Although there are various options for enterprises to consider when deciding on their business license compliance strategy, we find that organizations will explore a fully managed solution where a trusted partner manages the life cycle of business license compliance.
Here is a real-world example that illustrates how one company supports its business license compliance requirements while optimizing its business needs and drivers.
The company
A large national clothing retailer
The challenge
A large national clothing retailer needed help when they realized their in-house business license compliance strategy was no longer working effectively. With over two hundred locations around the country, the organization had recurring compliance issues ranging from the late filing of license renewals to lapsed licenses.
They did not have a proactive approach to managing licensing renewals and often relied on notice from the filing authority. Some of the filing authorities often mailed the renewal notices to the local retail store locations and many of those never made their way back to headquarters for processing. They estimated that approximately 25% of their licenses were delinquent and were subject to penalty fees and other compliance liabilities for operating without a business license.
The solution
CT Corporation handles the ongoing renewal of close to three hundred licenses for the client, from their business licenses to alarm and fire permits.
On a monthly basis, CT Corporation provides notice of upcoming renewals, requests necessary data, advances the filing fees, submits the renewals, and follows up with the government authority until confirmation of filing is received. As part of the service, CT Corporation also maintains evidence of the license certificates and fees paid in a centralized online portal for their access and reporting. CT Corporation supports its full business license lifecycle compliance including researching requirements for new store location openings and filing initial license registrations.
The result
The client is now able to focus on what they do best — providing stellar service to customers around the country and driving business growth, while CT Corporation supports their business license compliance needs with local, county, and state licensing authorities. By partnering with CT Corporation on licensing compliance, the client has achieved a 20% return on investment savings and has reallocated internal tax and accounting resources to focus on primary business operations.
The state of business license compliance
The regulatory landscape surrounding compliance has grown ever more complex in recent years. Governments at the state and local levels have increased compliance requirements and fees, while simultaneously scaling up enforcement efforts.
Given that there are roughly 25,000 separate jurisdictions at the local, state, and federal levels — and hundreds of license types — organizations must be especially diligent about staying compliant. This means being able to determine the license types you will need, the proper licensing authority, how to contact them, and their licensing requirements. This information is often difficult to source and changes regularly.
You also should be current on all entity changes, as certain triggering events could necessitate new licenses and or updates to existing licenses. This includes monitoring name changes, ownership or management changes, corporate address changes, business expansion, and the opening or closing of offices.
What managed services can provide
Outsourcing has long benefited companies by automatically increasing the company’s bandwidth, giving them the ability to scale easily. CT Corporation’s managed services can serve as an extension of a company’s back-office team, giving employees the time to handle more critical business tasks.
Some of the main benefits:
- Experts dedicated to your account who are an extension of your team
- Proactive and timely data management; updates are made as new information is available
- Receive alerts when updates trigger required compliance work
- Answers on-demand including reports, and more
- Meet internal and external stakeholders’ data requirements
- Expertise that equates to a strong ROI
- Support for your business as it expands
Learn more
It’s important to have a trusted partner on your side. To learn more about how CT Corporation can help with your business license needs, call 844.701.2064. If you would like to schedule a customized return on investment assessment with a Licensing Business Consultant, please contact CT Corporation.
Related articles
Business license requirements for remote workers
Managing business license obligations
The six steps of business license compliance
