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Information for registered service providers
Service providers registered with the Regional Business Partner Network can find information about funding, registering services, bookings, and claims when logging into the service provider platform.
Already registered? Log in(external link)
Service providers give training to eligible people within a small business, providing them with the skills to lift their management capability.
Find out more about becoming a service provider, eligibility and what is involved.
The Management Capability Development Fund
Who can qualify for the subsidy
To access the subsidy for registered training, a business customer must meet the following criteria.
They must:
- have undergone a discovery session with a Regional Business Partner growth advisor
- have fewer than 50 full-time equivalent employees
- be registered for GST in New Zealand (this applies to one-to-one training only)
- have a New Zealand Business Number (NZBN)
- be operating in a commercial environment; and
- be a privately owned business, or a Māori Trust or incorporation under Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993 or similar organisation managing Māori assets under multiple ownership.
New Zealand Business Number(external link)
Businesses should also:
- have the potential and desire to grow
- demonstrate commitment to improving their management capability, such as seeking advice, working through the assessment process, being willing to contribute to the cost of training, and commit time to capability-building activities
- have an identified gap in their capability that can be addressed through management capability building and training.
How the subsidy is allocated
First, our growth advisors work with the businesses to identify specific areas where they could upskill through training, or where they may need help from an expert.
If training is required the growth advisor then makes a shortlist of suitable matches among our registered service providers, which the business owner can choose from.
Once you’ve registered with us, you’ll become part of our pool of New Zealand service providers. You’ll work with these business owners as part of your wider client base.
How much subsidy is available
The subsidy can be used to cover up to 50% of the training costs (excluding travel and disbursements). This is capped at a maximum of $5,000 plus GST per year.
For example, if a customer chooses to attend training that costs $2,000 plus GST, the maximum amount a growth advisor can provide is $1000 plus GST.
Our growth advisors decide the value of the subsidy based on the needs of the eligible business.
What training services are eligible for the subsidy
The subsidy is for training services to support business owners and managers looking to grow and innovate.
Fraudulent use of subsidy
If a service provider is found to be acting fraudulently, they will have their contracts cancelled. Fraudulent behaviour includes:
- delivering services that are not registered under the pretence of a registered service.
- claiming for services delivered that were not delivered.
- claiming for services where the attendee did not attend.
Conflict of interest
You must declare any conflict or possible perceived conflicts with the Regional Business Partner Network team at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment before any training is started.
Conflicts include potential relationship and financial conflicts between you and potential RBP customers.
If you have a conflict or perceived conflict, or you are unsure if there is a potential conflict, contact us by email.
Terms and conditions
Read the terms and conditions to understand your responsibilities as a service provider.
Using the RBPN platform
As a registered service provider, you can sign in to the RBPN Platform.
Add a team member
You can add as many team members as you need. We encourage you to regularly check who is active to ensure that members who have left your organisation no longer have access.
The primary account holder is the account owner for your organisation. This is the person who we’ll contact if we need to query anything with your account.
Step 1: Select your name in the top menu. Click on Manage Team.
Step 2: Click Add Team Member button.
Step 3: Enter your team member’s details and click Invite.
Step 4: Your invited team member will now show as Pending.
Step 5: Your invited team member will be sent an email inviting them to complete their account signup.
This includes confirming that they agree to the terms and conditions of the Regional Business Partner Network. Once they’ve agreed to the terms and conditions, the team member will show as Active.
Create a training service
Before you start
Check your services are eligible
Before you start to register your service, check that you meet the eligibility criteria for the RBPN Management Capability Fund.
Categorise your service carefully
Check your information carefully, because the fund type, and price type of your service cannot be edited after you have created a training service.
Price type
It is important to note the difference in the price types you can select.
- Select Per Business – if you want to set up private events only. Private events are for a single business only. There can be more than one attendee, so long as they are from the same business.
- Select Per Person - if you want to set up public events. Per Person pricing gives you the flexibility to offer your service to more than one business at a time.
Step 1: Select Services in the navigation menu and click Add service button.
