How many businesses fail to launch because entrepreneurs are confused by your permitting process? It’s a tough question for economic development to answer, but it’s an important one.
Take the struggle out of permit discovery by offering a single point of entry for entrepreneurs to navigate the business formation process. Because when more people can break through the barriers of permitting and licensing and become a part of what makes your city excellent, that means more jobs, increased revenue, and greater innovation.
Give applicants the white-glove treatment while saving staff time.
Permitting is a complicated web of processes. But with OpenCounter, you can transform business formation into a linear sequence that begins with a single point of entry. By expertly guiding business owners to an understanding of the permits they need — all on their own, without calls, emails, and trips to City Hall — your staff will save thousands of hours every year usually spent answering those redundant pre-application questions.
Position your city as a friendly place to start a business.
Dense municipal code and opaque processes impede economic development, meaning only those with the funds to outsource permitting to an expeditor cross the finish line. To add transparency, drive equal opportunity, and ensure entrepreneurs feel supported — not deterred — during permit discovery, OpenCounter uses natural, everyday language to quickly connect anyone to the information they need to open their business.
Get real-time insights into business development trends.
Which zoning codes are people searching for most? Is there a raft of applicants looking to open restaurants in your historic district? Our admin dashboards make it easy to track emerging trends and critical metrics like service utilization, development hot spots, and the types of projects the public is interested in starting — giving your city the data needed to inform updates to the policies and regulations shaping your economy’s future.
Our solutions in action
OpenCounter has tidied up the many loose ends we’ve had for the past two or three decades. Now, people can come in and say, ‘I have my business license, now how do I get my building up to fire code?’ OpenCounter helps us catch a lot of issues before they become headaches.
Lila Stewart
Strategic CX Manager, City of Gainesville
Explore our products
OpenCounter
Business Portal
Help entrepreneurs to understand the costs and requirements of starting a business.
Business Portal
OpenCounter
ZoningCheck™
Help applicants to understand how the zoning ordinance will impact site selection and project requirements.
ZoningCheck™
