Custom ERP for government
Appfront builds custom ERP and back-office software for the public sector: from finance and budgeting in line with the BBV and IV3 reporting, to procurement and tendering, commitments and e-invoicing administration, grant administration and HR. Integrated with the national base registry system and built to the BIO, aligned with your budget structure and your authorisations. For municipalities, provinces, joint arrangements and implementing bodies that want their operations lawful and demonstrably in order.
What is ERP for government?
Public sector ERP is the back-office software with which a government organisation runs its operations: the general ledger and budget, commitments and invoice administration, procurement and tendering, grant administration, and HR and payroll. Unlike commercial ERP, it operates within public frameworks. The budget and annual accounts must comply with the Decree on Budgeting and Accountability for Provinces and Municipalities (BBV), figures are submitted to Statistics Netherlands (CBS) as Information for Third Parties (IV3), and since financial year 2023 the executive board has reported on lawfulness in the annual accounts.
Standard packages cover the basics, but they sometimes force your way of working into a fixed structure. Public sector financial management, however, differs from one organisation to another: in budget programmes, in how budget authority and delegation are allocated, and in the collaboration between a central finance department and decentralised budget holders. Custom software is aligned with your budget structure and authorisation model rather than the other way round, and it can grow along with changes in regulations or in your organisation. This prevents shadow administrations in standalone spreadsheets alongside your financial system.
This page covers the ERP and back-office side. For citizen-facing portals, case management applications and the social domain, see software for municipalities, and for the provincial context, see software for provinces. If you are looking for a generic ERP without government frameworks, see custom ERP system.
One source for budget and actuals
General ledger, budget, commitments and actuals in unison, traceable to the BBV policy areas and economic categories. The IV3 return comes from the same source as your own programme budget.
Procurement to e-invoice in one chain
From requirement and order to commitment, receipt and invoice checking. Incoming e-invoices in accordance with NLCIUS via Peppol and Digipoort are matched to the commitment, so approval and posting run automatically.
Lawful and traceable
Segregation of duties between ordering, posting and approving, budget monitoring, and complete recording of every change. This supports the accountability for lawfulness and the review by external auditors and the Court of Audit.
How we build your ERP for the public sector
We work in stages and involve your finance department, procurement advisers, HR and information security early in the process. From a thorough assessment of your application landscape, budget structure and authorisations through to go-live and ongoing management, every step is aimed at software your organisation understands, trusts and can demonstrably use lawfully.
We map out your processes and systems: general ledger and budget, commitments, procurement and tendering, grants and HR. Together we decide what needs to be custom built and what can connect to existing packages through integrations, and which data and authorisations are required.
We design the chart of accounts, the authorisation and delegation model, and the integrations with data minimisation as the starting point, plus the approach to budget monitoring, logging and IV3 reporting in line with the BBV.
We build in short iterations with automated testing, structured logging and monitoring. You see working versions along the way and help steer priorities and alignment with your daily practice.
Controlled go-live with data migration, validation and a safety net, followed by ongoing management, monitoring and further development as your way of working or the regulations change.
What ERP for the public sector does in practice
We tailor every application specifically to your budget structure, delegations and chain partners. Below are the features we most often deliver for public sector organisations that want to support their operations.
Finance & budgeting
General ledger, programme budget, budgets and actuals in unison. The account structure is traceable to the BBV policy areas and economic categories, so the IV3 return to Statistics Netherlands (CBS) and the programme budget come from the same figures.
Procurement & tendering
Support for requirement, order and commitment, with recording that aligns with the thresholds and procedures of the Dutch Public Procurement Act (Aanbestedingswet) and publications via TenderNed. This keeps you in control of lawful procurement and of ongoing contracts and commitments.
E-invoicing & commitments
Receipt and processing of e-invoices under the NLCIUS standard, via the Peppol network and Digipoort. Invoices are matched against the open commitment and approved with segregation of duties, preventing duplicate or incorrect payments.
Subsidy administration
The chain from application, assessment and decision through to advance payment, accountability and final determination, with deadline monitoring and case files. Awards are linked to the budget, so committed and available funds remain visible. For a standalone project, see grant management software.
