What Funding are Available to Companies?

With subsidies, companies can significantly improve their liquidity. However, only very few companies use this option and forego considerable amounts of money. Find out what grants your company can receive.

Funding --an overview

There are government grants for investments, R & D activities and much more. For all companies, their liquidity is of vital importance. A wide variety of instruments are therefore used to ensure that the difference between incoming payments and expenses is as high as possible. The subject From process optimization to tax-saving models, there is a wide range of possible approaches.

Because of its importance, almost all available options are exhausted. Only one topic is neglected by many companies: subsidies.

There are many reasons why the topic of subsidies does not have the same priority in the minds of many decision-makers, such as reducing costs or saving taxes. On the one hand, there is a misconception that this is a state handover, on the Other hand, the associated bureaucracy is an obstacle. In addition, many entrepreneurs or executives are unaware that they can receive government grants for cost-intensive developments, investments and other measures. But that is exactly the case. Medium-sized companies in particular have a wide range of options here. However, the funding landscape is confusing and complex. The following overview is intended to shed some light on the darkness.

In simplified terms, the funding can be found in

Assumption of guarantees and discounted loans

Venture capital and

non-repayable grants

organize. Most interesting are the grants as they do not have to be repaid. Therefore, the focus below will be on the grants.

1. Non-refundable grants

Non-repayable grants are funds that the state distributes for a specific purpose. As the name suggests, this money does not have to be repaid and thus directly increases the company's liquidity without becoming a risk later on. In principle, there are grants for almost all conceivable purposes. The following types of funding are of particular interest to most companies:

Promotion of research and development (innovation promotion, product development, etc.)

Investment promotion (modernization, digitization, expansion, etc.)

Advisory funding

The advisory funding is usually only granted to smaller companies (usually up to a maximum of 100 employees) and generally amounts to between EUR 1,500 and EUR 3,000. Five-digit grants can only be requested for advice on digitization or in the context of commissioned feasibility studies.

2. Promotion of innovation

Funding for research and development or innovation funding is particularly attractive. There are many opportunities here for small and large companies. There are calls for tenders at EU, federal and state level. Feasibility studies, individual projects and cooperation projects can typically be applied for, Although many tenders only provide for the implementation of cooperation projects. The funded projects are usually subsidized with 25% to 50% of the project budget.

For smaller projects, this means a grant of between € 100,000 and € 200,000 per company. For larger projects, the grant can of course be significantly higher. In this context, the central SME Innovation Program (ZIM), which is open to almost all industries and topics, and the innovation funding of the federal states are particularly attractive for SMEs. It is also interesting that after the project has been carried out, additional grants for the market launch can be applied for (for advertising, approvals, etc. ). The subject-specific tenders from the federal ministries are of interest to larger companies. Tenders at EU level can also be interesting.

2. Research allowance

A particularly important instrument in the funding landscape is tax subsidies for research and development --the so-called research allowance. This applies to all companies, regardless of the size of the company. And other advantages come into play: Firstly, there is a legal entitlement to this funding and, secondly, the application is made via the annual financial statements, which have to be prepared anyway. The subsidy then takes the form of a tax refund or, if the income is negative, in the form of a direct payment . Every company that does not take advantage of this opportunity is giving away money.

4. Investment promotion

Investment funding is another funding instrument that can be very attractive for companies. The spectrum ranges from grants for increased energy efficiency in production, for better thermal insulation or for the construction and expansion of biogas or solar systems. But it can also be investments in new production facilities or the construction of buildings to create or secure jobs. Depending on the project and framework conditions, very large grants can be obtained. It is therefore always advisable to examine the funding opportunities for investment project