Why can preparing a grant application on your own be risky?

Preparing a grant application on your own can be risky, because an application is not merely a description of the planned investment. It is a formal, financial and strategic document, which must comply with the call rules, the project selection criteria, the cost eligibility rules, State aid requirements and the requirements for the subsequent settlement of the project.

A mistake made at the stage of submitting the documentation may result in the application being rejected, a lower score, part of the expenditure being challenged, or problems during project implementation and audit.

Checking available programmes on your own is a good approach at the initial orientation stage. The problem arises when a decision to prepare a full application is made on the basis of general information from the internet without a prior analysis of eligibility, budget, own contribution, deadlines, attachments and formal risks.

Preparing an application on your own and the risk of misclassifying the project

The first risk arises even before you start writing the application. A grant may seem attractive, but not every project meets the conditions of a specific programme. Many calls are intended for specific types of entities, sectors, locations, company sizes, types of investment or levels of project readiness.

The mistake at this stage is assuming that, since a programme funds a similar type of expenditure, you can automatically submit an application. In practice, many more elements need to be verified:

• the applicant's status,
• the project location,
• the PKD code or the actual scope of business activity,
• the business history,
• personal and capital links and SME status,
• the financial situation and any arrears in public-law liabilities,
• consistency of the project with the programme objective,
• the minimum and maximum value of costs,
• the required level of own contribution,
• the ability to finance the project before reimbursement,
• State aid or de minimis aid limits.

If the analysis is carried out superficially, the application may be prepared for a project that has no real chance of obtaining funding from the outset. This means a loss of time and of the costs of preparing the documents, and often also the loss of the opportunity to apply to a more suitable programme.

Formal errors in a grant application

Grant applications are most often submitted via electronic systems, but simply completing the form does not mean that the documentation is complete and correct. Each call has its own rules, instructions for completing the application, attachment templates, project selection criteria and technical requirements.

The most common formal errors include:

• a missing required attachment or an attachment submitted using the wrong template,
• inconsistencies in data between the application and the attachments,
• incorrect signing of documents,
• exceeding the character limit in descriptive fields,
• an incorrect project implementation period,
• inconsistent net, VAT and gross amounts,
• entering costs in the wrong categories,
• missing required declarations or financial documents,
• incorrect indication of the project location,
• submitting the documentation after the deadline.

Some errors can be corrected if the call rules provide for this. However, you should not assume that every irregularity will be corrected upon request. In some calls, certain deficiencies may result in a negative formal assessment or a loss of points.

The risk of a poor project description

The project description should not be a general presentation of the company or a promotional description of the planned investment. It must address the specific requirements of the programme and demonstrate that the project is needed, feasible, consistent with the objectives of the call and possible to settle.

Applications prepared without support often contain descriptions that are too general. The applicant states that they want to grow the company, increase sales, buy equipment or improve the quality of services, but does not show the link between the problem, objective, costs, results and indicators.

A good project description should explain:

• what problem or need justifies the project,
• why the project is consistent with the programme objective,
• what activities will be carried out,
• what expenditure is necessary to implement the project,
• what results will be achieved and how they will be measured,
• whether the project is ready for implementation,
• what risks may arise and how they will be mitigated,
• whether the applicant has the organisational and financial resources,
• whether the schedule is realistic.

If the project description does not follow the logic of the call, even a good business investment may receive a low score. The funding institution does not analyse the applicant's intentions, but the content of the submitted documentation.

Eligible costs – one of the biggest sources of risk

Preparing an application on your own often leads to the mistaken assumption that any expense useful to the company can be financed from the programme. In practice, the eligibility of a cost depends on the documentation of the given call. A cost should not only be consistent with the catalogue of eligible expenditure, but also reasonable, justified, necessary, linked to the project objective and capable of being properly documented.

