Sales are crucial to the success of any company, and many small businesses may have limited resources to explore new markets. Cross-border opportunities can be an essential part of a company’s growth strategy, but lack of knowledge and feet on the ground can hamper progress. InterTradeIreland can support firms to develop and win new business through its cross-border trade funding programmes, Elevate and Acumen. 

Elevate Programme

Specifically aimed at microbusinesses, InterTradeireland’s Elevate programme links firms with expert consultants who can identify and capitalise on cross-border sales opportunities. €5,500 (£5,000 stg) of consultancy time is available to eligible companies. They select an approved advisor who suits their business needs, then work together to develop a winning sales plan, generate tangible leads and fast-track their cross-border exporting journey.

Acumen Programme 

InterTradeireland’s Acumen programme provides funding to help businesses increase their cross-border export sales in Northern Ireland, directly supporting them to employ a new recruit in sales and marketing. lnterTradelreland funds half of their cost to a maximum of €18,750 for a full-time position, or €10,000 for a part-time position. 

Case Study: Veri, kilkenny-based software company 

Veri benefited from InterTradeIreland’s Elevate support, and has recently started on the Acumen programme. The company has developed award winning cloud software that digitises paper-based documentation for quality assurance purposes. After a 20-year background in training and development, company founder and Chief Executive, Ann-Marie McSorley, decided there had to be a safer, cheaper and better way of tracking and tracing outcomes for training audits. Veri ensures training delivery can be benchmarked to track quality, milestones, skills, feedback and outcomes in real time via a simple mobile app. The software reduces duplication and administration costs by up to 30%, as well as helping clients to measure KPIs and ensure they get a return on their investment in training and programme delivery across a range of sectors.

How Elevate Helped

The company heard about InterTradeireland’s Elevate programme through an accelerator programme in Belfast. “having worked in Northern Ireland for 15 years I was aware of the great work InterTradeireland does in cross-border business development,” Ann-Marie explains. “We worked with a consultant funded by InterTradeIreland who supported us on the Elevate programme. The programme gave us structure and support in navigating and prospecting for new business in the cross-border market. We secured a substantial contract in January of this year and recently won a second three-year contract in the mentorship programme Track and Trace.”

Veri has now moved on to InterTradeireland’s Acumen programme, enabling the company to hire a dedicated salesperson for the Northern Ireland market. “We now have clients in the north west and on both sides of the border,” Ann-Marie adds. “in order to support this and extend into other regions in Northern Ireland, we required a dedicated business development technical software salesperson, so we recently recruited Grace Phelan.

We are at the start of our Acumen project, and our objective is to double our business in Northern Ireland in 2020.” Find out more about Veri by contacting the team at info@veri.ie or visit veri.ie

Start Your Cross-Border Journey

InterTradeIreland’s research shows that 75% of businesses that have gone on to sell off the island took their first steps on the export ladder through entrance into all-island market. If you think your business could benefit from sales and marketing supports, then find out more at intertradeireland.com/sales-support/

1. Pick a dedicated member of staff to oversee Brexit preparations.

2.   Secure key pieces of information

• Secure your EORI number - you need this number to move your goods. It's quick, free and easy to obtain from Revenue or HMRC.
  
  
• Classify your goods - all goods have a commodity code. Get the codes from Revenue or HMRC. You can then use this commodity code to find out the duty for your goods by visiting InterTradeIreland’s free tariff checker.
  
  
• Find out the origin of your goods - this will help to identify whether they qualify for lower or nil customs duty. For more information visit Revenue or HMRC.
  
  
• Consider whether you are eligible to use any customs procedure.  There are a number of ways to make importing and exporting easier (if your goods qualify). For more information, visit Revenue or HMRC.
  
  
• Apply the correct customs procedure code (CPC) for your goods.  Find out more at Revenue or HMRC.
  
  
• Find out if your employees need to register for the EU Settlement Scheme.   Find out more at EU Settlement Scheme

3. VAT and Duties

Apply for deferment accounts for VAT and Duties. Visit Revenue or HMRC for more information.

4. Prepare for customs

• Familiarise yourself with the customs declaration and how they work
• You need a customs declaration to import or export your goods. Click here for help with customs declarations, including step-by-step videos on what information you need and how to complete Customs declarations.

5. Transit procedures

• Find out about transit procedures and how to apply for one from Revenue or HMRC. This can take several weeks to set up, so act in good time.

6. Get ready to transport goods

• Choose whether to appoint an agent to manage your transport. For a list of specialists, visit representative bodies for Ireland and Northern Ireland. Note that many of these agents can manage your customs declarations as well.
  Check your driving licence - Immediately post-Brexit, UK licences will not be valid for those who are resident in Ireland so you should apply to exchange your UK licence for an Irish licence.
• Get your Green Card - Northern Ireland drivers will need to carry a green card (for proof of insurance) when travelling to Ireland. To get a green card, you should contact your insurance provider.

Bitesize Brexit

Visit our Bitesize Brexit section for some more useful steps on getting prepared for Brexit.

Brexit Advisory Service

InterTradeIreland can help businesses prepare for Brexit through a range of supports and services suited to all, including funding up to €5625. Find out more at iintertradeireland.com.  Our dedicated Brexit team are here to help, just email brexit@intertradeireland.com or telephone 028  3083 4100 (048 from Ireland)