Managing the Business License

Overview of Business Licenses

Business owners apply for licenses using the Public Sector Compliance and Regulation Business Licenses system. Agency staff approve the license applications and issue licenses using workflow processes.

Business Licensing Flow

The business license process flow begins with an applicant applying for a business license. Once the application is received, the following sequence of events is processed:

Process	Object Used	Activity Type	Various Statuses
Agency staff such as the business specialist set up a consultation meeting with the applicants to determine the required applications that are to be submitted.	Business License Transactions Agency Springboard > Business License Transaction.	Consultation	Activity Status: Pending, Payment Pending, Pending Submit, Submitted, Accepted, In Process, and Completed.
Based on the meeting outcome, the required application types are linked or added to the license application submission.	Business License Transactions Agency Springboard > Business License Transaction.	Origination	Activity Status: Pending, Payment Pending, Pending Submit, Submitted, Accepted, In Process, and Completed. License Status: Pending, Payment Pending, Pending Submit, Submitted, Accepted, In Process, and Completed.
A business entity is created to maintain the details of the business — owners, locations, and license records.	Businesses Agency Springboard > Businesses.	Origination	Business Entity Status: Provisional. The status changes to Active once the license is approved.
Agency staff approve the license application using the Workflow process.	Business License Transactions Agency Springboard > Business License Transaction.	Origination	Activity Status: Completed. License Status: Active, Expired, and Void.
The newly approved license record is created and listed among active licenses.	Business Licenses Agency Springboard > Business Licenses.	Origination	Activity Status: Completed. License Status: Active, Expired, and Void.
The status of the business entity is updated with the license approval.	Businesses Agency Springboard > Businesses.	Origination	Business Entity Status: Active.

The following diagram provides a general outline of the business license process flow.

Managing Business Information

You find business detail pages in a collection that consolidates all aspects of a business, such as owners, locations, and licenses.

Business license applicants enter detailed business information during the application intake or consultation process. When the application is submitted as a new business, a new business record is created in the Community Development Business Licenses system as per the entries in the application. The new business record is in provisional status until the agency approves the application and issues a license. Once approved, the business information is updated and the business status changes to active.

For a license application submitted using the business information of an existing business in the system, the associated business record is updated based on the entries in the new application.

The integration between the business record and the license application enables you to view the latest information in the business detail pages. Here’s how you access the business detail pages:

Select the Businesses tile on the Agency Springboard.
Registered users access the Businesses tile on the landing page.
On the Businesses page, click the row for a business.
Navigate to business information using the links in the left panel.

The business detail pages help you find information about a specific business:

Page Name	Description
Overview	View the core information regarding the selected business with links to more detail.
Business Details	View information such as the legal name of the business, the ownership type, address, federal tax ID, fiscal year end, and other business details.
Owners	View a list of owners and corporate officers for the business. Click a person on the list to view detailed information about them.
Locations	View a list of the physical locations associated with the business. Click on a location to view detailed information about it.
Licenses	View a list of licenses associated with the business. On this page you can: Click Apply to initiate another license application for the business. For more information on applying for a business license, see Choosing an Application Type. Drill down on each license to view more information. Amend or renew a business license by clicking the three-dot Action menu and selecting the appropriate action. For more information on the Amend and Renew actions, see Managing Business Licenses.

Note: When amendment and renewal transactions include changes to business information, those changes don’t appear on these pages until the transactions are approved.

Managing Business Licenses

When a business license application is approved, a business license record is created. The business license is distinct from the origination activity and from the business entity that holds the license.

Use the Business Licenses page to view summary information about business licenses and to access the details pages for individual licenses.

Registered User View of Business Licenses

Registered pubic users can access a list of their own active business licenses. The list includes the same information as the agency-facing list of business licenses.

To access the list, a registered user clicks the Business Licenses tile on the registered user landing page.

Managing Business Licenses

To manage business licenses:

Select the Business Licenses tile on the agency springboard.