HR & payroll (P&O)
Staffing establishment, inflow, internal movement and outflow, connected to payroll processing, with reliable data maintained through the BRP. Personnel costs are aligned with the budget, so budget holders keep track of the largest cost item. See also custom HR software.
Management information & accountability
Strategic information on budget utilisation, commitments, forecasts and variances per programme or department. This supports board reports, the annual accounts and compliance reporting to the council, provincial parliament or board.
Who we build public sector ERP for
Public administration is carried out by different types of organisation, each with its own budget and accountability under the BBV. For each of them we build software that fits their tasks, their mandate structure and their collaboration with other parties.
Municipalities
Municipal finance departments that run the budget, commitments, procurement and grants, and account for them to the council. For citizen-facing and case management applications, see our software for municipalities.
Provinces
Provinces that prepare a budget and annual accounts under the same BBV framework, with extensive subsidy and investment programmes. The software supports multi-year programming, commitments and accountability to Provincial Parliament. See also software for provinces.
Joint arrangements
Partnerships and joint arrangements that manage a budget on behalf of several participants. They need a clear cost allocation per participant, separate administrations and traceable accountability to the general board.
Implementing bodies
Implementing bodies and public services that manage large flows of money and are publicly accountable. They need tight commitment monitoring, complete logging and accountability, with a back office that matches their specific task rather than a generic package.
Test your idea first: a working prototype in 1 day
With OneDayBuild, we turn your idea into something tangible in one day for €1,150, so you can see whether further development is worth the investment. Decide to go ahead with the full build? Then we credit the full cost.
Explore OneDayBuild →Technology and government integrations
We build with a modern, maintainable web stack and integrate with national facilities and with packages you already use where needed. For the public back office, the most relevant are: the national base registry system such as the BRP, the BAG and the Trade Register for reliable master data; data exchange via Digikoppeling; and e-invoicing via Peppol and Digipoort. Where it fits, we work to the GEMMA reference architecture and the Common Ground principles, so that data stays at the source. We set up every integration with data minimisation and the correct legal basis.
Why choose Appfront for your public sector ERP?
Appfront builds custom software for the public sector and always starts with a thorough analysis of your processes, application landscape and accountability frameworks. Back-office software must not only work technically, but also fit the BBV, the mandate structure and the care with which your finance team operates.
We build in privacy and information security from the architecture stage and write clear documentation, so that your own staff or a future supplier can understand and manage the software. No black box, but transparent code and clear agreements on authorisation, segregation of duties, logging and management. Where a standard package will suffice, we will honestly advise you so; we apply custom development where it truly makes a difference.
We work in design and development sprints and deliver working versions along the way, so you can steer early on priorities and on how well the software fits your practice. This keeps feedback loops short and prevents choices from becoming visible only at the end of the project.
See also our wider services for the public sector: software for municipalities, software supplier for government and custom software development. Have questions? Get in touch with us.
- Custom software for the public sector
- Chart of accounts traceable to BBV task areas and IV3
- Support for the regularity accountability
- Experienced with base registries, Digikoppeling and Peppol
- Built in line with the GDPR and the Baseline Information Security for Government (BIO)
- Accessible interfaces in line with WCAG 2.1 AA and DigiToegankelijk
- Segregation of duties, role-based authorisation and audit logging
- Works alongside or on top of existing packages such as Centric, PinkRoccade and Unit4
- Clear documentation your team can read and manage
- Ongoing maintenance and further development as regulations change
Security and regularity in government ERP
A financial back office processes sensitive and valuable data: budgets, commitments, payments, creditors and employee personal data. That is why a watertight set-up is central. We configure authorisation based on role and mandate, with segregation of duties between ordering, posting and authorising, so that no single employee can complete a payment unchecked from start to finish. Every change, posting and approval is logged, so it is always traceable who did what.
