Please note that all eligible costs must show a direct tie in to implementing a new e-commerce store in your proposed spending plan. Anything that is not tied to directly selling products or services online, will not be an eligible expense.

Please note that any transactions deemed to be non-arms length between a successful grant recipient and their chosen service provider will be ineligible.

A non arms length transaction is defined as a transaction made between related parties as described in Section 251 of the Income Tax Act.

• Costs related to the implementation or improvement of a digital e-commerce plan (e.g. online reservation/booking tools, online ordering systems, electronic payments)
• E-commerce software including:
  • Software to track and manage product inventory, as well as fulfill and ship orders
  • Software for product databases
  • Software to track sales, market to customers, offer discounts, maintain a loyalty programs
  • Software to simplify marketing
  • Cyber Security software or certifications
• Hardware and accompanying software up to 20% of total grant amount
  • Examples of limited coverage for software, would be any software that is bought with the equipment that is required to support an e-commerce strategy. For instance, if a small business buys a new e-commerce integrated point of sale (POS) system that costs $1,300 (including software) as a part of their $2400 plan, CDAP will reimburse 20% of the grant (in this case $480) for hardware.

• Costs related to digital marketing including:
  • Costs of social media marketing
  • Costs related to website search optimization
  • Hiring a consultant or agency to execute digital marketing initiatives related to your e-commerce store.   
  • Note: Plan cannot be strictly costs related to digital marketing initiatives. This includes a combination of marketing strategies like SEO and email marketing. All marketing efforts must be tied to adopting an overall e-commerce implementation plan and not a stand-alone category. 
• Costs related to the installation of an e-commerce platform (including subscription fees/costs
• Costs of back-office solutions to support an e-commerce strategy
• Costs related to the creation of customer databases
• Development of new e-commerce website
• Upgrading existing e-commerce site for added functionality (i.e., new plugins, or features)
  • Note: redesign of an existing site is not eligible
• Software required to implement e-commerce solution
  • Note: all software must be directly tied to the selling of goods and services online, and you will need to clearly outline this in your submitted plan.