Government Assistance

With an increasing number of businesses moving online during the Covid-19 pandemic, business strategies are engaging in apps to develop and increase their revenue.

However, app development is a costly and time-consuming business, with start-up prices ranging from $50,000 to over $1,000,000. Plus, it can take between six months to a year just to roll out the blueprint.

So, with prices so high, you’ll be relieved to know that you aren’t alone. There’s plenty of government assistance for apps.

In fact, the Australian government has multiple grants available with up to $40 billion set aside to aid business owners with app development.

This ‘Gold Coast’ of an opportunity could be just what you need to start-up your new app! So how can you mine for it? Here we look at the top grants available from the Australian Government and how they can benefit you…

Unfortunately, the costs quoted in the intro aren’t all-inclusive. In the first two years of your mobile app’s life, you can expect to have only paid a mere 35% of your total costs!

Rolling costs, such as app maintenance can be as high as $5,000 – $11,000 per month. That’s an additional $60,000- $132,000 a year and nearly half of your start-up cost!

Okay, so now we’ve discussed the staggering expenses, let’s talk funding. There are many ways to secure funding for your app, including bootstrapping, crowdfunding or finding investors.

But one of the greatest boosts to your product could be supplied by government grants, with much fewer strings attached. Let’s explore what grants are on offer

The Research and Development Tax Incentive reduces the financial risks associated with conducting research and development.

The Australian Government wants to encourage companies to conduct research and development as it provides the industry with new knowledge, technology, and processes vital for the industry to succeed.

The programme is used as an incentive for companies to invest in the research and development phase of the app.

However, there are two tax offset grants available for business owners. The one you apply will hinge on your yearly turnover.

If your yearly aggregated turnover is under $20 million, you can expect a 43.5% tax reduction on this scheme. For those earning more than $20 million, the rate is reduced to 38.5%.

To benefit from the research and development tax incentive grant, you must self-assess your companies research and development activities.

You’ll need to carefully evaluate them to ensure you satisfy the programme’s criteria.

For your R&D activities to be eligible for the grant, your programme’s result should be unknown and non-determinable at the start. The aim is to generate new knowledge, not confirm known content.

Do you work in the biomedical sector? Then this is the grant for you.

This grant is an equity co-investment venture capital programme that puts biomedical discoveries on the commercial market. Also, the BTF can help transform these discoveries into successful commercial projects.

However, the biomedical translation fund has precise requirements. But, if you are eligible for it, it would come in super handy for app development in your field.

For new and developing start-up incubator programs, the Australian Government will match your funding up to $500,000. This is a huge cash injection that could go a long way to producing and marketing your app on both national and international markets.

If you’re eligible for this funding, you have two options open to you. The first is assistance in developing and expanding your business into new sectors.

The second is receiving the highest quality research and advice from top professionals who provide you with national and international guidance. Either way, this grant could unlock a wealth of valuable resources.

For those specialising in exports, the EMDG scheme from the Australian Government aids programmes with financial backing. This grant is available for new and developing exporters.

The EMDG invests in small and medium AUS businesses to enable them to develop their export market. This scheme ensures that companies will benefit from up to 50% reimbursement of all eligible export expenses.

With an allocation of $5,000+ (providing your total costs equate to above $15,000 this scheme is ideal for exporters trying to get their business off the ground.

Whilst the average grant in the 2018/2019 tax year was $47,569, each applicant to the EMDG scheme may receive a grant of up to $150,000 towards their enterprise!

What’s more is you can apply to up to eight grants for your company, so you could potentially be sitting on a pot of gold.

Sometimes the only thing you need to take your business from zero to hero is a professional’s advice. Unfortunately, these don’t come cheap.

The Business Growth Grant provides your business with funding to hire the expert you need to implement your business strategies and succeed!

The Australian Government has set aside up to $20,000 to fund your business expert. This ensures you can implement business evaluation strategies, supply chain facilitation, growth and tourism partnership sectors.

To be eligible for this grant, your business must have an Entrepreneur’s Programme Business Evaluation Report. Or an Action Plan, Supply Chain Facilitation, Growth plan or Tourism Partnership Program.

To ensure your app generates revenue, it’s vital to have a good marketing strategy in place. But getting your app seen isn’t always easy, especially when you don’t have connections to elevate you.

This is where the Building Partnerships Grant can come in.

The grant helps revenue-generating startups and small enterprises grow by pairing them with a key customer or channel to market.

This requires startups to provide an innovative solution that fills a market gap and catches the interest of a consortium of partners.

Eligible businesses can get up to 35% of their project costs covered to9 further develop their solution, fund product training, and testing or acquire talent.

If it’s the guidance you’re after, Australia’s accelerating commercialization program should be of interest to you.

Because once you’ve submitted interest for commercialization guidance, you may also be eligible to apply for the grant.

The grant doesn’t just come with expert advice and guidance. It can also supply you with up to $500,000 of matched project funding.

This program is aimed at those developers that work in research and invention, so a novel product is key.

You must also have the intention of commercializing your service and meet the turnover test. This ensures you earn less than $20 million. You must also be able to fund 50% of your own projects!

Of course, there are special requirements to meet with any grant before you are approved for financial aid, so go and do your research – you may well come out on top!

For more information on government assistance for apps, please feel free to contact us today. We’re always more than happy to help!