Service · Software development

Custom software for municipalities.

Custom software for municipalities, joint regulations, provinces and implementing organisations. We build where Centric, Pink Roccade and JoinUp fall short, such as specific permit workflows, Wmo claims processes, citizen portals with DigiD, or Common Ground components that fit your local processes.

DigiD & eHerkenningCommon GroundVNG APIsBIO & WCAG 2.1 AA

Custom development where standard packages fall short.

The Dutch municipal market is dominated by a handful of suppliers: Centric, Pink Roccade, JoinUp, Berkeley Bridge, Vicrea, GemmaWeb, Square and Cybell. For the heavy lifting, such as BRP queries, case management systems, financial administration and core civil registration processes, those packages are usually the right choice. Migration is risky and expensive, the processes are deeply embedded in the organisation, and the packages are functionally mature. We do not replace them.

Where custom development adds value: a specific subsidy application flow that no supplier supports, a citizen portal that matches your own corporate identity, a Wmo claims process that talks to your regional care providers, a participation platform that involves residents in policy questions, or a dashboard that brings together data from several sources. That is what we build, within Common Ground, with VNG APIs, BIO-secure and WCAG 2.1 AA accessible.

Our experience lies in public sector projects where integration with the existing infrastructure (Centric Key2 packages, Pink Roccade Civision, JoinUp iBabs) matters just as much as the new functionality itself. We know the requirements of VNG-Realisatie, the architecture principles of GEMMA, and the reality of a municipal ICT department that has to manage many chains with limited capacity. Also read about our broader approach to custom software and enterprise software development.

This page focuses on municipalities and joint regulations, but the work we do applies more widely: we have supported provinces, water boards, safety regions and implementing organisations such as RDW, UWV and SVB with well-defined modules. The technical principles, including Common Ground where applicable, BIO compliance, WCAG accessibility and eHerkenning, are similar.

Three types of municipal software we build.

Depending on the domain, target audience and security regime. In the first conversation we advise which type fits, and which integrations with your existing packages are needed.

Citizen-focused · DigiD integration

Citizen portal and business desk

A local version of MijnOverheid for your residents and businesses. DigiD for citizens, eHerkenning for businesses, with a visual identity that feels like your municipality, not a generic national service. Residents can view ongoing cases, apply for permits, report public-space issues, file complaints and manage their data in an environment they recognise. For businesses, the same, but with eHerkenning, KvK integration and B2G flows such as quotes, contracts and invoicing.

DigiDeHerkenningBRP integrationMy casesMOR reports
Process-driven · Multi-team

Custom process applications

For domains where off-the-shelf packages don't quite fit: subsidy applications with multiple assessment rounds, objections and appeals with a legal workflow, complaint handling with escalation paths, environmental management under the Environment and Planning Act, or a specific policy area such as enforcement or heritage conservation. A multi-team way of working with case managers, assessors, legal staff and board secretaries, including a complete audit trail that is FOIA-proof and aligned with your records management policy. The application is fully tailored to how your department works and links back to your central case management system where needed.

Case flowsRoles & permissionsAudit trailDocument managementWoo export
Social domain · Regional collaboration

Social domain platforms

The Wmo, Youth Act and Participation Act call for systems that can work with regional care providers, waiting list management and social directory information. We build claims flows for care providers with iJw/iWmo messaging, decision-support tools for case workers, dashboards for regional partnerships, and participation platforms for resident research on policy issues. Everything kept securely within BIO and — where care data is processed — NEN 7510, with the privacy-by-design and DPIA documentation your data protection officer needs.

If you work with approved soil intermediaries, the approval itself is something you must be able to verify. How an intermediary keeps track of this on their side is covered on the page about Kwalibo software.

Wmo claimsiJw/iWmoSocial directoryNEN 7510Waiting lists

What you receive on delivery.

A working application within your infrastructure, with the documentation and integrations your IT department needs to carry on independently.

From day one we work with your information architect, BIO coordinator and functional administrators. Handover is not the end — further development usually begins at that point, based on what proves to work in production.

