EU Funding

Custom software development in grant-funded projects

Software development services written on a single budget line is the recipe for endless clarifications — a breakdown by deliverable is what any evaluator expects.

Northdan Soft is a software supplier, not a funding consultancy, and is not affiliated with any managing authority or development agency. Programme information is indicative — always check the conditions in the programme's official applicant guide.

Custom software development is the most open-to-interpretation budget line in a digitalization project — and for that very reason the most closely checked. Unlike a licence, which has a catalogue price, custom development is justified exclusively through the specification: which modules are being built, with what functionality, in how many person-days. The guide for Action 2.1 of POCIDIF, approved by Order MIPE no. 965/23.06.2026, sets one boundary every buyer should hear first: fully outsourcing the technical activity is not permitted, and at least 20% of the non-repayable aid allocated to the core activity must go to the beneficiary's own staff, who must include a technical coordinator and two technical experts. The C9 call under PNRR, with its 20,000–100,000 euro band, closed to applications in 2023; payment claims run to 30 October 2026. For Northdan Soft the technical dossier of custom development is the house speciality: we write the technical offer with numbered deliverables, build the budget by component with transparent estimated effort, attach a draft contract conditional on funding, and during implementation we deliver in stages, with activity reports that make every payment request easy to defend.

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How we help

A specification that removes interpretation

Modules, screens, integrations and scope boundaries written down in black and white — the basis on which evaluation, acceptance and reimbursement rest without argument.

Effort estimated per component, not globally

Every module has its own person-days and cost; if clarifications come, we can defend each figure with the work structure behind it.

Activity reports at every stage

We document what was built in each reporting period, in the format the payment file needs.

What makes a custom development budget credible at evaluation

Three elements: a defined scope (what is in and, just as importantly, what is out), a verifiable unit of measure (person-days per component) and correlation with the project schedule. The guide also requires at least two dated, signed price offers per eligible cost, and evaluators independently check price reasonableness against the market from the evaluation stage onwards.

The fourth element, often forgotten: ownership of the result. The contract must state clearly who owns the code and the usage rights — at monitoring, an investment the beneficiary does not legally control becomes a problem, and on calls with commercialisation indicators it becomes impossible to report.

How we work on projects with funded development

Before submission we run the analysis and write the specification together with you and your consultant — that document becomes the technical annex of the application. We do not pronounce on eligibility; that follows from the call's official guide.

After signature we develop in stages with demonstrations and partial acceptances, and at closure we hand over the code, the documentation and the final protocols. We do not sign the technical audit of our own delivery: the guide requires the auditor to be distinct from the suppliers of the audited products and to hold a CISA, CISM or CISSP certification.

Frequently asked questions

Is custom development viewed differently from buying licences in projects?

Yes, they are categories with different logics: a licence is checked through market price and proof of activation, development through specification, effort and accepted deliverables. Many projects combine them — a licensed platform plus specific development on top — with separate budget lines.

What happens if new requirements appear during implementation?

The funded scope stays the one in the dossier; major changes require a notification or an addendum to the financing contract, through your consultant. Genuinely new requirements we treat as separate extensions, paid outside the grant, so the reimbursement is never put at risk.

How does the funder verify that the invoiced person-days were worked?

By correlating facts: the software versions delivered, the activity reports per period, the partial acceptance protocols. Nobody counts hours forensically; what is checked is whether the promised deliverables exist and work — which is why the initial specification matters so much.