The most common problems concern issues such as:

• the purchase of a fixed asset that does not follow directly from the project objective,
• treating operating costs as investment costs,
• incorrect classification of VAT,
• overstating the value of expenditure,
• no justification for technical parameters,
• no link between the expenditure and the project results,
• failing to take into account percentage limits for selected cost categories,
• overlooking the requirement for competitive selection of the supplier,
• including a cost that may be deemed ineligible at the assessment or settlement stage.

The risk does not end when the funding is obtained. If an expense is described incorrectly or is not properly justified, the problem may only emerge at the settlement stage. In extreme cases, this means having to finance part of the costs from your own funds with no possibility of reimbursement.

State aid, de minimis and support limits

Many grant programmes involve State aid or de minimis aid rules. To a business owner this may look like a formality, but in practice it affects the maximum level of funding, the possibility of combining different forms of support and the eligibility of certain expenditure.

The risk arises when the applicant does not analyse previous aid, links with other entities or aid intensity limits. This applies in particular to companies that have already used grants, preferential loans, write-offs, tax reliefs, subsidies or other aid instruments. The de minimis aid limit is currently EUR 300,000 over a rolling 3-year period (Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/2831).

Before submitting the application, you should determine:

• whether the project will be covered by State aid or de minimis aid,
• what the maximum level of funding is,
• whether previous aid affects the available limit,
• whether the company has the required certificates,
• whether there is any unauthorised cumulation of aid,
• whether the project meets the conditions of the relevant Regulation or programme.

Information on programmes can be verified on the European Funds Portal, and for selected instruments for businesses also on the websites of the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (PARP) or Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK). The rules for granting State aid are explained by UOKiK (Office of Competition and Consumer Protection).

A grant application must be financially consistent

A grant application cannot be detached from the applicant's real financial situation. The assessing institution may analyse whether the project can be financed, whether the own contribution is realistic, whether the expenditure schedule is feasible and whether the applicant will be able to maintain the project results.

In reimbursement-based grants, financial liquidity is particularly important. The business first incurs the expense and only later receives the reimbursement. This means it must secure its own funds, a bank loan, a loan or another source of bridge financing.

It is risky to overlook questions such as:

• whether the company has its own contribution,
• whether the company is able to finance the costs before reimbursement,
• whether the payment schedule is realistic,
• whether the budget includes all ineligible costs,
• whether VAT will be financed from own funds,
• whether the project will not worsen financial liquidity,
• whether the revenues and costs after the project ends are realistic,
• whether the financial assumptions are consistent with the current scale of the business.

An application prepared on your own often focuses on how to obtain the grant rather than on whether the project can be implemented safely after the agreement is signed. That is a significant difference.

Indicators, results and project durability

In many calls, the applicant must specify output and result indicators. These are measurable effects of the project that are subsequently monitored. The risk is that the applicant declares values that are too ambitious, imprecise or difficult to document. At the assessment stage this may look favourable, but after the project ends it must be demonstrated that the declared results have actually been achieved.

Before entering the indicators, it is worth assessing:

• whether the indicator follows directly from the project,
• whether it can be measured and documented,
• whether the deadline for achieving the indicator is realistic,
• whether the company will be able to maintain the result during the durability period,
• whether the indicator creates an excessive settlement risk.

Attachments to the application – the risk of underestimating the workload

In many calls, the application form is only one part of the documentation. The attachments are equally important: financial documents, declarations, the business plan, schedule, cost estimates, quotes, technical documentation, permits, audits, opinions, analyses or documents confirming the applicant's status.

Typical problems include:

• no up-to-date financial documents,
• no quotes confirming the value of costs,
• incomplete technical documentation,
• no confirmation of the right to use the property,
• missing required permits or notifications,
• inconsistencies in data between the business plan and the application form,
• no documents concerning links with other entities,
• attachments prepared in the wrong format.

If the call is open only for a short time, it may be impossible to make up for such gaps before the call closing date.

