FAQ

Yes. Wingman Digital Advisory received certification as an approved CDAP Digital Advisor on March 11th, 2022 from the Canada Digital Adoption Program, as a part of Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) Canada to work with SMEs under the Canada Digital Adoption Program (CDAP) Stream 2: Boost your Business Technology Grant program. 

Once you’ve qualified for the CDAP, total flight time for the assessment process and the creation of your unique and comprehensive Digital Adoption Plan is about 4 to 5 weeks.  

As the business owner, you should be prepared to invest roughly 10 – 12 hours of your time during the assessment portion of the process. Your commitment to attend meetings, participate in the conversations, and share your operating realities are key to ensuring the plan is aligned with your business objectives.

Wingman’s fee to develop the Digital Adoption plan starts at $15,000 plus applicable GST and provincial taxes. 

40% is due at the start of the project. The remaining 60% is due once your funding has been received.  

Once the CDAP is finalized, submitted and approved, you will receive your funding for up to 90% of the total cost (including tax) up to a maximum of $15,000.  

Wingman’s has observed the average turnaround time from submission to client’s receiving funding has proven to be between 7-10 business days. However, ISED/CDAP communicates in their agreement that funding time could take up to 30 business days.

Wingman works with you and works within your schedule. 

We will provide you with a scheduled topic plan for the assessment meetings outlining what areas of the business will be covered at each meeting. Prior to those calls, you can determine which key members in your business should be available for each call. For example, when we discuss finances, most clients find value in having their CFO or Accounting lead present.  

Where it makes sense, Wingman can absolutely work with you to implement the plan. You can have your plan implemented by any vendor you choose. There is no obligation nor expectation to use Wingman for the implementation stage of your digital adoption. However, by the time we have completed your plan alignment and participation by you, Wingman will have an intimate awareness of the needs of your business. Having already formed a deep understanding of your transformation needs, engaging our creative team will make for a seamless transition from planning to execution. 

Absolutely! We have worked with clients from Kingston to Kelowna. We want to meet you. But, the crew at Wingman has had great success across the country working remotely with small businesses.

Final DAP plans must be submitted by the SME’s (that’s you!). But don’t worry – your Wingman crew will talk you through the quick and easy process to submit the final adoption plan through your online CRA Business account.

Yes, businesses can qualify for both Grow Your Business Online grant AND Boost Your Business Technology grant as long as they meet the requirements of the individual grants.  

Yes, as long as you meet the eligibility criteria. 

Your businesses must also all be individually registered, i.e. have a unique business number. You must submit a separate application for each business.

When CDAP was announced in the 2021 Canadian federal budget, it was scheduled to support SMEs for 4 years. That means that small businesses have until 2025 to apply. However, all grants are first come, first served and can be changed or removed at any time. We recommend getting started as soon as possible!

The following types of small businesses are ineligible for the Stream 2: Boost Your Business Technology program: 

• Corporate chains, franchises or registered charities 
• Representatives of multi-level marketing companies 
• Real estate brokerages 
• Non-profit organizations 

Applicants will be asked to supply the following documents: 

1. Proof of business registration (i.e.. incorporation or registration documents, business/operating license, etc.) 
2. Confirmation provided by CRA of sales tax (GST/HST) registration OR confirmation provided by CRA of recent sales tax (GST/HST) filing (within the last 12 months). 
3. Proof of an employee (payroll run or pay stub within the last four weeks) 

You will have 6 months from the time you receive your personalized link from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) to BDC to complete your loan application. If you exceed this timeframe, you will be ineligible for the loan.

Zero-interest loan of up to $100,000 with a 5-year term + 12 months capital postponement (total of 6 years). CDAP is a four-year program, so you can apply for the program until 2025 – but only after successfully working with an approved CDAP Digital Advisor on your customized digital adoption plan AND it getting approved by the ISED/CDAP team.  

The amount of the loan is determined by the size of your business. If your annual gross revenues are: 

•  between $500,000 and below $5M you can request a loan up to $50,000 
• $5M and more, you can request a loan up to $100,000 

The loan must be used solely for the implementation of a digital adoption plan that is recognized by the CDAP Boost Your Business Technology stream. 

Please note that although the loan request is being made under CDAP, applicants must meet CDAP eligibility criteria and BDC creditworthiness requirements to receive a loan offer.   

You can create your digital adoption plan, receive the grant that covers up to 90% of advisory services and then decide against the zero-interest loan. Participating in the digital plan portion of CDAP does not oblige you to apply for a loan. If you move forward to implement your plan, you can also source the required funds from your own cash flow or from your regular financial institutions. 

You can visit the Government of Canada website for complete CDAP information here: https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/canada-digital-adoption-program/en