Review the following business license information:

Page Element	Description
License	Displays the license ID, application type, Active if the license is active, and information about the expiration date. If the license is about to expire, the expiration information additionally includes a warning icon and the number of days remaining until the expiration date.
License Period	Displays the period for which the business license was issued and the expiration date for the license. These dates are updated for renewals.
Business Information	Displays the business name (the DBA) and the address for the licensed location. This can be different from the name and address of the business itself. If the application indicates that the location is outside of the agency’s jurisdiction, no address appears here.
Description	Displays the description from the origination application, or from the renewal if the license is renewed. Applicants optionally enter a description during the application process. Agency staff can add or update descriptions on the Activity Summary page of the origination, renewal, or amendment transaction.
Fees	Displays the total fees and remaining balance for the business license, including the license origination, renewal, and amendment transactions. When all fees are paid, you’ll see Fees Paid next to the amount.

To amend or renew a business license, click the three-dot Action menu and select the appropriate action.

If no actions are available, clicking the menu displays an explanatory message.

Action	Description
Amend	Select this action to start the process for amending a business license. This action is not available if the license already has a renewal or amendment in progress or if the business license type is not configured to allow amendments.
Renew	Select this action to start the process for renewing a business license. This action is available for licenses that are about to expire (as defined in the expiration rules) unless the license already has a renewal or an amendment in progress.

Action

Description

Amend

Select this action to start the process for amending a business license.

This action is not available if the license already has a renewal or amendment in progress or if the business license type is not configured to allow amendments.

Renew

Select this action to start the process for renewing a business license. This action is available for licenses that are about to expire (as defined in the expiration rules) unless the license already has a renewal or an amendment in progress.

To access the details for a business license, click the row.

Viewing the Business License

You view a business license summary on the Overview page, where you get a snapshot of information regarding an approved active license with links to latest activity detail. You can also view the business license certificate.

When you access the details for a business license, you see a summary of the business information. This information is updated to show the latest from the intake form submitted by the applicant.

Using the Overview Page

Select the Business Licenses tile on the Agency Springboard.
On the Business Licenses page, click the row for the selected application.

On the Overview page, review details in the various sections.

Page Element	Description
Actions	Click and select the View Certificate option to open the business license certificate in a new window.
Category	View the category of the business.
Subcategory	View the subcategory of the business.
NAICS Code	View the NAICS code for the business.
Description	View the description about the business.
Issue Date	View the date on which the business license was issued.
Effective Date	View the effective date of the business license.
Expiration Date	View the date on which the license expires.

On the Overview page, review details in the Business Summary section.

Page Element	Description
Legal Name	View the legal name of the business.
Ownership Type	View the type of business ownership.
Tax Exempt	Indicates if the business is exempt from paying taxes. The value No indicates that taxes are applicable. In such a case, a field Exempt Typeis displayed to indicate the type of exemption availed.
Is this a mobile business?	Indicates if the business is of mobile type.
Physical Address	View the address of the business establishment.
Mailing Address	View the address of the business establishment for mailing purposes.

The Latest Activity section displays the most recent activities related to the business license. Each tile shows the following information:
- Type of license, such as Origination.
- The year the license is active.
- Activity status, such as Completed.
- Payment status, such as Paid.
Click the tile to open the detail view of the business license transaction.

Viewing the Business License Certificate

The business license certificate issued by the agency records the details of the business such as the name, license type, number, effective and expiry dates, and the issuing authority.

To view and save the business license certificate:

Select the Business Licenses tile on the Agency Springboard.
On the Business Licenses page, click the row for the selected application to open the Overview page.
Click Actions and select the View Certificate option.
The business license certificate opens in a new window. You can print or save the report.

Note: This option can be made available to public users if you enable the Allow Public User to View option on the Business License Type page. See Setting Up Business License Types.

Viewing the Business Information

The business information provides you with the details of the business, its owners, and the locations of the business all arranged in separate tabs. The following table provides you the navigation to this business information through various business objects:

Business Object	Navigation
Business License Transactions	Agency Springboard > Business License Transactions. Select the business license application record you want to access. On the Business License page select the Business Information tab in the left panel.
Business Licenses	Agency Springboard > Business Licenses. Select the active business license record you want to access. On the Business License page select the Business Information tab in the left panel.
Business	Agency Springboard > Businesses . Select the business record you want to access. On the Business page the left panel lists the tabs — Business Details, Owners, and Locations.