We build in line with the Baseline Information Security for Government (BIO) and the GDPR, with encryption in transit and at rest, separate administrations between departments or participants, and budget monitoring that respects the budgetary authority of the council or Provincial States. We make interfaces accessible in line with WCAG 2.1 level AA, in keeping with DigiToegankelijk. We document data flows, authorisations and control points so that you can approach the regularity accountability and the audit with confidence.
Read more about our security approach: information security policy and vulnerability disclosure policy. Discuss your situation without obligation via our contact form.
- GDPR-compliant data processing and data minimisation
- Segregation of duties between ordering, posting and authorising
- Budget monitoring aligned with budgetary authority
- Encryption in transit (TLS 1.2+) and at rest
- Role-based access and least-privilege principles
- Separate administrations between departments and participants
- Complete audit logging of postings and changes
- Built to the BIO, with documentation for your record of processing activities
Frequently asked questions about government ERP
Answers to the questions we are asked most often about custom ERP and back-office software for the public sector.
ERP for government is the back-office software with which a public organisation runs its operations: finance and budgeting, commitments and invoice administration, procurement and tendering, grant administration, and HR and payroll. Unlike commercial ERP, this is driven by public frameworks: budgets and annual accounts must comply with the BBV (the Dutch budgeting and accounting decree for provinces and municipalities), figures are delivered as Information for third parties (IV3), and since financial year 2023 the executive board must account for regularity. Custom software lets you set this up the way your own budget structure and authorisations require, rather than adapting your way of working to a standard package.
Our page on software for municipalities covers citizen-facing portals, case applications and the social domain: applications, notifications, permits and case-based working. This page is about the financial back office and operations: the general ledger, budgeting, commitments, procurement, grants and HR. ERP also extends beyond municipalities alone: provinces, joint arrangements and implementing bodies also prepare a budget and accountability under the BBV. We build custom software that fits alongside or on top of existing packages from vendors such as Centric, PinkRoccade and Unit4, wherever the standard falls short.
Both. Some organisations want a specific part of their operations, such as grant administration or commitment management, built as custom software on top of an existing financial package. Others want a cohesive back-office system that connects several processes. We start with an assessment of your application landscape and decide together what should be custom and what should integrate with what you already have, so that data is not entered twice.
We model the chart of accounts so that postings can be traced to the policy fields and economic categories the BBV prescribes. The IV3 submission to Statistics Netherlands then comes from the same source as your own budget structure. Authorisations, budget monitoring and a complete record of who posts and who approves support the lawfulness accountability that the executive board has included in the annual accounts since financial year 2023. We always verify the setup against current regulations and the guidance of the BBV committee.
Yes. We support the procurement process from requirement and order through to commitment, receipt and invoice checking, with records that align with the thresholds and procedures of the Public Procurement Act (Aanbestedingswet) and publications via TenderNed. Since 2019, government bodies have been required to be able to receive e-invoices; we build the receipt and processing of e-invoices according to the NLCIUS standard, via the Peppol network and Digipoort, linked to commitment administration so that matching and approval run automatically.
For reliable master data we integrate with the base registry system, such as the Personal Records Database (BRP) for HR and the Key Register of Addresses and Buildings (BAG) and the Trade Register (Handelsregister) for creditors and grant applicants. Data exchange with other government bodies runs via Digikoppeling, and where appropriate we work according to the GEMMA reference architecture and Common Ground principles. We set up every integration with data minimisation and the correct legal basis.
Yes. We build government software in accordance with the Baseline Information Security for Government (BIO) and the GDPR, with role-based authorisation, segregation of duties between ordering, posting and approving, encryption in transit and at rest, and complete audit logging. Interfaces used by staff or applicants are made accessible in line with WCAG 2.1 level AA, in keeping with DigiToegankelijk. We document data flows and authorisations so that your record of processing activities remains complete.
Ready to get your government ERP built?
Tell us how your organisation is set up and where you run into trouble, from budgeting and commitments through to procurement, grants and HR. We are happy to think along about processes, integrations with the basic registers, lawfulness and information security. In a no-obligation first conversation you get a clear picture of the options for custom software that fits your organisation.
For the technical detail, see building an ERP system on applatenmaken.com.