Digitalization voucher for Kharkiv region businesses: how to get it and what to spend it on

Small and medium-sized businesses in the Kharkiv region can receive funding to implement digital solutions through the Digital Booster4SME project. PayKit is part of a network of 25+ Ukrainian IT integrators taking part in the project. Below, we explain how the program works, who can join, and what we offer to shops and retail outlets.

What is Digital Booster4SME

This is a pilot project that connects SMEs in the Kharkiv region with vetted Ukrainian IT providers. It combines three things: a digital diagnostic of the business, supplier matching, and implementation of a solution with financial support in the form of a voucher. The project is coordinated by Kharkiv IT Cluster.

The project covers three areas:

• Sales and marketing: CRM, omnichannel, sales funnels.
• Operational efficiency: warehouse, logistics, and financial management.
• Migration from hostile software: moving from Russian systems (the project names 1C, Bitrix, AmoCRM, RetailCRM, Poster, and iiko, among others) to Ukrainian or international cloud solutions that comply with the law.

Who can participate

The conditions for the first wave are:

• the business is registered and operates in the Kharkiv region, including frontline areas;
• the founders and team are ready to invest their own time in implementing changes.

Priority is given to businesses led by women, veterans, and internally displaced persons. The first wave has a limited number of participants, so it is best not to delay registration.

What we offer: PayKit

Our area in the project is operational efficiency. We offer the PayKit “Business” package: a cash register and a tablet for accounting. The voucher can be put toward its implementation.

It is designed for retail shops and outlets where the salesperson needs a checkout workstation, and the owner or manager needs a separate device for accounting and control.

The problems it solves:

• sales, stock, and financial data are kept in different places;
• it is hard for the owner to see the movement of goods and money in real time;
• the cashier and the manager need separate devices.

The package includes:

The equipment is paid for as a one-time purchase. Implementation services are not included in this amount. The voucher amount and the share of costs it covers are determined by the program, so refer to the terms on the project page.

As a result, the salesperson handles sales at the register, while the owner sees stock, the movement of goods and money, and the customer database from a tablet or the online dashboard. Calls to staff asking “how much did we sell” and “what’s left” are no longer needed.

CHM Software challenge

The second step of the program, the challenges, can be completed with no obligations. Our challenge is called “Run your store from one dashboard” and consists of a single task: watch a video tutorial on the features of the PayKit Cloud owner dashboard.

While watching, ask yourself one question: what of what you see do you currently do by hand or find out through calls and messages to staff? That is your list of what is worth automating.

How to join

• Open the project page: it-kharkiv.com/projects/digital-booster4sme.
• Register your business using the SME form.
• Complete the digital diagnostic.
• Choose a challenge or a solution from the catalog and wait for an integrator to be matched.

If your business currently keeps records in a notebook, spreadsheets, or a messenger app, this is a good opportunity to switch to a proper system. The first wave is limited, so register now: SME registration form.