MRA grant claims: build the evidence file before the project ends

The weakest time to reconstruct an MRA claim is after the final invoice arrives. By then, supplier emails are scattered, deliverables have changed and nobody remembers why a payment differs from the original budget.

Build the claim file from the first day of the approved project. The Letter of Offer, approved activity, deliverables, supplier work, invoices and payment evidence should form one traceable record. Enterprise Singapore states that MRA claims are audited, deliverables are assessed and the deadline in the Letter of Offer applies.

Build the claim file from the first day of the approved project. The Letter of Offer, approved activity, deliverables, supplier work, invoices and payment evidence should form one traceable record. Enterprise Singapore states that MRA claims are audited, deliverables are assessed and the deadline in the Letter of Offer applies.

Build the claim file from the first day of the approved project. The Letter of Offer, approved activity, deliverables, supplier work, invoices and payment evidence should form one traceable record. Enterprise Singapore states that MRA claims are audited, deliverables are assessed and the deadline in the Letter of Offer applies.

The most useful control is a deliverable-to-payment matrix. It gives the project owner, finance team and auditor one view of what was approved, what was completed, who supplied it, what was paid and where the evidence sits. A well-organised file does not assure reimbursement, but it reduces avoidable gaps and makes project changes visible while there is still time to address them.

What belongs in the working claim file

Start with the Letter of Offer

The live MRA programme page says a successful applicant should review the conditions of support, the amount awarded, the project qualifying period and the deliverables, then accept the Letter of Offer within the stated timeline. Treat those terms as the claim specification. Copy every deliverable and approved cost line into the project register rather than relying on a general project plan.

Assign one evidence owner to each deliverable. State what document will prove completion, when it should be collected and which supplier or employee must provide it. A deliverable such as overseas business matching needs more than an invoice. The company should retain material showing the actual activity, such as an agreed report, meeting record or other output that corresponds with the approved scope.

Reconcile invoices to payment evidence

Enterprise Singapore lists a Statement of Claim, invoices and payment evidence among the documents required for audit. Accepted payment evidence may include the company’s bank or credit-card statement, a payor’s statement where a director or shareholder paid on behalf of the company, a bank advice slip or transaction proof showing the company and recipient account details. Other supporting documents, such as a cheque copy or payment voucher, may also be needed.

Create one reconciliation row per invoice. Record the supplier, invoice number, invoice date, currency, gross amount, approved cost category, payment date, bank reference and Singapore-dollar amount used for the claim. Link any credit note or refund to the original row. If a director paid on behalf of the company, document the reason, reimbursement and accounting treatment instead of leaving an unexplained third-party payment.

Capture activity-specific evidence

Different MRA activities require different evidence. The current programme page lists additional records for Overseas Marketing Presence projects, including the business-development employee’s employment agreement and payslips or CPF statement, evidence of entry and exit or a residential or long-term hotel lease, and an office rental agreement where applicable.

Use the same principle for every activity: prove the commercial output, not merely the expense. For market promotion, retain the final approved materials, placement or event evidence and performance records relevant to the deliverable. For business development, retain the agreed service output and evidence of the work completed. For market setup, retain the professional deliverables and establishment records that match the approved scope. Remove personal data from working copies when it is not needed, but preserve the required source record securely.

Control project changes while the work is under way

The programme page tells recipients to submit a change request through the Business Grants Portal when a project changes after commencement, and warns that failing to do so may delay the claim. The internal trigger should cover supplier replacement, cost reallocation, a changed market or activity, revised deliverables, delayed completion and any change that may move work outside the qualifying period.

Do not wait for the auditor to discover the difference. The project owner should compare actual scope and cost with the Letter of Offer at every monthly review. When a difference appears, pause the affected commitment if practical, document the reason and submit the required request. Keep the portal submission and response with the project file.

Prepare for the MRA audit

Enterprise Singapore states that all MRA claims are subject to audit after the project and deliverables are completed. The recipient engages an auditor from Enterprise Singapore’s pre-qualified panel. The programme page currently states that audit cost starts from S$200 depending on scope and is supported up to 50%, capped at S$500, with project and audit costs sharing the relevant pillar cap.

Before sending the file, perform three reconciliations. First, approved deliverables to completion evidence. Second, approved cost lines to invoices and payments. Third, the accounting ledger to the amount proposed in the Statement of Claim. Flag rather than conceal differences. The auditor may need explanations, and unsupported amounts should not be forced into the claim.

Before submitting the claim

After the audit, the company submits the claim through the Business Grants Portal by the deadline in its Letter of Offer. Enterprise Singapore lists the audit report, auditor-endorsed Statement of Claim and project deliverables among the submission documents. Its page also states that achievement of deliverables is assessed to determine satisfactory project completion.

Before submission, confirm that the legal entity, market, activity, dates, supplier names, costs and deliverables agree across all records. Confirm that Corporate PayNow or GIRO details are in place for disbursement. Keep the submission receipt and final package. A current Enterprise Singapore estimate says Corporate PayNow can receive an approved claim disbursement within about 14 working days, while GIRO may take up to eight weeks. Those periods follow claim approval, not project completion or claim submission.

A worked control example

Assume a Singapore company has an approved MRA business-development project in Vietnam. Its Letter of Offer requires a market-partner report and verified introductions. The project register links those outputs to the supplier contract, invoice and bank transfer. Midway through the project, the supplier proposes replacing the report with a broader regional study. Management records that this changes the approved deliverable and submits a change request before accepting the revised scope.

At completion, the file contains the approved change, final report, introduction records, invoice, payment advice, ledger entry and auditor questions. This is stronger than an end-stage folder containing only an invoice and a slide deck because it shows the chain from approved purpose to delivered result and paid cost.

Open the claim register at the project kick-off and make it part of the monthly review. The project-start controls and business-support guide cover the earlier decisions. Our Enterprise Support and Grants team can help organise scope, governance and evidence, without promising a grant or claim outcome.