Do small and medium-sized enterprises receive business start-up training support? If so, where does the funding come from?

What size enterprise is considered a small and medium-sized enterprise?

According to Article 4 of the Law on Support for Small and Medium Enterprises 2017, the criteria to determine whether an enterprise is considered a small and medium-sized enterprise including:

“Article 4. Criteria for determining small and medium-sized enterprises

1. Small and medium-sized enterprises include micro-enterprises, small enterprises and medium-sized enterprises, with an average annual number of employees participating in social insurance of not more than 200 people and meeting one of the following two criteria:

a) Total capital not exceeding 100 billion VND;

b) Total revenue of the preceding year is not more than 300 billion VND.

2. Micro enterprises, small enterprises and medium enterprises are determined according to the fields of agriculture, forestry, fisheries; industry and construction; trade and services.

3. The Government stipulates in detail Article hey.”

This is specifically guided by Article 5 of Decree 80/2021/ND-CP as follows:

(1) Micro enterprises in the fields of agriculture, forestry and fisheries; The industrial and construction sectors employ no more than 10 employees participating in social insurance on average each year and the total revenue of the year is not more than 3 billion VND or the total capital of the year is not more than 3 billion VND.

Micro-enterprises in the field of commerce and services employ workers participating in social insurance with an average of no more than 10 people per year and the total revenue of the year is not more than 10 billion VND or the total capital of the year is not more than 3 billion VND.

(2) Small businesses in the fields of agriculture, forestry and fisheries; The industry and construction sector employs an average of no more than 100 workers participating in social insurance per year and the total revenue of the year is not more than 50 billion VND or the total capital of the year is not more than 20 billion VND, but is not a micro-enterprise as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article.

Small enterprises in the field of commerce and services that employ workers participating in social insurance with an average of no more than 50 people per year and total revenue of the year not exceeding 100 billion VND or total capital of the year not exceeding 50 billion VND, but are not micro enterprises as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article.

(3) Medium enterprises in the fields of agriculture, forestry and fisheries; The industry and construction sector employs an average of no more than 200 people participating in social insurance per year and the total revenue of the year is not more than 200 billion VND or the total capital of the year is not more than 100 billion VND, but is not a micro-enterprise or small enterprise as prescribed in Clause 1 and Clause 2 of this Article.

Medium-sized enterprises in the field of commerce and services employ workers participating in social insurance with an average of no more than 100 people per year and total revenue of the year not exceeding 300 billion VND or total capital of the year not exceeding 100 billion VND, but are not micro enterprises or small enterprises as prescribed in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article.

Because you have not specified the business field of your business as well as the total annual revenue your business has, it is not possible to clearly determine whether your business belongs to the group of small and medium enterprises or not. You can base on the above criteria to determine more specifically and more conveniently in the process of applying the provisions of law.

Do small and medium-sized enterprises receive business start-up training support?

Article 2 of Decree 80/2021/ND-CP clearly stipulates: if your business meets the criteria specified in Article 5 of Decree 80/2021/ND-CP, your business is eligible for human resource development support.

Point a Clause 1 Article 1 Circular 49/2019/TT-BTC stipulates:

“1. This Circular guides the preparation of estimates, management, use and settlement of state budget funds to support human resource development for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) according to the provisions of Article 14 of Decree No. 39/2018/ND-CP dated March 11, 2018 of the Government detailing a number of articles of the Law on Support for SMEs (hereinafter abbreviated as Decree No. 39/2018/ND-CP). Including:

a) Support for business start-up and enterprise management training (basic and intensive);”

This shows that support for human resource development includes support for business start-up training and corporate governance (both basic and intensive). Therefore, if your business belongs to the group of small and medium-sized enterprises according to the law, it means your business is supported with business start-up training.

Where does the funding for supporting business start-up training for small and medium-sized enterprises come from?

Article 3 of Circular 49/2019/TT-BTC stipulates on funding sources for implementing human resource support policies for small and medium-sized enterprises as follows:

“Article 3. Actual funding sources Currently

Funding for implementing policies to support the development of human resources for SMEs includes partial support from the state budget (central budget, local budget), contributions and support from businesses, organizations, individuals and other legal funding sources.

1. State budget sources:

a) Central budget: Arrangement in the annual recurrent expenditure estimates of ministries and ministerial-level agencies; or support for organizations and associations with national or inter-provincial scope to carry out the task of supporting the development of human resources for SMEs.

b) Local budget: Arrange in the annual recurrent expenditure estimates of the locality to carry out the task of supporting the development of human resources for SMEs in the locality. method.

