ERP for incubators. Applications to graduation, mentors to funders, in one programme record.
An incubator's real product is the mentoring, and its real accountability is to funders. Kinnow keeps applications, cohorts, mentors, desk allocations and grant tranches on one programme record.
Industry pack readyHow does Kinnow help an incubator or accelerator? Applications go through a scored funnel to an accepted place in a cohort. Mentoring sessions are booked, held and recorded. Each venture carries milestones, KPI snapshots and a risk band, and grant tranches are released as approved journals against them. Your committee makes every accept or reject decision, and nothing goes to a funder without a person sending it.
Your programme, in one paragraph.
You run cohorts of ventures through a programme of weeks or months. Applications arrive by form and email and screening takes the team weeks. Mentors give time that is rarely recorded, so a founder who met nobody for a quarter looks the same as one who is thriving. You are funded by sponsors, corporates and grants, and each funder wants a report built from portfolio spreadsheets. Desks and lab space are your scarcest recurring asset.
Three things keep the programme head awake: a grant tranche released before the milestone landed, the founder who quietly stopped turning up, and the funder report due on Friday that nobody has started.
How your year runs on Kinnow
The ready-made setup gives you four step-by-step routines: Cohort to graduation, Mentoring to outcome, Sponsor to signed programme and Obligation to filed.
| Step | Who | What Kinnow does | Where a person approves |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Sponsor to signed programme | Programme head | A cohort call is planned and approved, the sponsor is contacted, terms agreed and a programme proposal sent; the sponsor is invoiced for the signed programme. | The proposal and the invoice each need approval. |
| 2. Intake | Programme team | Applications are scored against the cohort rubric across evaluation rounds. The screener flags a likely duplicate and drafts SHORTLIST, REVIEW or HOLD. Interview, offer and acceptance follow. | The committee decides. The screener never rejects. |
| 3. Onboard the venture | Programme manager | The selected venture joins the cohort in the portfolio. Desks and lab space are allocated as agreements. | Allocation over ₹1,00,000 base rent needs approval. |
| 4. Mentoring | Mentor, founder | A mentor is matched, a session is scheduled and confirmed, held, and the notes recorded. Mentors use a link, with no login, and a confirmed session syncs to their calendar. A missed session is re-offered. | The programme manager confirms matches. |
| 5. Track the venture | Programme manager | Milestones and periodic KPI snapshots (revenue, runway and similar) feed a green, amber or red risk band. A chaser drafts requests to ventures that are late to report. | A person commits the flag. |
| 6. Release the tranche | Finance manager | The grant is awarded and drawn down in stages. A tranche is a journal posted against the milestone. | The finance manager approves, and no tranche moves without it. |
| 7. Report to funders | Programme head | A cohort roll-up (graduation rate, funds raised, jobs created, ventures at risk) is drafted as a funder report, and the grant reporting schedule shows what is due. | Your team reviews and sends. |
| 8. Graduate or close | Programme head | The venture graduates or goes dormant, and the cohort closes after graduation. | Recorded by a person. |
| 9. Close and file | Accounts head | Twelve month-end checks, seven of which must pass. GST and TDS returns are drafted for review and your team uploads them. | People close the books and approve the returns. |
Bring one cohort and one funder report; we will show both on a single programme record.
Mentoring that leaves a record
Without a login
A mentor opens a link to set office hours and confirm sessions. The link carries the context, so the mentor needs no account.
Chased once, politely
A nudge goes to whoever is being waited on, with a limit on how many and longer gaps between them. It sends on its own only after the programme manager approves that policy once, with a named approver and an expiry date.
Notes become a recap
The mentor's own note becomes a draft recap, next action and funder line. Veil, our privacy layer, holds back personal data first.
Coverage gaps shown
A weekly digest lists ventures at risk, missed milestones and ventures with no mentor at all.
What the Incubation setup gives you
This is the ready-made setup for your industry (we call it an industry pack).
| Limit or rule | Starting figure | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Desk or lab agreement, base rent | Over ₹1,00,000 | Approval, since allocations are your scarcest asset |
| Programme commitment | Over ₹20,00,000 | Approval |
| Journal (grant money moves by journal) | Over ₹10,00,000 | Approval, as a disbursement decision |
| Cohort outreach without a named audience | Always | Blocked |
| Cohort outreach budget | Over ₹1,00,000 | Warning |
| Return filing, net payable | Over ₹2,00,000 | Approval |
| Client credit limit | Over ₹10,00,000 | Warning |
Starting figures; set them to what your programme wants reviewed.
