More than a million firms eligible for major software scheme

A flagship government scheme that slashes the price of leading software, boosting productivity and growth of the UK 's small businesses, will benefit even more firms from today.

With Customer Relationship Management software proven to boost firms ' productivity by 18 per cent on average, the Help to Grow: Digital scheme offers businesses discounts worth up to £5,000 on approved software.

Previously, only businesses with more than five employees were eligible for the scheme. From today, businesses with at least one employee are now eligible to benefit.

This boosts the number of eligible businesses by 760,000 so that it now reaches up to 1.24 million.

Today it 's also announced that eCommerce software is available through the scheme to help businesses ramp up sales of products and services online.

This includes helping them to manage their inventory, take payments and gather data and insights on customers' needs.

Businesses which adopt eCommerce software see on average a 7.5 per cent increase in employee sales over three years.

This means businesses can now access a £5,000 discount on 30 software solutions from 14 leading technology suppliers of eCommerce, Digital Accounting and CRM software.

Additionally, the government has announced that Help to Grow: Digital will support one-to-one advice for SMEs on how best they can adopt digital technology.

The government will be launching applications for advice platforms to partner with the scheme from today, and the advice service will go live later this year.

Business Minister Lord Callanan said: “Boosting productivity isn 't some abstract concept to be sniffed at - for individual SMEs it means bigger sales and breaking into new markets. It can add £100 billion to the British economy overall, creating jobs and opportunity across the country.

“Adopting the latest technology is proven to help businesses make the most of their potential, and by making more than one million firms eligible for the scheme, we 're helping to level up the UK economy and bolster the ability of our businesses to compete with the best worldwide. ”

The announcement coincides with Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce 's Future in Technology campaign which provides insights for firms looking to maximise opportunities related to technology and digital access.

Emily Stubbs (pictured), senior policy and projects manager at Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, said: “Technological innovation and digital adoption present key growth opportunities for businesses in Greater Birmingham, and Help to Grow: Digital offers very much welcomed Government support for businesses investing in new technologies.

“It is great to see this support extended to organisations with fewer than five employees.

We are currently halfway through the Chamber 's Future in Technology campaign, which aims to provide valuable insights for local businesses looking to maximise opportunities related to technological development and digital access.

“To find out more about the Government 's investment in digital infrastructure, and its wider strategy to boost the adoption of new technologies and digital access, I encourage interested readers to view the briefings and videos published on the campaign webpage. ”

To find out more about Future in Technology, click here.