Building a SEIS & EIS Investment Marketplace with Power Apps: A Developer’s Guide

Introduction: Why You Need a Share Scheme Platform That Scales

Early-stage investing in the UK can feel like threading a needle. SEIS and EIS bring fantastic tax incentives, but the workflow is often clunky. That’s where a modern share scheme platform can help. Imagine a central hub where founders, investors and advisers collaborate in one intuitive environment. No more spreadsheets or endless email chains.

In this developer’s guide, you’ll learn how to build your own SEIS & EIS investment marketplace using the Power Apps Developer Plan. We’ll walk through setting up your environment, modelling data in Dataverse, crafting key workflows, and integrating Oriel IPO’s commission-free investment features. Ready to transform your development process? Revolutionising Investment Opportunities in the UK with our share scheme platform

Getting Started with the Power Apps Developer Plan

Microsoft’s Power Apps Developer Plan is your free ticket to a full-featured sandbox. You get:

• Unlimited apps for dev and test
• Access to Dataverse for modelling tables
• Premium connectors for Salesforce, DB2 and more
• On-premises gateway support
• 750 flow runs per month, 2 GB database size

Sign up with a work or school account backed by Microsoft Entra ID. Within minutes, you’ll have an environment maker workspace. This setup is ideal for prototyping a share scheme platform without incurring licence costs.

Key steps:

1. Visit the Power Apps Developer Plan site and sign in.
2. Create your first environment—Dataverse and all.
3. Add colleagues as environment makers or admins.

Once your environment is live, you can export solutions for production later. Use this to build a safe playground for your SEIS & EIS marketplace prototype.

Designing the Data Model for SEIS & EIS Investments

A robust data model is crucial. In Dataverse, you’ll create tables for:

• Startups: Company details, articles of association link, status
• Investors: Contact info, tax advisers, eligibility flags
• Investment Rounds: SEIS/EIS flags, dates, amounts
• Transactions: Amount invested, share capital issued, tax relief applied

Use out-of-the-box tables and extend them. For instance, add a choice column to mark SEIS or EIS eligibility. Dataverse’s security roles let you segment access—founders see applications in draft, advisers see compliance data, investors view summaries.

Pro tip: Use custom connectors to validate company numbers against Companies House. That way your marketplace keeps quality high. A consistent data schema helps you scale your share scheme platform from prototype to live service.

Building Core Investment Workflows

Power Automate flows bring your investment journey to life. Key workflows include:

• Investor Onboarding:
  • Collect KYC details
  • Trigger adviser review
  • Send approval notification

• Funding Round Launch:
  • Founder submits pitch deck
  • Platform vets documents
  • Public listing activated

• Investment Execution:
  • Investor commits funds
  • SEIS/EIS compliance check
  • Share certificates issued

When coding flows, leverage:

• Premium connectors for PDF parsing and e-signature
• Dataverse triggers for record creation
• Role-based email templates

You can integrate Oriel IPO’s commission-free service here. Instead of deducting fees, simply send a webhook to your subscription billing engine. Startups keep 100 per cent of funds raised. It’s seamless—no surprise deductions.

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Integrating Oriel IPO’s Commission-Free Platform

Oriel IPO offers curated startup opportunities and subscription-driven funding. Here’s how to embed their services:

1. Use REST API calls to fetch vetted startup listings.
2. Display them in a Canvas app gallery with pagination.
3. Add “Invest Now” buttons that pass investor ID to Oriel IPO’s payment widget.
4. Confirm transaction via webhook and update your Dataverse records.

This integration means your share scheme platform stays lightweight. You handle investor journeys, Oriel IPO handles subscription billing and marketplace curation. Plus, you benefit from Oriel IPO’s educational resources, like guides on SEIS and EIS schemes.

Investors get a clearer path to tax-efficient opportunities, advisors gain confidence in the process, and startups get direct access to funding.

Once you launch, consider inviting angel networks to join your hub. Discover startup investment opportunities on Oriel IPO

Leveraging SEIS and EIS Educational Resources

Complex tax incentives can stall fundraising. Embed learning modules:

• SEIS Overview:
  • Eligibility criteria
  • Tax relief percentages
  • Timeline for claims

• EIS Deep Dive:
  • Carry-back options
  • Loss relief
  • Qualifying companies

Use interactive Power Apps screens linked to video tutorials. Encourage investors to complete quizzes before investing. This blended approach of tech and education sets your share scheme platform apart.

Want specific SEIS info? Learn about SEIS
Curious about EIS rules? Explore EIS opportunities

Testing and Deployment

Before you go live:

• Validate flows against edge cases: partial investments, failed payments
• Load-test Dataverse triggers with dummy data
• Confirm capacity usage: if you exceed 2 GB or 750 runs, swap to a paid plan

Export your solution and deploy to a production environment. Host the front end on Teams or as a standalone portal.

Halfway there in building your own share scheme platform? Give it a spin now—Explore the simplicity of our share scheme platform

Best Practices and Tips

• Maintain clear environment policies: clone dev, staging, prod
• Version control your solutions with solution files
• Use component libraries for reusable UI elements
• Monitor performance via Power Platform admin centre
• Leverage model-driven apps for rich reporting

For smooth operations, invite your team to the Oriel IPO Hub. It centralises investor agreements, pitch decks, and tax certificates. Access the Oriel IPO Hub

Conclusion

Building a SEIS & EIS marketplace with Power Apps is entirely feasible—and cost-effective with the Power Apps Developer Plan. You get a free sandbox, enterprise-grade tools, and an integrated data platform. By connecting your solution to Oriel IPO’s commission-free, subscription-based model, you deliver value to founders, investors and advisers alike.

Ready to redefine early-stage funding? Experience a new era in early-stage funding with our share scheme platform