Step 2: Complete the details in Create a service.
Service name: Enter a service name that best describes the type of service you deliver, for example Marketing Strategy training.
Service overview: Write a short description (one or two sentences) of the service. Maximum character count is 500.
Service description: Your service description must meet the eligibility criteria for the Management Capability Fund.
Provide information about the training objectives, the learning outcomes (these must be measurable), the total cost plus GST, how the service is delivered (for example, a workshop, in-person, online) and the total time commitment for the business owner/manager. Maximum character count is 2000.
You can use basic formatting (such as bold, italics, and lists) when editing your service description.
Fund type: Selection the appropriate fund type in the dropdown box. If you are unsure about what fund to select, contact a growth advisor to discuss.
Service category: Tick the service category that best describes your service. You can select a minimum of 1, to a maximum of 3.
Step 3: The newly created service will be visible on the Pending tab until it has been reviewed by the RBPN team. Pending services are visible to growth advisors and can be escalated for priority review if required for a customer.
Step 4: You will be sent an email when your service is accepted or denied.
Create an event
Before you start
Events are a one-off delivery of a registered service.
A growth advisor will request you create an event after a customer has chosen your service and is allocated funding. The growth advisor will provide details of who the customer is and how much they are funded for.
Tip: From the services dashboard you can quickly access tasks such as Add Event and Edit Service by clicking on the three vertical dots.
Once you have registered your services on the RBP Platform, a growth advisor will decide if the training is suitable for an eligible customer and approve the subsidy.
You must then create an event in the platform.
Step 1: Select Services in the navigation menu and select one of your registered services. Click on the three vertical dots, and then click Add Event.
Step 2: Complete the details in Create an Event. In the Select customer field, if this is a one-to-one service, select private in the event type and then start typing the legal name of the customer in the box provided. Their business name should reveal in the dropdown list for you to select. Click Create event.
Step 3: The customer is sent an email asking for confirmation of their participation in the event and agreement to the terms and conditions of the event.
This needs to be completed within 14 days, otherwise the booking expires.
A confirmation email will be sent to you when the customer has confirmed the booking. Check the event details to see the names of the people who have confirmed their attendance.
Step 4: The delivery of the service takes place.
Step 5: The customer is emailed after the event end-date asking them to provide feedback about the training service.
If they choose to respond, their comments will be available to read at the bottom of the specific service page.
If training is delayed
If your training is delayed, the start date can’t be changed. However, the event end date can be changed if it is done before the end date.
Maximum length for an event
The maximum length is 6 months for an event.
Include an hourly rate
Check your hourly rate field for Capability fund type services. If the training needs to be more than six months, then you should create a second event. This can be your ‘fixed’ hourly rate or if you have tiered rates it will be your ‘average’ hourly rate.
The hourly rate will give the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) an indication of how much the event should cost, and what can be expected when a claim is made.
Describing variations in your hourly rate
If your hourly rate varies, enter the average hourly rate and include the rate range and rationale in the service description.
Travel costs
You cannot use funding from the RBP funding schemes to cover your travel, meal or accommodation costs.
Reporting
There are no standard reports for service providers. The ‘Claim’ page contains useful information on the amount available to claim, submitted claims, and paid claims.
Remove or retire a service
Open the Current or Pending service.
Click on the Actions dropdown to the right of the page, and from the dropdown select Retire service.
Respond to a proposal request
Before you start
Has a growth advisor requested a proposal? To be able to respond to a proposal request, first you’ll need the customer’s advisor to request one.
This is the standard flow for a proposal.
- An advisor requests a proposal for a service.
- You complete the proposal.
- You share the proposal with the customer.
- The customer accepts your proposal.
- The proposal is sent to the advisor for approval.
- The advisor approves your proposal.
- You create an event listing.
- The advisor books the customer on the event.
Saving your proposal
It’s only possible to save our proposal from the Review step.
If you make an edit to an earlier step, make sure you progress to the Review step to save your edit.
