5 KEY STEPS TO CLAIMING YOUR SFI GRANT
SELECTIVE FINANCE FOR INVESTMENT 5 KEY STEPS TO CLAIMING YOUR SELECTIVE FINANCE FOR INVESTMENT GRANT
Introduction When a SFI Grant is offered by the North West Development Agency, the company is provided with an “Offer Letter” containing the terms and conditions of the grant offer. The grant is usually paid in a number of instalments based on the achievement of jobs and capital expenditure triggers and possibly specific preconditions. When the company has formally accepted the offer, the case is passed to the North West Development Agency’s contract management team whose responsibility it is to monitor the progress of the project and to make the payments to the company. They will also deal with any changes that may occur during the lifetime of the project. This document explains briefly the processes and procedures involved and most importantly how you can claim your grant money from the North West Development Agency. If you only remember one thing then it should be that your Contract managers are there to help you and if you need any advice or assistance in relation to your SFI Grant then do not hesitate to contact them.
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The SFI Offer Letter specifies the conditions of the grant offer and should be considered a legally binding document on each party.
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However, SFI Projects span over several years and on occasion changes may be necessary either in the Project itself or in the Projects funding package.
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We understand this and under the SFI scheme we can make reasonable allowances for changing circumstances.
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Should changes become necessary the Contract manager is available to discuss these changes. This should be done before the changes occur in order to avoid the company putting its grant at risk.
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It is worth considering that for any major changes to the SFI Offer to be considered valid they should be agreed in writing by both parties.
Offer Letter
The offer letter forms a legally binding contract between your business and the North West Development Agency. The first step to claiming your grant is to carefully read the offer letter. The letter explains in detail what is expected of the Project (targets and timings) and gives you an indication of how you should prepare for making a claim, by indicating the type of records the business should be keeping.
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Liaising with your Contract manager
The Contract manager has two main functions. The first is to ensure that all the requirements of the grant are met at each and every claim stage with at least one visit being made to the Project premises over the life of the grant. The second is to liaise with grant recipients and to provide advice and assistance as required. As projects last several years it is not unusual for changes to occur either in the Project itself or to its funding package. If you consider that change may be necessary you should contact your Contract manager as soon as possible, they are available to discuss any potential changes with you – before they occur. This will help to avoid the business putting its grant at risk. It is worth noting that for any changes to the Project to be considered valid, they will need to be agreed in writing by both parties. Your business will be advised of the name of its Contract manager after accepting the offer of grant.
5 KEY STEPS TO CLAIMING YOUR SFI GRANT
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Prepared Records
Well kept records are an important part of preparing a claim and fall into three categories: i.
Records of expenditure. You should keep a separate file for project related expenditure. You will need this information when preparing your claim and your business’ accountant will need access to these records when preparing his report. An indication of the capital expenditure expected to be defrayed can be obtained from Schedule 2 of the Offer Letter.
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Job related records. At the start of the Project you will have a base figure for the number of jobs at the site (Schedule 2 of the Offer Letter refers). If your Project involves safeguarding of jobs then your records should clearly show which of the existing base jobs are being safeguarded. A record must also be kept of all new jobs created separating out those jobs created by the Project from jobs created by other operations. Part-time posts should be clearly identified. An important point to note is that if your offer is an Aid for Job Creation Grant, then your accountant will need to complete the Job Creation Grant Record Sheet. A copy Of this will be attached to the Offer Letter.
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Project related finance arrangements. These may include HP or Lease Finance Agreements, various types of bank loans/overdrafts or even documents relating to directors loans and/or the issue of share capital. If the documentation relates to the Pre-conditions set out in section 2 of the offer letter, signed and dated copies of the agreements will be required by your Contract manager.
