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GründungsBONUS Plus Rückfragen: How to Respond to IBB’s Follow-Up Questions (with Real Examples)

  • 2. November 2025
4 min read

Table of contents

Getting Rückfragen from IBB after your GründungsBONUS submission is completely normal. Over 70% of founders receive clarification requests before final approval. The good news: most follow-up questions are procedural, not critical, and with the right response, your application continues smoothly.

Follow-up questions are clarification requests from IBB. Answer factually, update your documents where needed, and always make sure all portal entries match uploaded files and official documents.

Why Follow-Up Questions Happen

The 4 main reasons IBB sends follow-up questions:

  1. Missing or inconsistent data – names, addresses, shareholdings.
  2. Formal issues – expired IDs, missing registration in the Transparenzdatenbank.
  3. Business plan details unclear – innovation, customer need, market access.
  4. Financial inconsistencies – plans not matching portal data.

The Most Common Follow-Up Questions

We group your real cases into 6 categories, each with examples + best-practice responses.

A. Angaben zum Unternehmen

Typical questions:

  • “Bitte tragen Sie alle Gesellschafter mit korrekten Anteilen ein.”
  • “Bitte registrieren Sie Ihr Unternehmen in der Transparenzdatenbank.”
  • “Bitte laden Sie gültige Ausweisdokumente hoch.”

How to respond:

  • Double-check that shareholding data in the portal matches your Gesellschaftsvertrag exactly (no rounding errors).
  • Transparenzdatenbank: register here → transparenzdatenbank.berlin.de and copy the ID into the portal.
  • Upload all valid IDs, no expired ones, and ensure spelling matches the Handelsregister.

B. Business Plan Content

Typical questions:

  • “Bitte beschreiben Sie den Text detaillierter.”
  • “Bitte beschreiben Sie Ihre Vertriebsstrategie.”
  • “Bitte grenzen Sie parallele Tätigkeiten zeitlich ab.”

How to respond:

  • Expand the innovation and market access sections in your business plan with concrete examples.
  • Add names or types of distribution partners (e.g., “Beta talks with influencer XY or accelerator Z”).
  • Clearly state that the startup is the main focus of the founders time.

C. Financial Consistency

Typical questions:

  • “Die Angaben im Finanzplan stimmen nicht mit den Tranchen im Portal überein.”
  • “Die Fördersumme des GründungsBONUS Plus ist nicht klar im Finanzplan erkennbar .”

How to respond:

  • Always align:
    • Liquiditätsplan,
    • Ausgabenplan, and
    • Finanzierungsplan
      across all uploads and portal entries.
  • Make sure that the GründungsBONUS tranches are calculated correctly in the Liquiditätsplan.

D. Innovation and Differentiation

Typical questions:

  • “Bitte stellen Sie Ihre Innovation deutlicher heraus.”
  • “Worin liegt die Innovation im Vergleich zu Wettbewerber XY?”

How to respond:

  • Define what’s new (e.g., technology, process, business model).
  • Use 1–2 sentences comparing yourself to the nearest competitors. A strategic visualization is also helpful.
  • Tie your explanation back to the chosen innovation category (“technologisch”, “ökologisch”, etc.).

E. Personal Details and Founders

Typical questions:

  • “Bitte fügen Sie XY als Gründer hinzu.”
  • “Alle Gründer haben laut Lebenslauf vor Gründung begonnen, bitte Stellungnahme.”

How to respond:

  • If co-founders hold shares via a holding, list both the person and holding structure.
  • If activities began pre-foundation (e.g. concept testing, freelancing), clarify that the formal business operations only started after the company’s registration.

F. Administrative Attachments

Typical questions:

  • “Bitte laden Sie notariell beurkundete Gründungsdokumente hoch.”
  • “Bitte aktualisieren Sie Ihren Businessplan und Finanzplan.”
  • “Bitte reichen Sie gültigen Aufenthaltstitel nach.”

How to respond:

  • Ensure all uploaded docs are PDFs, updated and identical to those in the Handelsregister.
  • Update the financials to reflect current data if there was a time delay since submission.
  • Upload sensitive docs (like residence permits) only in the official portal.

How to Write Effective Rückfrage Responses

  • Be specific: Quote page numbers (“see page 6 of updated Business Plan”).
  • Be concise: One paragraph per question.
  • Attach revised files instead of rephrasing text in email.
  • Stay factual: Avoid defending decisions; focus on clarification.
  • Double-check consistency across all entries and uploads.

What Happens After You Reply

  • IBB checks your answers (1–3 weeks).
  • If everything is complete, your file moves to technical expert review.
  • Further follow-up questions may still follow.
  • Keep all communication centralized in the portal for traceability.

When to Get Support

You should bring in experts like us if:

  • You have unclarity how to respond to questions or improve your documents.
  • Unclear about “innovation” or “Berlin effect.”
  • Confusion over corporate/share structures.

FAQs

Follow-up questions from IBB are a normal part of the review process and do not indicate a rejection. They are used to clarify open points, verify assumptions, or better assess project feasibility, eligibility, and financing logic. In practice, follow-up questions often mean that the application is actively being reviewed rather than filtered out.
IBB follow-up questions typically focus on project logic, cost structure, financing plausibility, and the applicant’s role in the project. Common areas include clarification of milestones, justification of eligible costs, alignment between project description and budget, and confirmation that the project fits the Gründungsbonus funding logic rather than other funding instruments.
Answers should be precise, structured, and factual, but not overly long. IBB is not looking for marketing language or vision statements. Instead, responses should directly address the question, explain assumptions clearly, and remain consistent with the original application. Contradictions or new narratives can weaken credibility and trigger additional questions.
Yes. Inconsistent, vague, or defensive answers can negatively affect the assessment. Follow-up questions are part of the formal evaluation and feed directly into the decision logic. Poorly structured responses can create doubts about project maturity, cost eligibility, or execution capability, even if the original application was strong.
As a rule, no. Follow-up answers should clarify, not redesign the project. Expanding scope, introducing new cost positions, or changing core assumptions can create misalignment with the submitted application and delay or jeopardize approval. If adjustments are unavoidable, they must be clearly justified and carefully aligned with the original funding logic.

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