How long does switching from Gründerplattform actually take?

An evening for most accounts. The export from Gründerplattform is the slow step - the import side runs in minutes once the field mapping is settled. Larger teams (50+ seats with custom field schemas) sometimes split it across two sessions: import first, reorganise the next day.

Will I lose data when I switch?

Nothing structural. The CSV/JSON export from Gründerplattform preserves the data: records, fields, history, and attachments come over intact. What doesn't transfer is anything tied to Gründerplattform-specific UI metadata (custom views, saved searches, in-app annotations) - those don't sit in the export, they sit in the source product's UI. Plan an evening to rebuild your most-used views once you're in.

What about my existing Gründerplattform subscription?

Run both side-by-side until you're confident, then cancel Gründerplattform from their side. We don't lock you in - export from Grants is one click in account settings, same as import.

Is the import path free?

The import button is open on every plan, including the free tier - we don't paywall the way out of a competitor. The data going in still has to fit your plan's per-type quotas (the free-tier caps are listed on /sales); paid plans raise those caps. If you're moving a large set, check the caps first or write to /support and we can advise.

Can I get help with the switch?

Yes. Write to /support - both founders see those threads directly. Reply within a working day. For the field-mapping itself we typically resolve things in one or two exchanges; if your dataset is unusually large or Gründerplattform's export shape is unfamiliar, we'll say so up front.

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Grants: the alternative to Gründerplattform

What moving from Gründerplattform to Grants actually looks like in 2026.

Switching

Gründerplattform

KfW

Finn GlasCo-Founder + Engineering

·May 15, 2026·

1 min read

Grants is what people use when Gründerplattform stops fitting. Below is the honest side-by-side - same product surface, different posture: hosted in Germany, no third-party trackers, one honest price - plus the migration mechanics that decide whether the switch lands in an evening or in a quarter.

At a glance

Gründerplattform is an excellent free tool. Funded by KfW + BMWE (so taxpayer-supported, no business model in your way), implemented by BusinessPilot GmbH. It walks any founder step-by-step through a complete business plan with competitor analysis, financial planning, free expert consultations, and online seminars. For 80% of founders - especially those writing a bank-loan plan or a generic Gründungs-Businessplan - it's the right tool and we'd recommend it without reservation. Grants is for the other 20%: founders going for innovation grants (EXIST, IGP, KMU innovativ, BMBF, Horizon) where the document needs a specific chapter structure, reviewer-language coaching, and the 4-week revision window workflow that PTJ uses. Gründerplattform's generic Businessplan-Struktur doesn't map to the EXIST Ideenpapier - you'd have to restructure the whole document. We map natively.

Switching

What moving from Gründerplattform actually looks like

The switch goes in three rough phases: export from Gründerplattform, import into Grants, and reorganise what came over. Most people allocate an evening for it. The export side is where the time goes - Gründerplattform hands you a CSV/JSON dump and the field mapping isn't always obvious; once that's resolved the import is a couple of minutes. We don't paywall the import path or pretend it's a pro-only feature, and you can run both side-by-side while you decide.

Grants vs Gründerplattform: feature comparison

	Ours Grants	Theirs Gründerplattform
Price	Subscription	Free (publicly funded)
Generic business-plan structure for bank-loan applications
EXIST Ideenpapier seven-section chapter structure
IGP / KMU innovativ / BMBF Skizze native structure
Horizon EIC + ERC structured workflow
PTJ / DLR reviewer-language inline coaching
Free expert consultations + community + seminars
Multi-application chapter reuse across grants

When to pick which

Pick Grants when

Your funding target is EXIST, EXIST Forschungstransfer, IGP, KMU innovativ, BMBF Verbundprojekt, or any Horizon / ERC / NSF programme.

You'll write 2-3+ grant applications in 24 months and want chapter reuse + version control across them.

You need PTJ / DLR-PT reviewer-language coaching and the 4-week revision workflow.

Pick Gründerplattform when

Your funding plan is a Hausbank loan + KfW StartGeld - a generic Businessplan-Struktur is exactly what the bank wants.

You want free expert consultations and community access (these are genuinely valuable, and we don't replace them).

Cost matters most and you're happy to map the document onto an EXIST/IGP structure yourself if you later go for innovation grants.

Step by step

Export from Gründerplattform

Find the export option in Gründerplattform's account settings. Most tools provide a CSV or JSON download. Save the dump locally - that's the source of truth for the next step.

Account settings → Export / Download data

Pick the broadest format the tool offers (usually JSON)

Map fields in Grants

Open the import tool in Grants. Gründerplattform's field names rarely match Grants' 1:1; the import flags any unmapped columns so you can pair them up before anything commits.

Account settings → Import

Resolve the mapping prompts the tool surfaces

Run the import

Run the import. Grants shows a preview of the first parsed rows in the import dialog so you can sanity-check the column mapping + a sample of records before anything commits. If you're nervous about a large dump, import a small subset first, verify it landed the way you expected, then run the full file.

Re-create your views, tags, saved searches

Gründerplattform-specific UI metadata (custom views, saved filters, in-app annotations) doesn't transfer with the data export. Spend an evening rebuilding the views you used most - usually a 30-minute job once you've done it once.

Cancel Gründerplattform when you're confident

Run both side-by-side for a couple of weeks if you want to be sure. When you're confident, cancel the Gründerplattform subscription from their side. Grants keeps your export option self-serve in account settings - no lock-in either direction.

Switching from Gründerplattform

The five questions we get most often before someone moves their data over.

Start with Grants

Free plan, no credit card. We host in Germany. Export + delete are self-serve.

Written by

Finn Glas

Co-Founder + Engineering

Finn is one of the Co-Founders. He owns the engineering side, the infrastructure, and most of the late-night fixes that ship before anyone notices.

finn.glas at aicuflow dot comLinkedIn Website