Software for integration hours and reporting: eight criteria for municipalities

The best software for tracking integration hours is the system that records the hours at the source, sets them against each newcomer's target from the PIP, and feeds your reporting to DUO, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) and the council without manual work.

That can be a case-management system, a participation app or a combination. Below are the four types of solution side by side and the eight criteria to judge them on.

Why the choice matters now

Since the Civic Integration Act 2021 (Wet inburgering 2021), the municipality directs the integration program, including participation. In the Z-route, a newcomer completes at least 800 hours of Dutch and civics (KNM) and at least 800 hours of participation, including the participation statement program (PVT) and the Labor Market and Participation Module (MAP), according to DUO's conditions for the Z-route. In its guide on participation in integration, Divosa writes that municipalities are required to keep an accurate record of those hours and recommends a digital registration system that also gives the newcomer insight into their own progress.

Two developments add to this. Municipalities deliver data on newcomers to CBS every quarter or half year for the Statistics Civic Integration Act, and CBS notes on its page about that statistic that the quality of many data fields is still insufficient. And data exchange in the chain is being automated and standardized: according to the VNG toolkit for Plateau 2, broad implementation is expected to start in the first half of 2027, and municipalities can prepare now. Software you choose this year has to connect to that later.

Four types of solution compared

In practice you meet four types: the spreadsheet, generic time-tracking software, the case-management system for the social domain, and the participation app in which the newcomer registers hours themselves. The table compares them on the points that matter in integration.

Criterion	Spreadsheet	Generic time tracking	Social-domain case system	Participation app for newcomers
Who registers	Case manager, afterwards	Staff or provider	Case manager or provider	Newcomer and provider, on site
Target per newcomer (PIP, Z-route)	Manual	Not built in	Usually built in	Built in
Insight for chain partners	By email	Limited	Via accounts, often internal only	Per role, in real time
Insight for the newcomer	No	No	Rarely	Yes, in their own app
Export to DUO and CBS	Manual	Manual	Often built in	Export or integration
GDPR: roles and data minimization	Weak	Average	Good	Good, if set up well
Implementation time	Immediate	Weeks	Months	Weeks

A case-management system and a participation app are not mutually exclusive. Many municipalities keep the file in the case system and let the hours originate in an app at the source, then import or sync them periodically.

Eight criteria for your choice

1. Registration at the source

Every step between the activity and the system costs time and reliability. Look at who records the hours and when. A registration by the participant on site, confirmed by the provider, needs far less chasing than a monthly sheet the case manager retypes afterwards.

2. The legal target is built in

The system must link hours to the target in the PIP and distinguish between language, participation, PVT and MAP. Without that distinction you cannot see who is behind on which part, and you end up sorting it out at the final interview.

3. Insight per role, in real time

The case manager wants the status per newcomer, the project lead wants it per provider, and the provider wants to see only their own participants. Ask for a demo with three roles and check that everyone sees exactly what they need, and nothing more.

4. Reporting without manual work

The hours must come out in the form DUO and CBS ask for, and as management reporting for the council. CBS works with guidelines and a fixed file format for the delivery. Ask the vendor how the export matches that and who maintains it when the guidelines change.

5. Privacy is configured, not promised

Whoever registers hours processes personal data of newcomers. Check that the vendor offers a data processing agreement, that chain organizations can record hours without seeing the citizen service number (BSN), and that a DPIA exists. The VNG toolkit for Plateau 2 includes guidance for that DPIA. The GDPR role of each chain partner is covered in our article on monitoring participation hours GDPR-proof.

6. Ready for the automated chain

Exchange between municipalities, COA and DUO is moving from manual to automated and standardized. Ask whether your vendor follows the chain's information model and offers an export route or integration, so you are not stuck retyping data once Plateau 2 is rolled out widely.

7. Usable for the newcomer

Divosa recommends giving newcomers insight into their own hours, because it motivates them and because they are responsible for their attendance. That requires a mobile, multilingual and visual view, also for people with low literacy. A system that only serves the case manager misses this effect.

8. Implementation, administration and exit

Ask how long it takes until the first hours are in, who manages the provider accounts, and how you take your data with you when the contract ends. A trial with one provider and one group of newcomers tells you more than a presentation.

How to run the selection

1. Map the current flow: who delivers which hours, how often, and how much time it costs case managers per month.
2. Decide what you really need: the target per newcomer, the roles of chain partners, and the reports to DUO, CBS and the council.
3. Put the eight criteria next to the candidates and ask for a demonstration per criterion, not a product sheet.
4. Have your data protection officer review the processing agreement and the DPIA before you sign.
5. Start with a pilot at one provider and measure administration time before and after.

Where Taaly fits

Taaly sits in the fourth column. Newcomers register their participation hours via a QR code at the activity itself, and municipalities and chain organizations see those hours in real time instead of after the fact in a report. In the first municipal pilot of the hour-registration module, administration dropped by 80 percent. Today 12 municipalities register hours via Taaly, and in the Rivierenland region five municipalities work with Taaly. Because the same app also contains the AI language coach and Taaly Meedoen, the newcomer sees language, activities and hours in one place. How the module works is on our hour registration page.

Want to see how this would work in your municipality? Book a demo.

Frequently asked questions

Which software is best for tracking integration hours for a municipality?

There is no single best package for every municipality. The best system is the one that records hours at the source, sets them against each newcomer's target from the PIP, lets chain partners see only their own participants, and exports to DUO and CBS without manual work. Weigh candidates on those eight criteria and test them in a pilot.

Does software for social participation also include hour registration?

Not always. Platforms that connect newcomers to activities and organizations do not automatically record hours against the Z-route target. Ask whether hours are recorded per participant, per component (language, participation, PVT, MAP) and per provider, and whether the municipality can export them.

How do I choose a dashboard for reporting on integration activities?

Start with the questions the dashboard must answer: who is behind on the hour target, which provider delivers on time, and what goes to DUO and CBS. A dashboard is only as good as the registration underneath it. Choose how hours are recorded first, and the display second.

Can I track participation hours in a spreadsheet?

You can, and many municipalities started that way. It costs case managers a lot of time, roles for chain partners are hard to arrange, and the export to DUO and CBS stays manual. With more than a handful of newcomers and providers, a digital registration system, as Divosa recommends, is more reliable.

Does the software need to connect to DUO and CBS?

At the moment municipalities deliver through DUO's portals and the CBS upload portal. With the broad implementation of Plateau 2, expected in the first half of 2027, the exchange with DUO and COA becomes automated and standardized. So choose software that can export or sync hours in a standard format.