Forschungszulage consulting: 100% success-based, you only pay when you get paid
Most Forschungszulage consultants don't understand your innovation well enough to truly take the burden off your shoulders. We do, because we're technical ourselves. We handle the entire BSFZ application — you invest less than 5 hours in calls.
- companies supported since 2023
- 100+companiescompanies supported since 2023
- Success rate
- 95 %Success rateSuccess rate
- Secured so far
- €25MsecuredSecured so far
Our Forschungszulage consulting finds every eligible cost and writes the application for you
The Forschungszulage application is a two-stage process: first the technical review at the certification body (BSFZ), then the Forschungszulage application with the tax office, which assesses the allowance. Almost everything that decides success and funding amount happens before that: which projects and costs you claim, and how the application is written.
That's exactly where our consulting comes in. We identify your eligible projects, extract the maximum costs that can be soundly justified, and write the BSFZ application. The tax office step is done by your tax advisor — we hand over the figures, prepared for their review and filing.
Projects & maximum costs
Identify eligible projects, assign employees correctly by percentage, and find every claimable cost — including the ones that get overlooked without experience.
We handle thisBSFZ application & technical review
Draft the application with technical depth so it holds up under review by the BSFZ examiners. We write it and submit it to the BSFZ — you review.
We handle thisAssessment at the tax office
Together with you, we determine the actual hours and costs per year and prepare the assessment application as a pre-filled ELSTER form. Your tax advisor reviews both and files the Forschungszulage application with the tax office via ELSTER. We stay available for their questions.
Your tax advisor4 calls, under 5 hours of your time, and your application is done
- 01
Finance Checklist
30 min
We clarify which documents you need — as a company-specific checklist. You get the documents from your tax advisor, nothing more to do on your side.
- 02
Finance Review
30 min
We structure your data ourselves (employees, salaries, contractors), run the numbers on your payroll journal and sort out clearly ineligible items right away. We clarify final questions in the call. For you, it's just review.
- 03
Product & Innovation
45 min
We identify your innovation projects, assign employees by percentage, and discuss novelty and technical risk.
- 04
Final Review & Submission
30 min
You get an async review upfront. If everything checks out, we submit the BSFZ application — otherwise we use call 4 as a deeper product call.
The full process with timeline and responsibility matrix is covered in Forschungszulage Consulting: The Process in 4 Calls
Since 2026 the Forschungszulage has never been higher
The Forschungszulage has been expanded twice since 2024, most recently on 1 January 2026. These are the key figures today:
35%
Funding rate for SMEs
25% for larger companies
€12M
Assessment base per year
raised from €10M
+20%
Overhead flat rate, new
for projects starting from 2026
4 years
Claimable retroactively
what counts is the assessment period
For own contributions by sole proprietors and shareholders, an hourly rate of €100 applies to activities from 2026.
In 15 minutes you'll know whether an application is worth it for you
15 minutes, free of charge. Tell us briefly what you're developing and get an honest read on whether an application is worth it for you and what it would bring in.
Daniel Höpfner
Co-Founder Zeitmaker
Choose a slot that works for you. 15 minutes over video.
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We stay on board after submission, for the following years too
Many offers end with the submission. After the certificate, your tax advisor applies for the assessment at the tax office, and next year the follow-up application is due.
Time tracking for the following years
Timesheets and project allocation are set up so your team keeps them up to date during the year, instead of reconstructing them later.
All evidence in one place
Project descriptions, cost breakdowns and timesheets are filed per project and year, so you can find any piece of evidence quickly, even years later.
Groundwork for your tax advisor
Your tax advisor receives the actual hours and costs per financial year, a pre-filled ELSTER form, our assessment subject to their final review, and a cover sheet per folder explaining the method. They review and file, and we stay available for their questions.
Follow-up applications in the coming years
If your projects continue or new ones start, the next application builds on the first. Projects, costs and time tracking are already structured, so you don't start from zero.
Across the industry, one in four applications fails at the BSFZ
25% rejection rate industry-wide
It's rarely the project that fails, but how it's presented: novelty and technical risk aren't justified concretely enough.
CTOs and innovation leaders are busy enough
According to the evaluation report, a lack of staff capacity and a mismatch between effort and return are the most common reasons companies don't apply, right after “we already receive other funding”. Learning funding guidelines takes weeks your team needs for product development.Report p. 69Evaluation report · BT-Drs. 21/7999 · p. 69 (original German): „Mit geringem Abstand folgen als nächsthäufige Gründe für das Nichtstellen eines Antrags ein Missverhältnis zwischen dem Aufwand der Antragstellung und dem erwarteten Ertrag sowie ein Mangel an personellen Ressourcen für die Antragstellung.“
A rejection is not the end of the road, though: What works after a rejection: filing an objection with the BSFZ
95 % of our applications succeed, versus 75% industry-wide
Success rate of Forschungszulage applications
The difference doesn't come from tricks but from the technical drafting: current state of the art, concrete technical targets and traceable uncertainties, written the way the BSFZ examiners review.
