After years of first-hand familiarity with PSG you stop seeing the application as a form and start seeing it as the reviewer does. Approval isn't random — the same handful of factors decide it almost every time. Here's an application read the way it's assessed.
PSG funds 50% of a pre-approved solution, capped at S$30,000 per company per solution category. The terms are fixed; what varies is whether the submission is clean. This is what "clean" actually means.
Check 1 — Is the solution on the list?
The first filter is binary: is this specific vendor and solution pre-approved on the SMEs Go Digital portal? If not, it's not a PSG project at all — it's an EDG conversation. A surprising number of rejections fail here before anything else is read.
Watch out: "It's basically the same as an approved tool" doesn't count. It has to be the listed solution.
Check 2 — Did you pay or commit before submitting?
The reviewer looks at dates. If the invoice or payment predates your application, the claim is dead — there's no remedy. The gate is the submission date, not approval: once you've submitted, you can go ahead and pay. The mistake is committing before the application is in.
Watch out: Don't sign or pay anything before you submit. Quote first, submit, then buy, deploy and use it.
Check 3 — Does the company pass eligibility at group level?
Singapore-registered, at least 30% local shareholding, group sales under S$100M or fewer than 200 staff. The aggregation is at group level, so related entities are counted together — a detail multi-company owners trip on.
Check 4 — Does the usage report show real use?
This is the part you can actually influence. PSG doesn't want a 'deployment plan' — most solutions need a 1-month usage report demonstrating you've actually used the software (logins, activity, outcomes). A live, evidenced deployment reads as genuine; thin or absent usage evidence triggers a round of questions.
What most people get wrong
- Off-list vendor or solution — the most common silent failure.
- Committing before submission — paying or signing before the application is in. Unfixable.
- Claiming the same solution again within the funding window.
- A usage report that doesn't clearly show the software in use.
The honest version
Owners can and should submit PSG themselves — it's designed for self-application through the Business Grants Portal. The upstream decisions are what actually move the outcome (right solution, specific plan). If anyone offers to submit for a cut of the grant, treat it as a red flag.
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Sources:EnterpriseSG, IMDA, NTUC, Singapore Government open data. Factual content (grant rules, eligibility, vendor data, pricing) is sourced directly from official government portals and remains the copyright of those respective agencies. Analysis, commentary and editorial framing are the author's own. Always verify the latest on GoBusiness, EnterpriseSG, or SMEs Go Digital before applying.