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What do I need to do before I make an application for funding?
Creating a business profile is the first step in the application process.
What if I haven’t registered my company at Companies House yet?
No problem! Please select your ‘Business type’ as Other and you can tell us what your legal structure will be (e.g. To be registered as a Ltd Co). If you haven’t decided on a name for your business yet then give us a project name for now (such as ‘Project Lighthouse’).
How do I create a business profile?
You’ll need to go to the ‘My businesses’ area of the portal first.
1) Select ‘Add your business’
2) Complete the information, making sure this is as accurate and up to date as possible. If your company is registered with Companies House, you’ll need your company registration number.
3) Tell us about your role in the business
4) Review the information and click the ‘Save’ button
What if my business details change?
To keep our records accurate, it is important to let us know if any of your business details have changed. Please visit the Help Centre and click on the ‘change business details’ button. Once you have selected your business, update the relevant information, or use the description box to tell us more.
Am I able to create more than one business profile?
Yes, if you own multiple businesses then you can create and view all profiles in the ‘My businesses’ area of the portal.
To ensure accurate record-keeping, please make sure you do not create multiple profiles for the same business. Each business should have just one profile in the portal.
What’s the difference between an enquiry and an application?
Enquiry:
If you have a business idea but are not yet ready to apply for funding, you can submit an enquiry. This allows you to initiate a conversation with our team to explore funding options and discuss your business concept in more detail.
To submit an enquiry, visit the enquiry section of my applications page, providing us with basic information about your business and your contact details. Our team will then reach out to you to schedule a discussion and provide guidance on potential funding options.
If you’re not quite ready to submit your enquiry, you can always come back to it later by clicking the ‘complete’ button.
Application:
If you're ready to move forward with a funding request, you can submit an application. This involves providing detailed information about your business, financial projections, and funding requirements for our review and consideration.
To submit an application, complete our online application form here. You’ll need to provide us with comprehensive details about your business and the management team. Be sure to attach any relevant documents or supporting information.
If you’re not quite ready to submit your application, you can always come back to it later by clicking the ‘complete application’ button.
Once you have submitted your application, we'll assess your eligibility and funding requirements and will be in touch to communicate next steps.
Can I track the progress of my enquiry or application?
You can easily monitor the status of your enquiry or application by visiting the My Applications page within your customer portal account. Here's how it works:
1) Log in to your customer portal account and navigate to the "My Applications" section.
2) On the My Applications page, you'll see a list of all your active enquiries and applications and some key information such as the date of submission and the funding amount you’ve requested.
3) Check the status of your enquiry or application regularly to stay informed about its progress. You can see if it has been assigned, who it has been assigned to, and any updates or changes to its status.
4) If we require additional information or have an important update regarding your enquiry or application, we may contact you through the portal messaging system. You'll receive an email notification alerting you to the new message in the portal. Additionally, a red notification indicator will appear next to the bell icon within your portal account, indicating that you have unread messages.
How do I respond to requests for information?
If we’ve sent you a message in the portal, we’ll automatically link this to a case record for you to track progress and respond to us.
Your case records are conveniently accessible from the Help Centre dashboard with a list of active and closed cases.
To respond to us, select your case record and click the ‘update’ button. From here, click the ‘add comment’ button within the case.