Success rate
vs. 75% industry-wide
Your time investment
in calls until approval
Success-based
No payment if rejected
Frequently asked questions about Forschungszulage consulting
Successful projects from our clients
280,000€ Forschungszulage
for MedTech
From AI to hardware to SaaS — these types of projects get funded through the Forschungszulage.
Mobile body scanners: a virtual copy of the body, posture analysis, and health-related parameters in a single measurement process. 280,000€ in Forschungszulage for developing the 3D body scanners.
Forschungszulage consulting without risk: you only pay after the payout
There are three pricing models on the market. With hourly fees and fixed prices you carry the risk, because you pay even if the application is rejected.
Hourly fees
Traditional funding consulting
- You pay even if rejected
- The consultant earns even on unsuitable projects
Fixed price per application
Flat fee, regardless of outcome
- You pay even if rejected
- No incentive to maximize the funding amount
100% success-based
Commission on the funding actually paid out
- No payment if rejected
- Due only once the money is in your account
- We only earn on the maximum justifiable funding amount
- Whoever writes your application has built things and understands your tech.
- Every eligible project and employee gets captured, not just the obvious one.
- They can show a verifiable success rate and clients by name.
That's why we'll tell you honestly if an application isn't worth it for you.
Free assessmentRead more: What does Forschungszulage consulting cost? · Tax advisor, funding consultancy or specialist · When switching consultants is worth it
All original quotes from the sources (1)
Verbatim quotes, in the original language, from the linked primary sources. Each reference links to the original.
„Mit geringem Abstand folgen als nächsthäufige Gründe für das Nichtstellen eines Antrags ein Missverhältnis zwischen dem Aufwand der Antragstellung und dem erwarteten Ertrag sowie ein Mangel an personellen Ressourcen für die Antragstellung.“
p. 69
Your applications are written by people who have built products themselves
We speak the reviewers' language
The reviewers at the BSFZ are engineers and computer scientists — we write applications with technical depth, not surface-level claims.
Founded by a builder, not a consultant
Erich has built multiple products as a technical founder and is a Y Combinator alumnus. He understands how innovation projects actually work.
Cross-industry experience
From AI to MedTech to mechanical engineering, we've filed successful applications across 15+ industries. Software development, new algorithms and feasibility studies often count as research too, even if you think you don't do research.
Erich Lehmann · FounderWith our software nothing gets lost, and your CTO answers every question only once
Pipeline system
Nothing is forgotten, no iteration loops with your CTO.
Company in difficulty: automatic pre-check
Commercial register data shows early on whether your company might count as a “company in difficulty”. Your tax advisor makes the final check.
Timesheet integration
Import from Personio & co., digital signature with one click.
What our customers say about working with us
“Erich secured €350k per year in funding, exceeding our expectations by +€75k per year.”
Kai Klasen
Head of Finance · Ona
“Erich supported us very well and we could focus on our product. Extremely efficient in just 4 calls.”
Sascha Lang
Founder · YC S23 · AiSupervision
“Super fast and efficient support with the Forschungszulage. The process was completed in just 4 calls.”
Fabio Schmidberger
Founder · YC W22 · voize
“We put it off for years, afraid we'd end up wasting time on it. Erich organized everything so we had to invest as little time as possible.”
Nikolay Leons
Co-Founder · Scaneca
“Excellent support. We were able to advance our airborne wind power systems faster. Only 3 calls needed.”
Florian Bauer
Founder · YC W22 · KiteKraft
“Excellent work and documentation. I had very little effort, everything was done in 3 calls.”
Marc Metz
Founder · YC W23 · MeetAnyway
Let's figure out how much funding you're entitled to
Drop us a line — we'll get back to you personally.
You can also read up on everything that matters about the Forschungszulage yourself
No problem — we've written up the fundamentals in detail:
Requirements
Who's eligible, which projects count, and which criteria the BSFZ really checks.
Calculation
Which costs are eligible, how the funding amount is composed, and what ends up in your account.
Application
Step by step through the BSFZ portal and tax office — deadlines and common pitfalls included.
FZulG law
The Research Allowance Act in a nutshell: paragraphs, definitions, and the statutory legal claim.
But: With Forschungszulage consulting you get a higher success rate, more funding, and save yourself the effort.
Daniel Höpfner, Co-Founder Zeitmaker
Whether a DIY application is realistic for you is covered in Apply for the Forschungszulage yourself or use consulting?