The Business Portal is an open-source project, loaded with intuitive tools and resources that can be customized for any audience.
VISIT GITHUBStartup Guide
This app-like “wizard” allows entrepreneurs to create a step-by-step roadmap for registering their business with the city, county, state and federal government, all in under 20 minutes.Try The GuideStarter Kits
Comprehensive Starter Kits give the most common business types in your city a head start with tailored guides, checklists, permit and license bundles, and resources.View KitsPermit Locator
Finding the right permits is easy and quick with a filterable Permit Locator database. Or take it to the next level with a single sign-on solution, online application processing, and dashboards to manage all compliance interactions with your city.Give it a try
Make constituents feel like customers
Give business owners a sense of success with clear and consistent instructions, customized roadmaps, checklists, and resources from across departments.
Level the playing field
Give each aspiring entrepreneur an equal chance. Every part of the Business Portal is Section 508 compliant, optimized to be accessible on all devices, and translatable into multiple languages.
Reduce the cost of compliance
Help business owners understand and act on their compliance status with clear instructions on what, why, when, and how permits and licenses need to be filed.
Join the modernization of government
Digitize interactions with multiple city agencies with a single point of entry and give users an overview of the entire process to compliance – while reducing operational costs.
Understanding customer needs
The Business Portal is for a spectrum of users, from novice to experienced entrepreneurs. And it needs to be easy to manage for internal stakeholders. We spend time with them all to ensure that we’re developing content, design, and technology solutions focused on their needs rather than on assumptions.
Curating content
Everyone benefits from streamlined, intuitive, and unified digital experiences. We bring together stakeholders across agencies to understand existing resources, learn about bottlenecks, and uncover opportunities for consolidation. This enables us to deliver the right content to the right users in the right context.
Designing a custom theme
Maybe you have an existing brand or a companion website to match. Or perhaps this is an opportunity to create a more modern digital experience. We designed every aspect of the Business Portal for clarity and efficiency, made it mobile optimized, and customizable to your preferred look and feel.
Tailoring your installation
While the Business Portal was built in Drupal 7, we consider your existing resources and unique technology needs. We bring the right experts for your custom installation and maintenance, work hand-in-hand with your team, and help to ensure that you get the most value out of your investment.
Contributing to the platform
The Business Portal is open-source so cities can build on each other’s investments and join forces in supporting the backbone of our economy – our small businesses. By sharing back your project’s code additions, your city joins a growing, forward-thinking community of government technologists who believe in improving government services everywhere.
- Running a business is already a tough job — the last thing entrepreneurs need is confusing red tape that slows them down, or prevents them from achieving their dreams. Small businesses are the beating heart of our economy, and the L.A. Business Portal will make City Hall more responsive to their needs by giving them the help and support they deserve, all in one place.Mayor Eric Garcetti, Los Angeles
- It has been a pleasure to work with Tomorrow Partners to create the Los Angeles Business Portal. They have been steadfast partners who have demonstrated a relentless focus on creating a top quality product for our City and most importantly our users. Their work speaks for itself in quality and design.Amanda Daflos, Director, Mayor Eric Garcetti's Innovation Team, Los Angeles
- I could have avoided bumps in the road if I had a one-stop shop, a place where I could set everything up, where they can grab you by the hand and say, hey, this is what you need to do.Mario De La Torre, Chief Designer, Mario De La Torre
- Collaborating with Los Angeles [on the Business Portal] is only the beginning of what’s possible for cities to learn from each other and deliver modern, sustainable digital products that serve the public.Miguel Gamino, Chief Information Officer, City and County of San Francisco
- Rather than treating our users as constituents, we need to think of them as customers and identify the most efficient way to interact with those that we serve.Jane Gong, Director, San Francisco Digital Service & Products
- Small businesses are the heart and soul of our City’s economy, and helping them succeed is a priority because when they succeed, the City succeeds. The S.F. Business Portal puts our small businesses first by bringing together all the information a business owner needs to start, stay, and grow in San Francisco.Mayor Ed Lee, San Francisco
- I love how it’s basically a one stop shop for business, from foundation to rooftop and everything in between. It cuts down on the wondering and gives you all the information that you weren’t sure about, or maybe were not even aware of.Melody Stein, Owner of Mozzeria Pizza, San Francisco
Want to launch a Business Portal in your city or state? We’d love to hear from you!