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The Claim Form
The North West Development Agency has a target of 30 working days to process your correctly completed claim. Please read your Offer Letter and the SFI claim form carefully before submitting your claim as missing, unclear or incorrect information can cause delays in making the payment. The type of claim form issued to you will depend upon whether you have been offered a Capital Grant or Job Creation Grant. The Job Creation Grant claim form contains an additional section about salaries and jobs. IF YOU HAVE ANY DOUBTS OR QUERIES ABOUT COMPLETING THE SFI GRANT CLAIM FORM OR CHANGES TO THE PROJECT OR ITS FINANCING PLEASE CONTACT YOUR CONTRACT MANAGER WHO WILL BE HAPPY TO ADVISE YOU.
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Documentation
Supporting documents fall broadly into the following categories: o o
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Documentary Evidence – these documents provide evidence that any Pre-conditions that may have been applied to your offer of grant have been compiled with. Accountants’ report – the accountants report should be submitted by an independent firm of accountants who meet the criteria for accountants set out in the Offer Letter. The wording of their report, which should be on headed paper and dated after the date of the claim form, should be precisely as set out in Schedule 2 of the Offer Letter. Financial Accounts – the accounts required are again set out in the Schedule to the Offer Letter. Generally speaking they should include a set of the most recent statutory accounts (if applicable). If they are more than 3 months old, you should also include a copy of the most up to date management accounts (profit and loss as well as balance sheet). Please check your offer letter as on some occasions the accounts for parent or associated companies may be required. The same criteria will apply to any other accounts requested. Please note your contract manager is there to assist you, please seek their advice.
5 KEY STEPS TO CLAIMING YOUR SFI GRANT
Post Completion Monitoring After payment of the final instalment of grant the project enters its Post Completion Monitoring (PCM) period until all the obligations of the offer are met. Once again the terms of this stage are specified in your offer letter. As part of this process the company will be required to submit a PCM Report and the contract manager may undertake a visit to the project site. The PCM stage is normally initiated once the final payment of grant is made. Even after this payment, the assents and jobs attributed to the project must be maintained over a specified period.
5 KEY STEPS TO CLAIMING YOUR SFI GRANT
7 Simple tips on getting your claim right first time We have a target of 30 working days to pay fully completed and correct SFI Grant claims and want to pay you your first grant as quickly as possible. To help us do this, please read the following list of 8 of the main causes of delay to payments and how we suggest you avoid them. 1.
Independent Accountants Report not in the correct format as specified in SFI Offer Letter.
This document is crucial to your claim and must be done exactly as specified in your SFI Offer Letter. Any deviation will result in delays and the rejection of your claim. 2.
Supporting documentation not submitted.
Read your SFI Offer and the claim form. If documentary evidence is required please provide full and legible signed and dated copies of it with your claim. 3.
The targets specified for payment in the SFI Offer Letter have not been
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The preconditions, job and capital expenditure targets should have been met before you submit a claim. If in doubt speak to your Contract manager before you submit a claim. 4.
The funding of the project has changed.
It is very important that the project is adequately funded and the SFI Offer often specifies funding preconditions, which have to be met. If you wish to change the funding package in any way contact your Contract manager to discuss the issues before you make the change. 5.
The Project has changed since the SFI Offer was issued.
Things can change during the lifetime of a project, and if they do you should contact your SFI Contract manager to discus the implications to your SFI Offer. 6.
Supporting documentation not signed or dated.
Supporting documents such as bank overdraft or HP agreements must be provided in full, signed by both parties and dated. If they are not it will delay your claim while we await replacement documents. 7.
Changes have occurred to company name, status or corporate ownership of the project.
If any changes of this nature occur during the lifetime of a project we need to know immediately as it could affect the grant offer. Selective Finance for Investment North West Regional Development Agency Renaissance House Centre Park Warrington Cheshire WA1 1XB http://www.nwda.co.uk/areas-of-work/business/access-to-finance/sfi.aspx This booklet is designed to assist businesses to claim an offer of Selective Finance for Investment which has been made to them by the North West Regional Development Agency. Further advice or assistance in claiming your grant is available from your Contract manager.