2. SMEs and individuals participating in training contribute part of the cost.

3. Agencies and units mobilize other financial sources (in addition to the state budget) from domestic and foreign businesses, organizations, individuals, and international organizations according to the provisions of law to carry out the task of supporting the development of SME human resources.”

Specifically, Clauses 1 and 2, Article 7 of Circular 49/2019/TT-BYT stipulate funding for organizing training courses on business start-up, corporate governance and support from the state budget as follows:

(1) The total cost of organizing a business start-up and enterprise management training course supported from the state budget is the total actual expenses incurred according to the expenditure content specified in Article 6 of this Circular.

(2) Total costs for organizing the training course specified in Clause 1 of this Article are paid from the following sources:

a) Support from the state budget (central budget, local budget) according to the level specified in Point a, Clause 1, Article 14 of Decree No. 39/2018/ND-CP and regulations in this Circular as follows:

– The maximum level of support from the state budget in the total cost of organizing a business start-up training course is 100%, basic business administration is 70% and in-depth business administration is 50%.

– Expenditure norms for each expenditure content in a training course to determine the amount of state budget support shall comply with the provisions of Circular No. 36/2018/TT-BTC dated March 30, 2018 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the estimation, management, use and settlement of funds for the training and fostering of cadres, civil servants and public employees and according to the principles:

+ For expenditures with specific regulations on standards and norms (spending on lecturers and reporters; compiling programs, textbooks, training materials; drinking water and refreshments; rewarding students; spending on exam questions, proctoring and marking exams; per diem) must be carried out in accordance with the prescribed regime. As for foreign lecturers and rapporteurs, the determination of the amount of state budget support for teaching remuneration, travel, food and accommodation expenses applies as for domestic lecturers and rapporteurs.

+ For expenditures that do not have specific regulations on standards and norms: based on contracts, invoices, and actual, reasonable, and legal spending documents according to the provisions of law.

b) The remaining costs (equal to the total cost of organizing a training course specified in Clause 1 of this Article, minus the amount of support from the state budget as specified in item a, Clause 2 of this Article) are paid from the following sources:

– Funding and funding mobilized from domestic and foreign businesses, organizations and individuals for the training course (if any).

– Tuition fees are contributed by students. Encourage training units to make the most of sponsorship and mobilized funds to reduce tuition fees for students participating in training courses.

It can be seen that the funding sources used for implementing human resource support policies in general and supporting business start-up training in particular are specifically and reasonably regulated by law so that businesses can be more convenient in the application process.

What expenses are included in organizing a business start-up training course?

Article 6 of Circular 49/2019/TT-BTC regulates the content of expenses for organizing business start-up and corporate governance training courses included in the total costs supported from the state budget as follows:

(1) Expenses for direct training courses:

a) General expenses:

– Admission costs: calling, sending invitations, posting information on mass media.

– Expenses for lecturers and reporters: teaching remuneration (including remuneration for preparing lesson plans), food, accommodation, and travel expenses.

– Expenses for printing, photocopying, and purchasing learning materials according to the content of the training program for students (not including reference materials).

– Expenses for renting halls, classrooms, projectors, and learning equipment.

– Expenditure on drinking water and refreshments between hours; stationery.

– Expenses for opening and closing ceremonies.

– Other expenses directly serving the classroom (electricity, water, sanitation, parking, filming, photography and other direct expenses).

b) In addition to the general expenses specified in Point a, Clause 1 of this Article, for business administration training courses (basic and intensive) there are the following expenses:

– Expenditure on organizing tests and evaluating learning outcomes (setting exam questions, proctoring exams, marking exams).

– Expenses for organizing field trips for students in the country (if any): renting vehicles to pick up and drop off students; Training reporters to participate in sharing experiences at surveys and practical sessions.

– Cost of certification for participating in the training course.

– For intensive business administration training courses, depending on the level of necessity, foreign lecturers and reporters can be invited to participate in teaching. In addition to teaching remuneration, meals, accommodation, and travel, there are additional costs for interpretation and document translation.

(2) Expenses for management of a training course by the training unit (not to exceed 10% of the cost of organizing a training course), including:

– Per diem for class managers of the training unit in case classes must be held far away from the training unit.

– Overtime work of class managers (if any); Organize meetings to implement training courses.

– Other expenses to serve the management and operation of classes: contact information, field surveys to organize classes.

Thus, if your business meets the criteria to be considered a small and medium-sized enterprise, based on the regulations just mentioned, your business can be supported with business start-up training with the funding source and content of the specific expenses mentioned above.