Funding Your ERP and Accounting Software Projects in Ontario and Canada
Regardless of what business you’re in, an ERP project, especially SAP Business One, can represent a very large chunk of your technology investment. These projects are often intensive, and require a lot of resources to ensure success; however, when finally get them implemented and running, they can be transformative for your small or medium-size business.
That being said, these projects can be costly, and investment is required to unlock the value of ERP. Luckily, for companies in Ontario and Canada, there are a range of different mechanisms that can be leveraged to implement these best-in-class ERP solutions, like SAP Business One.
Three great options that you should be aware of to fund your ERP implementation project:
- Canada Job Grant (CJG): This grant falls under Canada’s Economic Action Plan and it offers a grant of between 50-83% of the training costs, up to a maximum of $6,000 – $10,000 per trainee. The idea here is that the trainee receives workforce training and skill development that will help them become productive members of the economy.
- Ontario Manufacturing Training Program (OMTP): This grant offers a similar function, but is limited to 25-50% of the expenses and maxes out at $100,000. Again, the concept is that the trainee will receive hands-on training and exposure to innovative software, equipment, and processes that will provide value to your organization, in the years to come.
- Ontario Automotive Modernization Program (O-AMP): The goal of this program is to help small and midsize automotive parts suppliers modernize their supply chain and increase their competitiveness. O-AMP offers to Ontarian SMBs up to $150,000 to help cover up to 50% of eligible project costs. Eligible projects include (but are not limited to) Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software, production tracking systems, and consulting for lean manufacturing best practices.
Both programs are designed to reduce training costs for Ontario and Canadian companies that incentivize more young people to work in key areas of innovation. You can leverage these to bring onboard quick learners, who can be trained in ERP software, SAP Business One, CRM, and a wide variety of other key functions, including soft skills training, technical skills training, and business development.
Each program has its own specific requirements, but some of the common features are:
- The costs that are typically covered include anything directly relevant to the training. For example, learning materials, software, textbooks, and more can be eligible.
- You can do this for as many trainees as you’d like should they all meet the individual eligibility criteria.
- The proportion of training expenses that can be recovered can vary depending on your needs and on the size of your business.
This investment in human potential helps to subsidize the costs of implementing and managing your key software projects, allowing you to improve adoption across your organization and reduce project risk and improve the Return on Investment (ROI) for your ERP project.
To help with the funding activities, we work with a very capable and resourceful partner that has over 20 years of experience helping small companies, like yours, access this sort of government funding.
As an SAP Gold Partner well-established across Canada, we have the expertise and network to help you to take advantage of the funding opportunities available for your ERP implementation project. Please reach out for more information.
