If you have to piece together an order's status from several spreadsheets, emails and colleagues, you don't have a reliable picture of your company's operations as a manager. You may find two conflicting figures for the same order, with nobody able to tell you straight away which is current.
DIMOP Plusz 1.2.3/A-24 can fund fixing exactly this, if your company meets the programme's eligibility requirements (as assessed through an online assessment). Important: this isn't free money, it's a combination of a non-repayable grant and a 0% loan. You'll also need to contribute at least 10% from your own funds. In this article, I'll show you which conditions are worth checking before you order anything.
What can this funding programme help you do?
First, you need to complete the official digital intensity assessment. Based on that assessment, the programme is aimed at micro, small and medium enterprises with a very low or low digital intensity score. But that's only one condition: the programme rules set out further eligibility requirements too. [1]
In a well-designed system that's used consistently, quotes, orders, stock data and invoicing can all live in one place. That way, your colleagues can work from the same up-to-date data.
Among other things, the programme can fund the introduction of an integrated business management system (ERP), customer management software, an online store or a solution based on artificial intelligence (AI). That said, the specific software and planned features always need to be checked against the technical requirements for every project. [1]
How much money can you get, and how much do you have to pay back?
You'll need to repay part of the funding, so alongside your own contribution, you should also plan for repayment later.
- You can apply for HUF 3 to 20 million through the programme (the grant and loan combined).
- Up to half of the funding amount can be a non-repayable grant. You don't have to repay this portion if you complete the project and meet the required performance conditions. [1]
- The rest is an interest-free loan that you do have to repay. The interest rate is 0%, and according to the call, no management fee, commitment fee, early repayment fee or contract amendment fee is charged either. The wording matters here: the grant portion is at most half, so if it's less, the loan you have to repay is that much bigger.
- The loan term runs for up to 8 years from signing the contract, and this includes both the grace period before principal repayments begin and the period during which you can draw down the loan.
- The project must be completed, both physically and financially, within 18 months of signing the contract; in justified cases, this can be extended by a further 6 months.
- They also require collateral. The tangible assets from the investment have to be included as collateral, and you can't sell them until the term ends. Intangible assets, such as software, don't count as collateral. [1]
- The security requirement can be met through a personal guarantee from the individual who holds a majority stake in the company, under which the lender can seek payment directly from that person without first pursuing the company, or through collateral equal to 15% of the funding amount. If your project consists mostly of software, clarify this with an MFB Pont Plusz office before you start planning. [1]
- You'll also need to contribute at least 10% from your own funds.
- You don't submit the application through an online grant portal, but at an MFB Pont Plusz office.
- You can submit it until 29 June 2027.
- HUF 20 million is only the theoretical ceiling. The amount you can request can't exceed ten times your operating profit from the most recently completed financial year, and it can't exceed your annual revenue either. Because of this, a company with low operating profit may end up with a much smaller actual funding limit.
- If you've already received funding from A-24 or B-24, you cannot receive it again.
Up to half of the funding amount can be a non-repayable grant; the remainder is a 0% loan. On top of that, you need to cover at least 10% of the eligible costs from your own funds. For a fully eligible project worth HUF 5 million, that means at least HUF 500,000 in own funds. The actual grant-to-loan ratio, though, has to be determined based on the specific application. [1]
The biggest risk you need to know about in advance
There's one condition you need to know from the very start of planning: by the end of the investment, your company's digital intensity has to increase measurably. If you're starting from a very low level, you need to reach at least the low level; if you're already at the low level, you need to raise your score by at least 1 point. This has to be verified at the end of the investment with an auditor's report. Under the programme rules, failure to meet the performance requirement may result in the project being deemed non-compliant, and you may be required to repay the funding. This is one of the programme's most serious risks. The following is an English translation of the relevant passage from the Hungarian call for applications: "If the Project was implemented in compliance with the rules but does not meet the performance criteria set out in the Call, the Project shall be classified as irregular, and the [...] Loan portion and Non-repayable Grant [...] shall be reclaimed" (Point 16, Performance criterion). [1]
The non-repayable grant portion only stays with you for good if you meet the required increase in digital intensity, along with your other commitments. You have to repay the loan portion regardless.
According to the call, you also have to commit to using the new system to the required standard, for example by ensuring it contains the necessary data. The precise professional and technical requirements are set out in a separate annex to the call, and that's what you use to clarify what has to be delivered in your specific project. That's why I break the rollout into measurable steps: at every stage, you can check whether the necessary data has been entered, whether staff are using the system and whether the agreed outcome has been achieved. This reduces the risk of the project appearing complete only in the paperwork submitted to account for the funding.