Viewing the License Details

The Application Details page shows the information captured during the application intake that is specific to the business license application type. To access the page:

Select the Business Licenses tile on the Agency Springboard.
On the Business Licenses page, click the license record you want to review. The Overview page opens.
In the left panel, click License Details to view the details of the selected license.

For details of the page, see Viewing Business Application Information.

Viewing the License Activity

A new business license record is created for each license period. The License Activity page lists all the license records related to the business licenses that exist on the basis of its validity period.

Select the Business Licenses tile on the Agency Springboard.
On the Business Licenses page, click the license record you want to review. The Overview page opens.
In the left panel, click License Activity to view the list of license records.
Click the row for a record to open the Activity Summary page of the business license transaction in a new window..

Note: You can access the activity details of the licence directly from the Business License page. Select Business License Transactions on the Agency Springboard and select the specific license record to open the Activity Summary page.

For details of the page, see Viewing a Summary of Business License Activity.

Applying for a Business License Renewal

Business owners can submit an online renewal application to stay in compliance with licence ordinances.

Agency staff and businesses can renew business licenses for the types of licenses that are configured for renewals by the agency. When the license is about to expire, you can begin the renewal application process. You can also renew the license when the license expires and after the license has expired, based on your agency’s license expiration setup. A renewal application must be fully processed before you can start another renewal or an amendment.

Here’s the flow for renewing a business license:

Click Renew.
When the license can be renewed, the Renew link appears next to the expiration date on the business license Overview page. You can also renew by selecting the Renew action for a license in the list of business licenses or on the Business License page of the business. If the license already has a renewal or an amendment in progress, the option to renew isn’t available.
The renew action takes the applicant to the renewal intake form for the business license type. Fill out and submit the renewal application form.
In the renewal application form, you’ll see the information copied from the most recent license transaction. This can be the license origination, an approved amendment, or a previous renewal. However, tax-related details aren’t copied over and you must always report them. You'll be able to update the fields that were designated for renewals in the intake form to reflect any changes. If desired, you can click Show All to review information that is part of the license but can't be updated.
Pay any required renewal fees.
Agency staff accepts, reviews, and approves the renewal application.

The business license shows the renewal activity and status, such as submitted, pending, or completed, in the License Activity section of the Overview page. After fees have been paid and the application is approved, the renewed license status is Completed. Any adjusted information for your business appears on the license and business pages after application processing is complete.

Applying for a Business License Amendment

Businesses can request changes to the recorded information on their business license and for their business by filing an amendment online. Agency staff and businesses can amend active business licenses for the types of licenses that are configured for amendments by the agency.

Amendments are only valid for the current license period and an amendment application must be fully processed before starting another one. You can also amend license information when you renew an existing license. The process for submitting a renewal application is similar to the process for amending a license. For more information, see Applying for a Business License Renewal.

Here’s the flow for amending a business license:

Click the Action menu and select Amend.
If the business license type is configured to allow amendments, this action is available unless the license already has a renewal or amendment in progress. You can start an application for an amendment by selecting the Amend action for a license in the business license list, on the Overview page of the license, or on the Business License page of the business.
The amend action takes the applicant to the amendment application form for the business license type. Fill out and submit the form.
The information from the current license application, which can be the license origination or a renewal, appears in the amendment application form. The tax attributes are also inherited from the license transaction being amended. You'll be able to update the fields that were designated for amendments in the intake form design. Select Show All to view the full application, including read-only fields that can’t be updated.
Pay any required amendment fees.
Agency staff accepts, reviews, and approves the amendment application.

The business license shows the amendment activity and status, such as submitted, pending, or completed, in the License Activity section of the Overview page and in the business license transaction list. After fees have been paid and the application is approved, the amended license is active. Any adjusted information for your business appears on the license and business pages after application processing is complete and the amendment is approved.