CIOS Kickstart Grant Application Form FAQs

Unique Taxpayer Reference numbers (or UTRs) are up to 10-digit codes that HMRC use to uniquely identify you or your business whenever they are dealing with your tax.  You will have a UTR number if you submit a self-assessment tax return.

Your trading start date is when your business became operational and started to generate sales.

A SIC code is a five-digit Standard Industrial Classification code and is used to identify and categorise the principal business activities of companies operating within the UK. You can search for your SIC code on the GOV.UK website:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/standard-industrial-classification-of-economic-activities-sic 

If your year end is December we would expect to see the figure to December 2019 here, if your year end is April we would expect to see the figure to April 2020 here.

Following on from the examples above if your year end is December we would expect this figure to cover the period from January to now, or if your year end was April we would expect this figure to cover the period from May to now.

The calculation of full-time equivalent (FTE) is an employee's scheduled hours divided by the employer's hours for a standard full-time working week.

For instance, for an employer who has a standard 40-hour working week:

• Full time employee who works 40 hours per week is 1.0 FTE
• Full time employee who works 40 hours per week for 6 months a year is 0.5 FTE
• A part time employee that does 20 hours a week would be 0.5 FTE.
• A part time employee that works 12 hours a week would be 0.3 FTE

The value of any research and development your business has funded in the last 12 months. 

If you have not undertaken any activity of this nature put 0, this will not impact your eligibility for the grant.

The number of new products, processes, or services your business has introduced in the last 12 months.

If you have not undertaken any activity of this nature put 0, this will not impact your eligibility for the grant.

A safeguarded job is one that was at risk at the time of applying for the grant but which are anticipated to remain in existence 6 months after receiving support.

This includes both part-time and full-time jobs, which should be recorded relative to full-time equivalent (FTE). 

For the purposes of these Grants, a dedicated bank account is one that holds only business-based transactions and is kept separate from any personal payments or receipts.

A quote for services or product purchases to be funded by the grant should include:

• Supplier Business name & address
• Applicant Business name & address
• Description of activity/service/product
• Total cost of activity/service/product
• Date the quote was provided (please be aware this activity cannot have already been commissioned or started)

Screenshots of online catalogues should clearly show:

• The item
• The web address of the item
• The date that the screen shot was captured.

The acceptable file formats for a quote are Word document, Excel spreadsheet, PDF or PowerPoint Presentation, JPG or PNG image file.

If your grant application is successful, you will receive an Offer Letter detailing the amount, timescales and terms and conditions of the grant.  This is a legal document and you must sign and return it (this will be done electronically) to state that the details are correct and that you agree to the terms and conditions of the grant offer.

State Aid is defined on the Gov.UK website as “any advantage granted by public authorities through state resources on a selective basis to any organisations that could potentially distort competition and trade in the European Union”.  This broadly means any business or training support or grants, that have been funded by the UK government or the European Union, that are designed to help improve a businesses’ position in the market.

State Aid is not allowed in the EU because a business can receive support that give it an advantage over its competitors.  Under the De Minimis regulation, however, businesses could receive State Aid up to the value of €200,000 in any rolling 3-year period without the need to formally notify the European Commission.  If you are part of a group of companies, the €200,000 limit applies to all companies under the control of the parent company - so you will need to add all the State Aid received by each company in the group together, to get the total amount of State Aid received.

You can find more information on State Aid at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/state-aid

You should declare the de minimis State Aid you have received from government or European funded projects in the last three financial years. 

If you are not sure whether the aid you received was covered by De Minimis or not, include it and list the sources and we will be able to check.  The team will contact you if they need any further information.

The Growth Hub is an ERDF funded project that works with local businesses, including self-employed people and not for profit organisations, to find the right guidance and support to help their business work smarter, develop and grow.  New kid on the block or well established - it doesn’t matter how old your business is, we can help you get on the right track to develop in a way that is right for you.

How does it work?

Through a FREE business review we talk about you and your business.  We discuss what direction you want to go in and what your business and personal goals are.  We then point you in the right direction for help and support to get you to where you want to be.  Our friendly team of locally based experts will work directly with you to help identify and access support in a way that is right for you.

We are independent, impartial and totally free.  To find out more, call us on 01209 708660 during office hours or contact us to request a call back.