Who signs off, in order, is set for four things: allocations, disbursements, return filings and project approvals. Nine ready-made Ask Kinnow questions and eight reports come with it. Kinnow uses your own words from day one: application, venture, programme or cohort, grant tranche, funder report, office hours.
Agents for an incubator
Application Screener
Scores an application from its evaluation rounds against the cohort rubric, flags a likely duplicate and drafts a shortlist recommendation. It never rejects; a low score shows as HOLD.
Mentor match proposer
Ranks a cohort's mentors for a venture by the needs it stated and the mentor's room this week. Assigns nobody.
No-Show Recoverer
Re-offers missed mentoring sessions daily, so a no-show does not end the thread.
Session Recap Composer
Drafts a recap, next action and funder line from the mentor's own note, for the mentor to confirm.
Portfolio Risk Monitor
Advises a green, amber or red band from a declining KPI trend, missed milestones and mentor no-shows. A person commits the flag.
KPI collection chaser
Finds ventures that are late or have never reported and drafts the request. Sends nothing.
Funder Report Composer
Rolls up a cohort's outcomes into a draft funder or CSR report. You review and send.
Cohort Digest
The weekly programme-manager digest of ventures at risk, off-track milestones and mentoring gaps.
Every agent is validated with each client before it touches their books, and every output waits for a person.
Ask us to show the risk band and funder report on a sample cohort of yours.
Statutory calendar for an incubator
Alerts go out 15, 7 and 1 day before each filing. GST is prepared and exported for upload; Kinnow does not file on the portal. Dates change by notification, so your accounts head checks the notified date.
| Obligation | When it falls | What Kinnow prepares |
|---|---|---|
| GSTR-1 | 11th of the next month; 13th for quarterly filers | File built from your sales book, where you are registered |
| GSTR-2B reconciliation, then GSTR-3B | 3B on the 20th | Bills matched against the portal download, then a draft return and a file to upload |
| TDS deposit | 7th of the next month; 30 April for March | Challan drafts by month and section from your deduction entries |
| TDS returns | 31 July, 31 October, 31 January, 31 May | Quarterly return drafts by form; Kinnow does not file them |
| Payroll | Monthly | PF, ESI, professional tax and salary TDS calculated in a payroll run that a second person approves; PF, ESI and PT return figures prepared from the payslips with gaps listed, not filed |
| Funder and grant reports | The schedule in each grant | A reporting schedule per grant, with the report drafted when due |
What the programme head sees
| Ask Kinnow | Answer built from |
|---|---|
| Which startups are in the current cohort? | Cohort and portfolio |
| What desk space is unallocated? | Property agreements |
| How is each portfolio venture progressing? | Project value by status |
| Which mentoring sessions are overdue? | Mentoring sessions |
| Which agreements are up for renewal? | Lease register |
| Which cohort campaigns are running? | Campaign register |
Each answer shows its source and what it will cost before it runs. Veil, our privacy layer, holds back bank, tax and ID numbers and swaps names for placeholders before an AI call. It covers Ask Kinnow and most agents today; the rest are being added.
Questions
Does the screener reject applicants automatically?
No. It scores applications against your cohort rubric, flags likely duplicates and drafts a shortlist. Your committee makes every accept or reject decision.
Can mentors book without a Kinnow login?
Yes. A mentor opens a link to set office hours and confirm sessions, and a confirmed session syncs to their calendar.
Can we report to funders from Kinnow?
Yes. The Funder Report Composer drafts the cohort roll-up and each grant has a reporting schedule. Your team reviews and sends; nothing is published automatically.
How are grant tranches controlled?
A grant moves from awarded to drawn down in stages, and a tranche is a journal that a finance manager must approve before it posts. Journals over ₹10,00,000 also need approval.
Can we allocate desks and labs in the same system?
Yes. Desk and lab allocations are agreements with a start, end and renewal date, and a large one needs approval.
How long does set-up take?
About two weeks to first results for one organisation: masters, cohort rubric and opening balances in the first week, agents switched on and a first close in the second.
Show me Kinnow for incubators.
Answer three questions. Get the applications, the agents and a two-week plan for your business.