5 Benefits of Online Permit Portals Relevant For 2020

With digitization having changed the way most businesses function, waiting at a government office to submit a permit has become a thing of the past. Oftentimes, semi-automated or traditional paper-based permitting presents a number of bottlenecks and can delay the permit review and approval process. Not to mention that traditional permitting also requires in-person visits, sometimes more than once, thus also costing citizens in terms of their time and money. Given this, online work permit portals are the need of the hour. These portals help residents submit their applications and fees online in a hassle-free manner. What’s more, by eliminating the need to file and process the paperwork, it also makes it easier for the concerned authorities to manage these permits.

With an online permit portal, residents will be able to complete the entire permitting process, from filling in their details in their online permit application form to making the payment, online, thus helping them save precious time, energy, and money, which they would have otherwise had to spend on visiting the concerned government office and standing in line for their turn. Also, any time a follow up is required, the resident would have had to revisit the government office. In comparison, online permit portals help residents quickly check the status online, thus helping them save time and focus on their own schedule.

Without an online permit portal, the staff is usually inundated with people and paperwork to deal with. Not only does this reduce efficiency, but it also increases turnaround time drastically. By investing in an online permit portal, you can help your office staff process more paperwork in a much shorter amount of time. Also, given that permit management portals offer automated workflows, an intuitive user interface, and complete access to data, it also enables visibility into all stages of the permitting process. So, if there is any delay in any stage of the permitting process, it will enable the right staff to identify the issue and take the necessary action at the earliest. This ensures that the paperwork will never lay forgotten on someone’s desk or get delayed because a particular official is out of office.

In the case of complex permits, it’s vital for the management to track the responsibility of the concerned officers at specific stages and understand when hand-offs can be expected between stages in order to be able to meet the deadlines. Online permit portals can be of significant help in such an instance because it helps the management monitor project timelines. In addition, the management can also get a better understanding of important business metrics like how many permits the government agency processes in any given year, how long it takes to process a single permit, how much time it takes for each step that is part of the process, and understanding whether there any bottlenecks in the process which can be addressed (for instance, delegating back-ups in case a particular officer is on leave or a way to provide user support if there a particular stage where many users seem to need an understanding of how to proceed with the application). This can eventually help concerned managers forecast the necessary timelines for different processes.

Paperless solutions are the future! Traditional permitting, in most cases, involves numerous copies of various documents, which eventually get stored somewhere in the government office. With the world now trying to become more environmentally-friendly, governments can do their bit, as well, by investing in an online permit solution. Paperless solutions significantly reduce the volume of phone inquiries and office walk-ins, and also the paper handling and storage that is usually required as part of the traditional permitting process. By adopting digital permitting, not only can municipalities and government bodies make permitting more environmentally friendly, but also provide a much more accelerated, user-friendly consumer experience.

Online permitting can make it significantly easier for government agencies to do business with local residents. A digital permit solution can help increase the satisfaction of residents, attract new community development opportunities, and help communities grow. Also, since residents will have a real-time view of the status of their applications, it will build trust in the government agency and keep them from making pre-emptive calls to the government office or visiting the office itself.

In addition to the benefits mentioned above, online permit portals also help reduce entry and filing errors. For instance, if a user has missed an important field, the said user will not be able to proceed with the application. Similarly, filing errors on the part of government officials will be greatly reduced.

Ignatiuz’s online permit portal is a great choice for municipalities and townships. The portal is highly customizable and can accommodate any variant of permission seeking, including planning and zoning permit portals, road opening permit portals, tree removal permit portals, and building permit portals, among others.

The entire submission process on Ignatiuz’s online permit portal takes just about 10 to 20 minutes, and users are guided along the process, which includes submitting one’s personal information and location details for the place that they wish to obtain the permit, entering the details of the work that is to be done (for instance, removal of a tree at a particular location), uploading the necessary documents (Ignatiuz’s online permit portal ensures that all documents that are submitted stay confidential to the concerned party accessing them), reviewing the filled details, and finally making the necessary payment and submitting the application. The permit then gets approved online, subject to it being cleared by the authorities, with zero physical contact.

If your agency requires the setting up of an online permit portal that can be customized to match your business priorities, reach out to Ignatiuz at pa@ignatiuz.com