Mutli-Agency Collaboration created NH Business Gateway as Single Source of Support
CONCORD, NH – Governor Kelly Ayotte and the New Hampshire State Department of Business and Economic Affairs (BEA) today unveiled NH Business Gateway, a new portal that will make it easier for New Hampshire business owners and entrepreneurs to plan, manage, and grow their business. Accessible at NHBusinessGateway.gov, this new tool has been created to streamline more than 130 business related resources previously spread across more than 11 state agencies into one, easy-to-navigate location, and more importantly provides a clear outline of the steps involved for businesses.
NH Business Gateway features a business dashboard designed to organize deadlines, permits, and filings while delivering guidance to Granite Staters for answering all of their business needs. This centralized business hub is the first of its kind in New England to align state government services for both new and existing business purposes.
“New Hampshire is the best state in the nation for economic freedom and opportunity because we make it easier, not harder, to do business in our state,” said Ayotte. “This new Business Gateway is the result of months of collaboration between agencies from the BEA to DoIT, and I thank everyone who was involved in this important effort. My message to companies looking to grow is this: the Granite State is open for business and ready to welcome you!”
In addition to creating one location for more than 137,000 small businesses to find and track information, the Department of Business and Economic Affairs (BEA) partnered with the Department of Innovation and Technology (DoIT) to launch the state’s first single sign-on solution. NH Access is that state-wide system, allowing individuals to securely access multiple state agencies and services with one login, streamlining the user experience for New Hampshire business owners.?
“NH Business Gateway is the result of innovative collaboration between a dozen state agencies to giving businesses a clear, efficient way to interact with the state and making government resources more accessible,” said Interim Commissioner James Key-Wallace. “This tool will be a tremendous benefit to the business community, and any feedback we receive will allow us to continually update content to better suit their needs.”
The NH Business Gateway layout is based on the questions most commonly asked by existing business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs, and contains three main sections: Start, Manage, and Grow (business). The Start sections list orderly steps that guide entrepreneurs through the process of developing a business plan, registering a business, and applying for tax accounts and licenses. The Manage and Grow sections help business owners remain in good standing, make legal changes to their business, and find additional programs that best fit their needs.
“A comprehensive state business portal is a proven tool that other states, competing with New Hampshire for jobs and investment, have already implemented,” said BIA President Michael Skelton. “The NH Business Gateway significantly enhances our economic competitiveness, allowing us to better leverage one of our key advantages – a responsive, adaptive government and streamlined government regulatory environment.”
Over the past few years, BEA has focused on making government services more accessible to the tens of thousands of New Hampshire businesses that interact with it annually. States with business portals have seen an average five-year compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) in the number of small businesses; 30% higher than states without portals. Estimates indicate that this investment could result in excess of $100 million in new business revenue in as little as 5 years. The new NH Business Gateway is another step toward allowing customers to interact with the state any time it’s convenient for them.
About the New Hampshire Department of Business and Economic Affairs
The Department of Business and Economic Affairs (BEA) is dedicated to enhancing the economic vitality of the State of New Hampshire while promoting it as a destination for domestic and international visitors. BEA oversees programs in economic development, international commerce, outdoor recreation industry development, planning and community development, travel and tourism, visitor services, and workforce development. For more information, visit www.nheconomy.com.