Kit Digital: how the Spanish grant works, step by step

Kit Digital is the Spanish government grant programme, funded with European money, to help freelancers and small companies digitalise. I've handled it from the other side, as an authorised digitalisation agent, and the process is less mysterious than it looks: what jams applications is nearly always the same three or four things.

First things first: calls, amounts and deadlines change. Always check the current state at acelerapyme.gob.es, the official source.

The segments

The value of the voucher depends on company size:

• Segment 1 — 10 to 49 employees: up to €12,000.
• Segment 2 — 3 to 9 employees: up to €6,000.
• Segment 3 — freelancers and companies with 1 to 2 employees: up to €2,000.

You don't receive the voucher as cash: it's spent on specific solutions contracted from an authorised agent, and the administration pays the agent.

The process in five steps

1. Digital diagnostic test. On Acelera Pyme, about ten minutes. Compulsory, and it comes first.
2. Voucher application. With a digital certificate or Cl@ve. This is where most people fall: if you don't have the certificate, sort that out first.
3. Award. You're assigned an amount based on your segment.
4. Choose solutions and an agent. Website, e-commerce, social media, customer management, e-invoicing, cybersecurity… each solution has its own cap.
5. Agreement and reporting. You sign with the agent and the implementation is documented. The service usually includes twelve months of maintenance.

The mistakes that cause delays

• Not being up to date with tax and social security. It's a requirement and it's checked.
• Not having a digital certificate or an authorised representative to file.
• Picking the wrong solution. Asking for "website" when you need e-commerce, or the reverse, and finding out after signing.
• Choosing an agent on price. The voucher is the same; what changes is what they deliver and whether they're still around in a year.

How to choose an agent

Ask to see previous work of the same kind, ask who handles maintenance during the twelve months, and check the site will be in your name: domain, hosting and access. It sounds obvious and it's what causes the most grief later.