Preparing an application on your own and the scoring assessment

In competitive calls, meeting the minimum requirements is not enough. The project competes with other applications, so what matters is not only eligibility but also the quality of the arguments and alignment with the scoring criteria. An application prepared without support may be formally correct but too weak in terms of points – the applicant describes the project from the perspective of their own company, while the assessment is carried out according to the programme criteria.

Before submitting the application, it is worth checking:

• which criteria award ranking points,
• which elements of the project increase the chances of funding,
• whether the application directly addresses each criterion,
• whether the description contains measurable data,
• whether the project's costs are properly justified,
• whether the results are specific and demonstrable,
• whether the application contains inconsistencies that undermine the project's credibility.

The risk of problems after obtaining the grant

Obtaining a grant does not end the process. The beneficiary must implement the project in accordance with the documentation, make purchases in line with the requirements, keep proper records, collect documents, submit payment claims and maintain the project results for the required period. Mistakes made when preparing the application – an overly general description of expenditure, an unrealistic schedule, poorly chosen indicators – can make settlement more difficult.

At the implementation stage, questions arise such as:

• whether the supplier or equipment specifications can be changed,
• whether the implementation deadline can be postponed or the physical scope changed,
• how to document the selection of the contractor,
• what documents are needed for reimbursement and how to annotate invoices,
• how to prepare a payment claim,
• how to demonstrate that indicators have been achieved.

When can preparing an application on your own be sufficient?

Not every case requires full advisory support. Preparing an application on your own may be sufficient for simple calls, low-value projects, transparent costs and a small number of attachments – especially when the applicant has experience with public projects.

The risk increases when the project involves:

• a high investment value or several cost categories,
• the purchase of specialist fixed assets,
• construction works,
• research and development elements,
• energy efficiency or renewable energy sources,
• business digitalisation,
• State aid and extensive indicators,
• a business plan or financial model,
• the need for reimbursement-based settlement.

In such cases, it is worth at least holding an initial consultation to assess the risks before starting work on the documentation. This scope is covered by the funding analysis and selection service.

How to reduce the risk when preparing a grant application?

Risk cannot be eliminated completely, but it can be reduced. The most important thing is to start with an analysis of the programme, not with writing the application. Recommended order of work:

• checking the call deadline,
• analysing the call rules and selection criteria,
• assessing the eligibility of costs,
• verifying the level of funding and own contribution,
• analysing State aid or de minimis aid,
• preparing a list of attachments,
• drawing up the budget and schedule,
• describing the objectives, activities and results,
• a preliminary scoring assessment,
• checking the consistency of all the documentation.

This procedure reduces the risk that the application will be correct only technically but weak in substance or difficult to settle.

How can we help you prepare your application?

DOTACJE ONLINE supports clients in analysing funding opportunities, choosing the right programme, preparing application documentation and planning the project with a view to its subsequent implementation and settlement. The aim is not merely to fill in the form, but to prepare an application consistent with the call rules, assessment criteria, budget, schedule and the applicant's real capabilities.

The scope of support may include, among other things:

• analysis of the eligibility of the applicant and the investment,
• selection of the right grant programme,
• assessment of eligible costs,
• preparation of the project concept, budget and schedule,
• preparation of descriptions for the application and support in compiling attachments,
• analysis of formal and financial risks,
• support in communication with the institution,
• preparation for the implementation and settlement stage.

Details can be found on the service page preparation of grant applications, and the full scope of cooperation in grant advisory services.

What are the risks of preparing a grant application on your own?

Preparing an application on your own may seem a way to reduce costs, but in practice it can lead to much greater losses if the project is poorly matched, the budget is incorrect, the documentation is inconsistent or the expenditure is difficult to settle.

The main risks are:

• choosing the wrong programme,
• incorrect assessment of the eligibility of the applicant and costs,
• underestimating the own contribution,
• no State aid analysis,
• incomplete attachments and an overly general project description,
• a low score and an unrealistic schedule,
• settlement problems and the risk of expenditure being challenged,
• wasting time on a project with no real chance of success.

Current calls can be checked in the free grant search engine with an AI Assistant.

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