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Decoding PSG and other schemes that support restaurants in Singapore going digital

05 November 2020

By: Sarah Yap

PSG, SME, SFEC. Hopefully, by the end of this article, these acronyms will start to look a lot more valuable to your restaurant business than a bunch of random alphabets.

Update: ChopeBook and ChopeQueues is no longer PSG claimable as of 4 & 18 November 2022 respectively.

The SMEs Go Digital programme by IMDA encourages small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to use digital technologies to seize growth opportunities in the digital economy via grants and schemes such as PSG and SFEC. 

What qualifies as an SME? 

SMES are businesses that are registered and operating in Singapore, have a minimum of 30% local shareholding; with Company’s Group annual sales turnover less than S$100 million, OR less than 200 employees

Source 

Restaurant businesses (collectively known as the Food Service sector) that are eligible SMEs qualify for the support available under the SME Go Digital programme. 

What are pre-qualified solutions under the SME Go Digital programme? 

Digital solutions that have been pre-qualified have been scrutinised by IMDA through a thorough process to ensure adoption outcomes that have a positive impact on productivity and business growth. 

ChopeBook is the first and only pre-qualified solution in the category of Automated Reservations as a Table Management System. ChopeQueues is also a pre-qualified solution in the category of Queue Management. This qualifies restaurant businesses that sign on for ChopeBook and ChopeQueues for the PSG and SFEC if they fulfil the other eligibility criteria. 

What are the support schemes available under the SME Go Digital programme? 

There are two support grants and schemes under the SME Go Digital programme that are especially relevant for restaurants who want to digitise your business: Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG) and SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit (SFEC). These grants and schemes offset the cost of pre-qualified digital solutions, and in some instances, incentivise businesses with bonuses that exceed the cost of adopting these solutions.

 

1. Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG)

 

In a nutshell:

PSG reimburses up to 80% of costs for pre-qualified solutions such as ChopeBook and ChopeQueues for up to one year.

Good to know:

Companies can put in more than one PSG application depending on business needs. However, support can only be extended for one package per solution category per deployment location. PSG for each company is subjected to an annual grant cap of S$30,000 for solutions supported by ESG, starting on 1 April and ending on 31 March the following year.

Source

For the Food Services sector, Automated Reservations (that ChopeBook is a pre-qualified solution for) is one of many solution categories. If your restaurant applies for the PSG to purchase ChopeBook for one year, you can still apply for the PSG for other solutions such as Queue Management up to a cap of S$30,000 for each financial year.

Scheme availability period:

As announced at Budget 2022, the enhanced maximum support level of up to 80% will be extended to 31 March 2023.

Application and claim process: 

Restaurants may submit their application and claim via the Business Grants Portal after obtaining an official quotation from the solution. Want to get an official quotation from us for ChopeBook? Request a demo and we will get back to you shortly.

 

2. SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit (SFEC) 

 

In a nutshell: 

SFEC further supports businesses for their digitisation efforts over and above the PSG. Once a PSG claim is submitted, SFEC reimburses 90% of a business’s out-of-pocket expenses. Since PSG supports 80% of costs, SFEC will therefore reimburse 90% of the remaining 20% that a business would otherwise have to pay out-of-pocket. 

Good to know:

The qualifying period ran from 1 January 2021 – 31 December 2021. 

Employers which meet the following conditions will qualify for the SFEC:

  1. Have employed at least three Singapore Citizens (SCs) or Permanent Residents (PRs) every month over the qualifying period; and
  2. Have not been previously qualified for SFEC; and
  3. Are not in default of their SDL contributions during the qualifying period and do not have an inactive ACRA status during qualification.

Newly qualified employers will be notified in April 2022.

Source

Scheme availability period: 

The final claims for the SFEC-supportable programmes are to be submitted by 30 June 2024.  Credit will be reimbursed to employers from 1 April 2021.

Employers newly qualified in 2021 may use their SFEC for supportable programmes applied from 1 April 2022. Employers who were previously qualified can continue to use their SFEC for supportable programmes submitted on or after 1 April 2020.

Application and claim process: 

Once a claim for PSG has been submitted, SFEC will automatically be disbursed via IRAS from 1 April 2021 to qualifying businesses. 

Now that you know you’ll receive support from PSG and SFEC, request for a demo of ChopeBook and/or ChopeQueues to get started on your digital solutions.

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Sarah Yap

As Chope’s Product Marketing Manager, Sarah is excited to share about the opportunities that our technology unlocks to restaurants in Asia.

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