
3. A CRM to keep guest details and run repeat-stay email properly

These are exactly the kinds of off-the-shelf tools the scheme is designed for.

How QuantElit can help

The voucher funds the off-the-shelf software layer — the booking SaaS, the storefront, the CRM. A bespoke website build sits outside it, so the two work together rather than overlapping: the grant covers the tools, your own budget covers the build. Our Discovery (€500) produces a Custom Growth Blueprint that scopes both — which software is worth subscribing to, and what the build around it should do — so you walk into a LEO conversation with a clear, costed plan.

Sources

For the most current scheme criteria, application windows, and county contacts:

• Local Enterprise Office — Grow Digital Voucher — national LEO portal.
• Grow Digital Voucher — grant detail — official amount, eligibility, and eligible-cost rules.
• Local Enterprise Office Galway — county office for Galway-based applicants.
• Local Enterprise Office Mayo — county office for Mayo-based applicants.