ESSOR 1B.

ESSOR 1B key parameters

Objectives you can fund

• Have an outside firm carry out a digital diagnostic of the business.
• Build a digital plan: the target, the stages, the budget, the sequence.
• Prepare an implementation plan before committing to an integrator.
• Choose a system — ERP, MES, production planning, CRM — on a comparative analysis rather than on a sales demo.
• Document the project in view of a larger funding application covering the implementation itself.

Program overview

ESSOR is Investissement Québec's investment support program. It is divided into sub-components. 1B is the one that covers the digital work done upstream: it does not pay for the software or for installing it, it pays for the analysis that decides which one to install and in what order.

Four objects are covered by the sub-component: the digital diagnostic, the digital plan, the implementation plan and the selection of systems. Investissement Québec reimburses up to 50% of eligible expenses, to a maximum of $20,000 for the duration of the program. The assistance is a non-repayable contribution: it is not paid back.

• Non-repayable
• Continuous intake
• Before the work starts
• Outside firm required

Eligibility criteria

Sub-component 1B is aimed at for-profit businesses established in Quebec and operating in a sector recognized by Investissement Québec. The criteria below are those of the ESSOR framework; the final assessment rests with the advisor handling the file.

Eligible territory

• The business must operate at least one establishment in Quebec.
• The mandate must relate to activities carried out or planned in Quebec.

Application steps

Three weeks generally separate the first call from the submission. The schedule is constrained by one thing only, the prior-commitment rule: nothing may be invoiced before the file is submitted.

1. 01. Scoping and prior-commitment check

   We confirm the business's eligibility, the nature of the digital mandate and above all that no commitment has yet been made to the firm. This is the step where a file is saved or lost.

   AUDIT · 5 DAYS

2. 02. Building the file

   Drafting the description of the mandate, its deliverables, the schedule and the detailed budget, together with the outside firm's service offer and the financial statements for the last two fiscal years.

   PREPARATION · 10 DAYS

3. 03. Submission and follow-up

   Submission to Investissement Québec's regional office, then follow-up on the advisor's questions through to the offer letter. We answer requests for clarification on your behalf.

   SUBMISSION · ONGOING FOLLOW-UP

Activities funded by the program

Sub-component 1B covers four objects, all of them given to a third party.

• Digital diagnostic: a review of the systems, the data and the processes in place.
• Digital plan: the target to reach, the sequence of work, the budget and the timeline.
• Implementation plan: how the rollout is broken down, internal workload, risks and milestones.
• System selection: requirements document, comparison grid, analysis of vendors' proposals.

Documents to provide

• Investissement Québec application form, duly completed.
• Detailed service offer from the outside firm, dated and unsigned.
• Description of the mandate, its deliverables and its schedule.
• Financial statements for the last two fiscal years, prepared by a professional.
• Financial projections if the business has fewer than two complete fiscal years.
• Board resolution authorizing the application.
• List of government assistance already obtained or applied for in respect of the same project.

Expenses covered by the program

• Professional fees of the outside firm engaged for the diagnostic or the plan.
• The firm's travel expenses, where they are billed to the mandate.
• Cost of the surveys, system inventories and measurements required for the diagnostic.
• Translation of the deliverables, where the project requires it.

Excluded costs

• Salaries and hours of the business's internal staff.
• Expenses incurred or invoiced before the date the application is submitted.
• Purchase of software, licences, subscriptions or computer hardware.
• Implementation, configuration and data migration fees — that is the next stage of the project, not 1B.
• Recoverable sales taxes (GST and QST).
• Financing costs, interest and routine legal fees.

Points to check before filing

• The $20,000 cap is cumulative for the duration of the program, not per project.
• The program ends on March 31, 2027. Applications must be submitted before that date.
• The assistance is paid once the deliverable and the supporting documents have been received, not when the file is approved.
• 1B stops at the plan. The implementation that follows falls under other programs — ESSOR 2 for equipment, the C3i tax credit for digital investment, SR&ED if the rollout involves experimental development.
• A refusal is not final: a reworked file can be resubmitted, as long as the prior-commitment rule is still respected.