Not sure whether your company will reach the required increase in digital intensity? During a free initial assessment, I'll review your current operations, planned improvements and key financial constraints. That way, you can find out which points need clarifying before you even sign a contract.
The initial assessment is free and comes with no obligation.
What can this actually fix in practice?
In a situation like this, the first thing to decide is which processes are worth pulling into a shared system. Often, the best place to start is by connecting quoting, order handling, stock and invoicing.
I work with Odoo, a software platform used in several countries. In an ERP system, with proper setup and consistent use, you don't have to re-enter the same data in multiple systems. Your existing customer, product and stock data can be migrated into the new system. Data can be extracted automatically from incoming invoices in supported formats, but you still need to check the extracted information.
What can the money be spent on?
It's a common misunderstanding that the grant only covers the cost of the software. Several items are eligible:
- the system's usage fee or subscription,
- IT and communications services needed to introduce the system: this includes clarifying requirements, consulting, customisation, installation and setup, testing, connecting to other systems, and data migration,
- staff training,
- and, within strict limits, related equipment: at most 10% of the eligible cost can go towards new tangible assets, and equipment cannot be funded on its own.
There's one condition worth clarifying upfront though: only the purchase of software or a cloud service can be funded on its own. Everything else (equipment, rollout services, training, the auditor's report, publicity) can only be claimed in connection with that. In other words, you can't plan to request only consulting or only equipment for your existing system: every other item can only be claimed alongside a software or cloud service purchase.
The funding doesn't just let you buy the system, it can also cover getting it up and running. Two limits are worth knowing in advance though: professional services tied to the rollout can be at most 35% of the eligible cost, and the cost of writing the application itself isn't eligible at all. These two costs can easily be confused because clients see them as a single item, even though one is eligible and the other is not.
Who is this worth it for, and who isn't it for?
Honestly: this opportunity isn't for everyone.
It's worth pursuing if your company's main processes are still tracked on paper or in separate spreadsheets, and you have a clear idea of what you want to fix.
What a lot of people get wrong though: having an existing system doesn't disqualify you on its own. The call explicitly allows you to add a new module alongside your existing IT system, or to replace an outdated system entirely. Eligibility is decided by your digital intensity classification and the call's other conditions, not by whether you already have some software running.
What you do need to watch out for is that some upgrades are not eligible: adding more user licences to your existing system, merely adding an extra module to an area already covered by the existing system, upgrading your existing system's version, and for a webshop, a simple content update or visual redesign of an online store. So the question isn't whether you already have a system, what changes you plan to make to it.
At the pre-screening stage, at least the following need to be checked: [1]
- whether your company has completed a full financial year of at least 365 days;
- whether the implementation site has been registered for at least a year (and only one site can be specified);
- whether you have previously been awarded funding under A-24/B-24 or have an application in progress;
- whether the project involves an excluded agricultural or food industry activity.
Do not place an order for the project or start work on it before submitting your application. Under the call's rules, even signing a contract, placing an order or having goods supplied or services performed can count as starting the project. So the first mandatory step should be checking the specific transaction. [1]
When are you required to choose a qualified supplier?
When purchasing an ERP or customer management system, you need to check whether your chosen supplier and the specific solution appear on the Qualified Supplier List (Minősített Szállítói Lista). Before signing the contract, get the time-stamped price calculation for that solution from the portal, because you also need to attach it to your application. [2]
For AI-based development, using the list isn't mandatory according to the call, but you still need to provide evidence of the market price. [1]
The upshot is that approved supplier status alone doesn't make anything eligible. Every development needs to be checked separately against the programme's technical requirements, for which the call sets out a separate requirements list.
Let's find out whether it's worth pursuing for you
During the free initial assessment, I'll review:
1. whether your company can meet the basic eligibility conditions;
2. what funding amount you should plan for;
3. what needs to be clarified before ordering or signing a contract;
4. which area of operations is worth fixing first.
Free and with no obligation. The final decision on eligibility and funding is made through the official procedure.
Sources and verification date
[1] DIMOP Plusz-1.2.3/A-24 Call (MFB Zrt.), in effect from 5 December 2024. The document is available on the Grant Portal; the programme's basic details: palyazat.gov.hu: DIMOP Plusz 1.2.3/A-24 basic details. The portal's basic details page gives the submission deadline as 29 June 2027, while the text of the call itself says 30 June; this article uses the earlier date. Checked: 23 September 2026.
[2] Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MKIK), Qualified Supplier List (Minősített Szállítói Lista): vallalkozzdigitalisan.mkik.hu/szallitok.html, individual price calculation: vallalkozzdigitalisan.mkik.hu/termekek.html.
The call can change, so before submitting, always check the current official document and its annexes.
Gábor Glázer · Glazer-Innovation Kft.