Service delivery proposal
Step 1: Select proposals in the navigation menu and click edit proposal from the menu at the right side of your proposal.
Step 2: Complete the customer details and click continue. We ask for these details again, just in case the person you’re dealing with is different to the person who registered with the RBP.
Step 3: Complete the service details then click continue. In the service field, are the details of what you’re going to deliver correct? If not, select either submit a new service or update an existing service. The service category and service description cannot be edited.
Step 4: Complete the cost and scope, and click continue.
Step 5: Complete the customer benefits and click continue.
Step 6: Review your proposal and share it with your customer.
- For security reasons, a customer’s link to a proposal expires after 14 days. However, a proposal can be reshared, generating a new link for the customer to view.
- You can edit and reshare a proposal with a customer at any point prior to it being approved by a growth advisor.
Accepting or declining your proposal
When the customer is sent a copy of the proposal they can review and accept the proposal.
You will receive an email when your proposal has been accepted or declined.
If your customer doesn’t like the proposal, we recommend you work with them to work out what needs adjusting. Once adjusted you can reshare the proposal with them.
If the growth advisor declines your proposal, we recommend you have a discussion with the growth advisor about why they declined your proposal.
Claim for delivery of a service
Once you have delivered your services to your customer, you will be able to upload your invoice under the claims section of the RBP platform and then select the customers you are claiming funding for.
Invoice your customer first
Your customer must be invoiced for their contribution before you can claim for Management Capability Fund training services.
Make a claim within two months of end date
You will have two months from the end date of the booked event to make a claim.
Claiming for partially delivered services
Claims can be made for a part-payment or for full payment. For part-payment claims, you can claim for the portion of work completed to date. Once sent for payment, the balance will become available for claiming.
When to make your final claim
Full and final claims can only be made after the event has been completed.
You can only claim for a single booking per invoice.
Information you must include in your invoice to MBIE
When you invoice the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, you must include:
- a purchase order number
- the name of the RBP service you are providing
- the name of the business and the names of all participants
- a breakdown of your service and associated costs
- a declaration of your customer’s contribution, including the invoice number and the date it was paid.
Steps to make a claim
Step 1: Select claims in the navigation menu. Click on make a claim.
Step 2: Select the booking you intend to claim against by ticking the box and clicking on continue.
Step 3: Select the participants that attended the event you are claiming for by ticking the box and clicking on continue.
Step 4: Complete the claim details and upload an invoice. Then click continue.
Step 5: To view your claim, click on the submitted tab.
Step 6: The reconciled date is the date the invoice was checked by the RBPN team and has been sent to our Accounts Payable team to be paid.
Viewing confirmed customers
Once logged into the RBP platform, you can select a service displayed on the landing page, then select an event in the Events section at the bottom of the Service page.
This will take you to the View event page where you will see customers and their booking status. If they have confirmed, you will see their name and email address.
Viewing unconfirmed customers
Once logged into the RBP platform, you can select a service displayed on the landing page, then select an event in the Events section at the bottom of the Service page.
This will take you to the View event page where you will see customers and their booking status.
If the customer is yet to confirm, you will see Awaiting confirmation against their name and email address.
Returning funds to RBP
When you return funds to RBP, this indicates that you will not be making any more claims against the purchase order and closes the booking. Any funds not claimed will return to the growth advisors.
If your booking has not been completed or there is a balance on the purchase order that you don’t intend to claim for, you can return the funds to RBP.
This will return the remaining balance back to the RBP for the customer to use on another booking. No more claims will be possible against this purchase order once this option has been actioned.
Follow these steps to return funds to the RBP:
- Select the booking from the Available tab.
- On the right hand side there are three vertical dots, click on these and select Return Funds to RBP.
- Click OK in the pop-up message asking for confirmation you wish to return the funds.
Communicating your services
Read our communication guidelines to understand how you can promote your services under the Regional Business Partner Network funding.
Got any questions? We’ll be happy to help
To learn more about how the RBP Network can help you, contact us or get in touch with your local organisation.