TÜBİTAK 1507 SME R&D incentives 2026: a roadmap for finance software

TÜBİTAK (the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye) is the country's largest public funder of SME R&D and innovation. Its 1507 — SME R&D Start-up Support Program is aimed squarely at SMEs that develop new technology or customize existing technology.

As of 2026, finance software — reconciliation, e-invoicing, anomaly-detection AI, ML models — falls within the program's scope. This article details how TÜBİTAK 1507 applies to finance software projects and walks through the application process.

What is TÜBİTAK 1507?

TÜBİTAK 1507 is a grant program designed to support R&D projects at companies with SME status.

Key features:

• Support rate: up to 75% (non-repayable)
• Maximum budget: 600.000 TL (per project)
• Duration: 18 months (to completion)
• Goal: building up SME R&D capacity

Official information.

Which projects qualify?

Eligible project types:

• Developing new technology (software, hardware, services)
• Customizing existing technology (e.g., adapting iFinances for a specific industry)
• Algorithm development (e.g., a reconciliation-matching ML model)
• Academic research → commercialization

Not eligible:

• Software purchases alone (that belongs to KOSGEB, Türkiye's SME development agency)
• Standard services (consulting)
• Capital goods purchases (hardware on its own)

Finance software project examples

Example 1: An industry-specific reconciliation ML model

Scenario: A textile-exporter SME wants to develop an anomaly-detection ML model tailored to its own export transactions.

Project description:

• A custom ML layer on top of an existing iFinances deployment
• Anomaly categories specific to textile exports
• An algorithm comparing the CBRT (Central Bank of Türkiye) official rate against export documents
• Details: EUR/USD invoice reconciliation with the CBRT official rate

Sample budget: | Item | TL | |---|---| | ML engineer (12 months × 50.000 TL/month) | 600.000 | | iFinances customization | 120.000 | | Hardware (GPU server) | 100.000 | | TOTAL | 820.000 | | TÜBİTAK 75% | 615.000 (capped at 600K) |

Example 2: Client-portfolio AI for an accounting firm

Scenario: An accounting firm with 30+ clients wants to build an AI system for managing its own client portfolio.

Project description:

• Customization of the iFinances accounting-firm module
• Answering client queries with natural language processing
• Auto-generated anomaly reason chains
• Details: The AI guide for accountants

Example 3: SME payment-chain analytics

Scenario: A B2B SME wants to build a system that predicts customer payment behavior.

Project description:

• Time-series ML (Prophet, LSTM)
• Customer segmentation (K-means clustering)
• A due-date prediction API
• Details: Financial data science: reconciliation ML

The application process: 8 steps

Step 1: TÜBİTAK membership

Register online at tubitak.gov.tr. You need the company's KEP address (Türkiye's registered electronic mail system) plus an e-signature.

Step 2: Preparing the project proposal (2-3 weeks)

Contents:

• Project summary
• Scientific/technical content
• Work schedule (18 months)
• Budget (line by line)
• Team CVs
• Expected outputs (publications, patents, licensed product)

Step 3: Scientific advisor assignment

TÜBİTAK works on an endorsement model: an academic or technical expert backs the project. A university partnership strengthens the application.

Step 4: Formal application

Submitted through TÜBİTAK's project management system. Documents:

• Project proposal
• Company R&D capacity report
• Financial statements (3 years)
• Team CVs
• Scientific advisor's letter of approval

Step 5: Evaluation (8-12 weeks)

• Preliminary review (1 week)
• Referee evaluation (4-6 weeks) — 3 academic/industry referees
• Committee decision (2-4 weeks)

Step 6: Contract signing (1-2 weeks)

After approval, you sign the contract with TÜBİTAK.

Step 7: Execution + reporting (18 months)

• Monthly progress reports
• Quarterly financial reports
• Year-end performance review

Step 8: Completion + final report

• Final project report
• Documentation of outputs
• Patents/publications attached, if any

Success criteria

For a TÜBİTAK 1507 project to count as successful:

• ✅ Completed within the work schedule (24-month hard ceiling)
• ✅ Budget discipline
• ✅ Documented outputs
• ✅ A commercialization plan
• ✅ A patent, license, or publication

Can TÜBİTAK and KOSGEB be combined?

Yes — for different cost items. Example:

• TÜBİTAK 1507: ML model development (the R&D part)
• KOSGEB Digital Transformation: software licenses + training (the implementation part)

Details: KOSGEB digital transformation grants 2026.

Important: The same expense item cannot receive support from both programs.

R&D Center status

Beyond TÜBİTAK 1507, R&D-intensive SMEs can earn R&D Center status:

Advantages:

• 100% tax deduction (on R&D spending)
• Exemption from the employer's SGK (Turkish social security) contribution
• Stamp-duty exemption

Requirements:

• At least 15 full-time R&D staff
• Annual R&D spending of 5%+ of revenue
• Approval from the Ministry of Industry and Technology

Official information.

The 6 most common mistakes

Mistake 1: A weak definition of "R&D"

For TÜBİTAK, R&D = an element of novelty. Merely installing existing software is not R&D. A new algorithm, a new architecture, a new use-case approach is.

Mistake 2: Missing academic references

Your proposal must connect to the scientific and technical literature — arXiv and ScienceDirect papers.

Mistake 3: Insufficient team quality

The R&D staff must be technically up to the task. Certifications, experience, past projects.

Mistake 4: An overly optimistic schedule

18 months is the maximum. Plan a realistic timeline.

Mistake 5: An undisciplined budget

Personnel, hardware, and service items must be cleanly separated.

Mistake 6: Vaguely defined outputs

"We will develop software" is not enough. Define concrete outputs: "a reconciliation engine with feature X, achieving performance Z on dataset Y."

TÜBİTAK 1507 with iFinances

iFinances offers TÜBİTAK 1507 application support to its enterprise customers:

• Writing the project proposal
• Budget preparation
• ML-engineer guidance
• Sourcing a scientific advisor

Get in touch — for R&D project consulting.

Conclusion

TÜBİTAK 1507 funds up to 75% of your finance-software R&D projects with non-repayable grants. With the right project definition, a solid scientific foundation, and a strong team, the success rate is 65%+.

Explore the iFinances modules, request a demo, or review the pricing plans.