Small Business Recovery (SBR) Consulting Rebate for Northern BC

2025/2026 INTAKE OPEN: Funding Available Until Annual Budget is Committed

Give Us a Call to Get Your Rebate Rolling

Understanding the SBR Rebate

The Small Business Recovery (SBR) Consulting Rebate is a funding program managed by the Northern Development Initiative Trust (NDIT). It is designed to help Northern BC businesses hire experts to recover from a financial slump.

This program is specifically for businesses that have taken a hit. To see if it applies to you, look at your recent numbers:

  • Did you see a decrease in sales in any quarter of the year compared to the year prior?
  • Can you show that your business health has dropped due to economic challenges?

If the answer is “yes,” this program can help fund the projects needed to get those numbers back up, such as marketing strategies, website development, or digital operations upgrades.

It is important to note that this is a rebate program, not an upfront grant. Eligible businesses must pay for the project costs first, and then may receive up to 85% of eligible costs back, to a maximum of $30,000 per year.

are you ELIGIBLE?

The program has specific geographic and economic requirements. According to the official program guide, a business is generally eligible if:

  • The business is headquartered or located within the Northern Development service region (Central & Northern BC).
  • Small and medium sized businesses impacted by the economic downturn (Less than 500 emplyees and revenues less than $100 million).
  • Incorporated businesses, or sole proprietorships that have been established for two or more years with more than $30,000 in annual revenues
  • Privately owned operating businesses with revenue
Official Application Guide

eligiblecriteria

Eligible cost types

  • Fixed-fee consulting under a written contract
  • Some direct project costs tied to the scope (software, subscriptions, tools) if accepted as part of the approved budget
  • Travel related to the consulting work (where applicable)

What typically gets declined

  • Anything done before approval
  • Open-ended monthly retainers that look like day-to-day marketing operations
  • Staff wages or internal labour
  • Taxes (GST)
  • Anything that looks like outsourcing ongoing operational duties without a defined project endpoint

This is why we keep the funded work as a time-boxed implementation project. Ongoing care, hosting, maintenance, posting, and ad management sit outside the funded scope as an optional next step.

How the process works

  • Confirm location and industry fit
  • Agree on a project scope—deliverables, timeline, and what "success" looks like
  • Create a fixed-fee quote with clear inclusions and exclusions
  • Apply and wait for written approval
  • Complete the project exactly as approved
  • Submit completion reporting and the required documents (invoice and proof of payment)

How we keep your project approval-friendly

If you want the best odds of a smooth review, the project needs to be:

  • Clearly defined: No fuzzy "we'll just do marketing" language
  • Deliverable-based: Something that can be checked off and reported on
  • Time-boxed: With a start and finish date
  • Built around recovery outcomes: More leads, better conversion tracking, reduced admin load, cleaner reporting, improved customer acquisition

Project
examples

Option A: Website design + enquiry tracking + local SEO foundation

  • Custom website design focused on conversions and enquiries
  • Call tracking setup and reporting
  • Form tracking and analytics event setup
  • Local SEO optimization (Google Business Profile, citations, on-page SEO)
  • Launch checklist, handover, and short training session

Option B: Rebrand + brand guide + website refresh

  • Logo redesign or cleanup (vector files included)
  • Brand guidelines: colours, fonts, logo rules, basic templates
  • Website refresh to match
  • Core messaging for the homepage and key service pages

Option C: Google Ads campaign + landing pages + content kit

  • Google Ads campaign build: structure, targeting, conversion plan
  • Landing page(s) for the offer
  • 30-day social media content calendar
  • A defined starter batch of designed posts and short-form video templatesce pages

mix-and-matchmenu

If you prefer building a custom scope, we can put together a compliant project from items like:

  • Website design: Custom builds, landing pages, membership sites, or directories
  • Branding: Logo redesign, vector files, brand guidelines
  • Google Ads: Campaign setup, tracking plan, conversion optimization
  • Social media: Content calendar plus a defined batch of creative assets
  • SEO: Local SEO setup, on-page optimization, technical SEO audit
  • Automation + AI: Lead routing, follow-up sequences, AI-powered tools, CRM workflows

We’ll keep it grounded. If it starts to look like ongoing outsourcing, we’ll split it into “project” and “monthly.”

What we'll ask on theFirst call

  • Are you located or headquartered in the Northern Development service region?
  • Are you in an eligible industry?
  • Have you seen a meaningful drop that you can support with reports?
  • Are you comfortable waiting for written approval before we start?

If any of those are a “no,” we can still help you out. We’ll treat it as a normal paid project and skip the funding angle entirely.

the application process

Portrait of a business man sitting in the office

  1. Verification:

    Verify that your business location and industry meet the Northern Development criteria.

  2. Scope & Quote:

    Identify a specific recovery project. Get a fixed-fee quote that outlines clear deliverables, timelines, and costs, which are required for the application.

  3. Application & Review:

    Submit your application to Northern Development with the quote attached. Intake is generally continuous. You must wait for their written approval before the project commences. Application decisions are made within one week of receiving a completed application. 

  4. Execution & Reporting:

    If approved, the work is completed exactly as outlined in the scope. Upon completion, you pay the invoice in full and submit the proof of payment and final report to Northern Development to request the rebate.

If you believe your business fits the criteria and you have a specific project in mind, we can help you define the scope and prepare the necessary vendor quotes.

Apply Here

Not affiliated with Northern Development. We are an independent business and we are not endorsed by, partnered with, or acting on behalf of Northern Development Initiative Trust. Any eligibility decisions, approvals, and funding amounts are determined solely by Northern Development; we can only provide consulting services after you receive written approval (where required).