Building a strong grant application

A strong grant application answers the three questions every assessor asks: what problem are you solving, what will it really cost, and how will you know it worked? If your file answers them with measured numbers, written supplier quotes and a realistic schedule, you've done the hard part. The rest is administrative discipline.

Before you write a single line

Half the work happens before the form.

Read the program guide end to end. Not just the landing page. The guide says what qualifies, what doesn't, from what date expenses count and what you need to attach. Rates and caps are on the official page, and that page is what counts, not an article or a summary.

Talk to someone. The program advisor, or the Réseau accès PME advisor at your MRC, can confirm in a few minutes whether your project fits. Write down the date, the name and what was said.

Don't sign anything. Several programs refuse expenses committed before the application is filed or approved. One purchase order signed too early can be enough to make an expense ineligible.

Bring in your accountant. They know your financial statements, they'll know whether a technology tax credit also applies, and they'll check the stacking rules.

If you don't know yet which program to target, start with our overview of automation grants.

The file, section by section

Forms differ from one program to the next, but a good file almost always has these seven pieces. Prepare them in your own document first; you'll copy them into the form afterwards.

1. The problem, measured

Describe what isn't working today, with numbers you logged, not guessed. Hours spent on a task, lead times, errors, returns, waiting time. If the problem is that everything goes through you, say so: the owner bottleneck is a productivity problem like any other, and it can be measured.

2. The project, with edges

What you'll do, and what you won't. Assessors are wary of projects that try to fix everything. "Automate order entry and production planning" is a project. "Digitally transform the business" isn't.

3. The budget, backed up

Every budget line should tie to a written supplier quote or to a calculation you can show. Separate the categories: equipment, software, implementation services, training, internal resources. Internal resources, like your employees' time on the project, are eligible in some programs and not in others, so check the guide.

4. The funding package

Where every dollar comes from: the funding you're requesting, other funding requested or received, your own contribution, a loan if there is one. Be upfront about other applications. Programs cap total public funding, and an undisclosed grant can cost you later.

5. Expected results

Two or three indicators, with today's value and the target. Hours saved per month, production lead time, error rate. Stay conservative: a modest target you hit beats a spectacular promise you'll have to explain in the final report.

6. Who's responsible

Who runs the project internally, who implements it, who trains the team. If the answer to all three is "the owner", the file is fragile, and so is the project.

7. The schedule

The main milestones with realistic dates: purchases, installation, testing, training, go-live. Build in slack. Suppliers rarely deliver on the promised date.

One file, start to finish

An invented example. A plastic injection molder in Sherbrooke, in Estrie: $11 million in sales, 55 employees. The owner is 64. Every mold change is scheduled by him alone, on a whiteboard, and press downtime is logged by hand.

Before filling in anything, the production manager spends two weeks recording how long each mold change takes and every stoppage. Now the problem can be measured. The project gets clear edges: a press monitoring system and a scheduling tool, nothing more. Two integrators submit written quotes. The accountant splits out hardware, software, implementation and training, and checks what might fall under a tax credit rather than the grant. The production manager is named project lead, not the owner. The file goes in, and no purchase order is signed before the written answer comes back.

None of this guarantees approval. But the assessor has no basic questions left to ask, and that's often what keeps a file moving.

What gets a file sent back

• Empty sections or missing attachments.
• A budget that doesn't match the quotes attached.
• Expenses already committed.
• A project that doesn't match what the program is for.
• Expected results with no measured starting point.

After approval

Approval isn't the finish line. You'll sign an agreement that sets the conditions: eligible expenses, schedule, reports, supporting documents. Funding is often paid in stages, on proof of spending.

• Read the agreement with your lawyer, especially if you plan to sell in the next few years. Some agreements include obligations that can come into play with a change of ownership.
• Open a separate file per project in your books, with every invoice and proof of payment.
• Put the report dates in the project lead's calendar, not just yours.

A buyer doing due diligence will see these agreements. A well-documented project, with reports filed on time, raises no questions.

Your list for this week

1. Pick the bottleneck to fix first.
2. Start measuring: two weeks of notes.
3. Call the Réseau accès PME service point at your MRC.
4. Ask for two written quotes.
5. Book a meeting with your accountant.
6. Find the filing date and count back from it.

All of this is part of step 3 of our path. To see who can help at each stage, read about small business support networks.

Do it with a pro

On your own, building a complete file, collecting quotes and keeping up with reports after approval can take dozens of hours, usually the owner's. We build the files with your accountant and our regional partner, and we track the obligations through to the last report. No funding is guaranteed, but your file will be complete. Start with our free audit.

How it works