  • The application itselfProduction and acceptance environments, hosted in your own cloud (Azure, AWS, GCP) or with a Dutch-based provider in line with BIO.
  • Codebase with documentationFull source code in your repository, architecture overview and build instructions. No lock-in to Appfront.
  • InterfacesVNG APIs, DigiD/eHerkenning, BRP/BAG/Kadaster/KvK, plus any integrations with Centric, Pink Roccade or JoinUp.
  • BIO fileRisk analysis, DPIA, penetration test report, and the evidence your CISO needs for accreditation.
  • Accessibility statementWCAG 2.1 AA audit with independent verification — mandatory for public applications.
  • Training for functional administrationSessions for key users, administrators and the helpdesk, plus an incident runbook.
  • Maintenance contract (optional)Monitoring, security patches and further development. Fixed monthly price with clear response times.

When custom is the right choice.

Six patterns in which we support municipalities and public authorities. If you recognise one, we'd be glad to talk further. For the standard work, such as extracts, financial administration and the central case management system, we will honestly point you to Centric, Pink Roccade or another municipal supplier. Our role begins where those packages don't fit.

Policy domain

No standard package available

Your department has a specific process, such as a separate subsidy scheme, a unique objection flow, environmental management for your nature reserve, or an enforcement tool for supervision, for which no supplier offers a workable package. Custom software is then the rule rather than the exception, often linked to your central case management system.

Citizen experience

Own corporate identity needed

You want residents and businesses to work within your look and feel. The national services work functionally, but they don't feel like your municipality. Your own portal with DigiD integration delivers that experience without compromising on security, and leaves room for local products and local communication.

Regional collaboration

Joint arrangement

Several municipalities work together under a joint arrangement (GR) for a social services department, environmental service, ICT coalition or safety region. Standard packages are set up per municipality. A platform for regional processes, where multiple source systems come together, must be built specifically with multi-tenant logic.

Resident participation

Research and engagement

Resident surveys, citizen panels, online consultations, youth councils and open data publication. Tools that help gather and weigh residents' voices, and report back transparently, in line with your participation policy and the requirements of the Dutch Act on Strengthening Participation at Local Level.

Data platform

Bringing sources together

You have data in ten different systems — Centric, Civision, BAG, BRP, your own Excel sheets — and want a dashboard that brings it together by policy domain. We build ETL pipelines, a standardised data layer and visualisations that make sense of what would otherwise remain fragmented.

Elections & oversight

Specific supporting processes

Election administration, support for the voting process, integrity oversight, or a specific process for the council clerk's office. Domains where reliability and audit trail outweigh user convenience, with stricter BIO requirements and separate authorisation structures.

Not yet sure about a large project?

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 →

How a municipal project runs.

1

Discovery

A conversation with your department, your information architect and, where relevant, your procurement officer. We map which flows the application must run, which integrations with existing packages are needed, and which security regime applies.

2

Tender or direct award

Depending on your threshold values, we support the tender documents, justification of exceptions, or a direct quotation. We often work through DAS or framework agreements and have experience with VNG model terms.

3

Discovery and architecture

Workshops with your team, interviews with end users (both civil servants and — where relevant — residents), and an architecture document that fits within Common Ground and your enterprise architecture. At the end: scope, planning and the first screen flow.

4

Building in sprints

Every sprint delivers a working build you can test, often with a fixed user group. We work iteratively — the first functionality is ready for acceptance after a few sprints, after which further development runs in parallel with rollout. End users stay involved through sprint reviews.

5

BIO testing and penetration testing

For production acceptance: a penetration test by an independent party, BIO checks via your CISO and — when personal data is processed — a DPIA. We deliver the documents you need for going live.

6

Rollout and management

A phased rollout, training for functional management and the helpdesk, and ongoing management for security patches and further development. No big-bang go-live — usually a pilot with one team before the whole organisation joins.

Frequently asked questions.

What public sector clients usually want to know before we start.

