EU Funding

What usually does not get reimbursed in a digitalization project

An ineligible cost is not merely unreimbursed. On some calls it also lowers the project's score at evaluation, long before any reimbursement file exists.

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.

On POCIDIF Action 2.1, the call addressed to SMEs authorised on one of nine ICT CAEN codes, a project scores zero points on the budget criterion if the value of costs declared ineligible during evaluation exceeds 15% of the eligible costs requested, five points if it falls between 10% and 15%, and ten points if it stays under 10%. That is the least known consequence of a careless budget: ineligible spending costs points before it costs money. Verified on 30 July 2026 against the applicant guide approved by MIPE Order no. 965/23.06.2026 — we re-checked the scoring ladder, the requirement of two price quotes, and the rule that costs necessary to the project but ineligible are borne in full by the beneficiary without counting towards the grant. Every call has its own exclusion list, yet the patterns repeat: when the cost was committed, how long recurring services run, and everything belonging to the period after the project. Northdan does not decide eligibility — the authority does, on the basis of the guide — but it builds the technical offer and the budget so risky lines are separated from the start.

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How we help

Risky lines flagged at offer stage

When a component a client asks for typically falls outside eligibility, we move it to a separate own-funds line so the reimbursement is not contaminated by it.

An invoicing calendar aligned to the contract

No invoice issued before the date from which the guide allows costs to be committed — we plan deliveries and payments on the project calendar, not on commercial haste.

Maintenance treated correctly, not disguised

Post-project support is contracted separately and openly; only the warranty and the implementation-period services allowed by the guide go into the project.

Invoices that mirror the budget

Every invoice line matches a line in the approved budget, so the payment officer never has to separate mixed amounts by hand.

The ineligibility patterns that recur in almost every guide

First: the moment the cost is committed. Contracts signed or invoices issued before the reference date in the financing contract normally fall in full, regardless of how the project turns out.

Second: the duration of recurring services. Cloud subscriptions, subscription licences and monthly services are typically accepted only for the implementation period; the years paid in advance stay with the company.

Third: the post-project period — maintenance, later development and operating costs after completion do not belong to the project. To these are added specific exclusions only the concrete guide settles: purchases from affiliated persons, second-hand goods, leasing, certain taxes.

Verified lists, not assumptions: two examples

Under SME Eco-Tech the implementation procedure explicitly excludes VAT, permits and fees, packaging, transport, staff training, commissioning, assembly and labour, as well as leased or second-hand assets and costs already financed from other sources. For a software component this means the product is reimbursed and the service around it is not.

Under POCIDIF Action 2.1 the guide states the general principle at letter f of the thresholds and conditions section: beyond the eligible costs, a project may need other costs, necessary for good implementation, borne by the beneficiary without counting towards the grant.

Ineligible spending costs points, not only money

The POCIDIF 2.1 evaluation grid turns budget discipline into score: above 15% of costs declared ineligible means zero points on the budget sub-criterion, between 10% and 15% means five points, below 10% means ten points. In the same place, a cost for which the applicant does not present two reasonable quotes is treated as ineligible and the project scores zero on that sub-criterion.

Reasonableness is demonstrated through two quotes signed and dated by the issuer and is verified independently by evaluators against market prices. Costs suspected of formal quotes between the applicant and the issuing companies — or those who prepared the submission documentation — are treated as ineligible, and the issuing companies are checked against their field of activity.

One structural limit is easy for a software firm to miss: for projects whose result is an innovative software solution, a hardware share above 20% of the total eligible value attracts zero points on the same sub-criterion.

Where to read the list, exactly

For POCIDIF Action 2.1: the applicant guide approved by MIPE Order no. 965/23.06.2026, the thresholds and conditions section, letters f and g, plus the evaluation grid on the budget sub-criterion. The guide and its annexes are published on mfe.gov.ro in the programme's guides section.

The managing authority also publishes numbered instructions clarifying cost types, and here sits a real trap. Instruction no. 5, dated 28.10.2024 and announced on 30 October 2024, clarifies eligible indirect costs under the guides drafted for actions 2.2 and 2.3 — e-government and the digital transformation of public administration. It is a real and useful document, written for central public authorities rather than for a company digitalizing its own activity.

For beneficiaries with a contract under way, Instruction no. 12/20.02.2026 on indirect costs and Instruction no. 13/20.02.2026 on salary costs matter from the same series. Always check whether a document applies to your action, not merely to the programme.

How we build a budget and what we refuse

Our practice: every line receives an internal label — solid, to be checked in the guide, or typically ineligible. What needs checking is compared against the guide before submission; what is typically ineligible migrates explicitly into the beneficiary's own budget, at a visible price.

The limit that costs us: we do not supply a second quote through a friendly company and we do not quote activities outside our field of activity just to complete a set of documents. It leaves us as the only real bidder in the file, and the client has to find the second price elsewhere.

Northdan Soft is the software vendor, not a funding consultant: we do not decide eligibility, we do not evaluate the dossier and we do not promise that a cost will be accepted.

Frequently asked questions

Can I reimburse software bought before signing the financing contract?

As a rule no — guides set a date from which costs become eligible, typically tied to the signing of the contract, and anything committed before that falls. This is why the supplier's invoicing calendar has to follow the contract, not the other way around.

Is software maintenance eligible in digitalization projects?

The warranty period and services during implementation typically go inside the project; maintenance after completion, as a rule, does not. The correct approach is to contract it separately, at its own price, rather than melt it into the delivery price.

What happens if one invoice mixes eligible and ineligible costs?

The payment officer has to separate the amounts manually, which delays reimbursement and raises the risk of the whole invoice being cut. The fix sits with the supplier: invoice on distinct lines that mirror the approved budget structure exactly.

Why does the share of ineligible costs matter if it is not reimbursed anyway?

Because on some calls it feeds the score directly. The POCIDIF 2.1 grid gives zero points on the budget sub-criterion when costs declared ineligible at evaluation exceed 15% of the eligible costs requested, five points between 10% and 15%, and ten points below 10%.

Who ultimately decides whether a cost is eligible?

The managing authority, on the basis of the call's guide and the financing contract — not the supplier and not the consultant. Our role as vendor is to structure the offer and the budget so the authority's verification is as simple as possible.