Do you replace Centric or Pink Roccade?
For the heavy core packages (citizen services, financial administration, the central case management system), no. That market is mature, and migration costs are almost always unjustifiable. Your processes are deeply embedded in your organisation, the packages are functionally extensive, and vendors keep evolving them around standard processes. What we do instead is build custom software for the domains those packages don't fit well, and connect that custom application neatly to Centric Key2, Pink Roccade Civision or another vendor's package via the VNG APIs. In practice you often work with several systems that together support the workflow. We build the custom part of that, not the entire chain.
Do you work according to Common Ground?
Yes. Common Ground is, for us, a natural architectural choice: data at the source, standardised APIs (Case, Document, Notification and Client APIs), and interchangeable components. We work with the VNG standards, ZGS, and StUF-ZKN where older integrations require it, and the Federated Data System where it already applies. Our applications talk to your existing Common Ground components through the official interfaces, so you aren't locked in to us as a supplier. Another party could later take over or replace our application without touching the architecture.
What about BIO and information security?
Included as standard. We work in line with the Baseline Informatiebeveiliging Overheid (BIO): a threat analysis at the start of the project, a penetration test by an external party before production acceptance, a DPIA where personal data is processed, encryption in transit and at rest, and an audit log that records every significant action. For healthcare data, NEN 7510 applies in addition, and for financial transactions the relevant PCI requirements. We deliver the BIO documentation with the evidence your CISO and data protection officer need for accreditation and go-live.
Can you integrate with BRP, BAG, Kadaster and KvK?
Yes. We have experience with BRP queries via Haal Centraal or your own BRP interface, BAG via PDOK and the BAG API, Kadaster data via the PDOK services, and the KvK Trade Register via the KvK API. We also handle DigiD and eHerkenning for authentication, via your own routing facility or a provider such as Signicat, ConnectIS or iWelcome. These integrations are a standard part of the architecture, not a separate phase added afterwards. For more specialised registers (BRO, BGT, NHR, BLAU) we take the same approach to building them in.
How do you handle accessibility and WCAG?
Accessibility is mandatory for public applications and is considered from the design stage onwards — not as a final check. WCAG 2.1 AA is the baseline, tested by an independent party before production and repeated periodically. We deliver the accessibility statement you need to publish on the application, with the correct status and any exceptions substantiated. During ongoing development we monitor accessibility in our sprint checks so regressions are caught early, and we work with design systems that are accessible by default.
How does tendering or contract award work?
It depends on your thresholds and framework agreements. For contracts below the European threshold, we often work through DAS systems, a direct invitation based on a single-supplier request for quote, or a framework agreement you are already party to. Above the threshold, we support your procurement team with the technical specifications, a well-founded scope, a suitable lot division and an award model in which quality weighs more heavily than price alone. We have experience with the VNG model terms, BIBOB screening and the usual municipal procurement procedures.
How long does a project like this take?
It depends on the scope, the degree of integration with existing systems, and the procurement route. A focused process application for a specific domain can be on acceptance within a programme of several sprints, with a phased rollout to production. A larger citizen portal with multiple integrations takes longer, delivered module by module so that earlier components already add value while the whole continues to be developed. We provide a reasoned plan after the discovery phase, not commitments based on a first conversation, as that would be unfair to an environment we have yet to get to know.
Do you also work for provinces, water boards and safety regions?
Yes. The technical starting points, such as Common Ground where applicable, BIO, WCAG, eHerkenning and DigiD for citizens, are comparable. For provinces, much of the municipal legislation applies at a different scale. For water boards we work with the Informatiehuis Water and the standards that apply there, including for measurement data and water permits. For safety regions we work with the specific chains (LCMS, MultiTeam) and the requirements around crisis information provision. We have also supported implementing bodies such as RDW, UWV and SVB with clearly defined modules, often in collaboration with their own in-house teams.
How do we handle open data and transparency?
Open data and transparency are a policy priority for many municipalities. We build APIs that make data available in line with the high-value datasets under the Open Data Directive, dashboards that help residents understand how decision-making works, and publication platforms for decision lists, council documents and Woo requests. We work with the standards of data.overheid.nl and the open standards prescribed by the apply-or-explain list.

Talk to us about your municipal software.

A half-hour exploratory conversation, no obligation. We listen to your workflow, ask detailed questions about the integrations with your existing packages, and advise on what is worth building yourself and what isn't. For specific AI applications within government, see also AI for municipalities and government or our smart API integrations.

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