« Back to all blogs

What are the Essential Features for Building Permit Software?

As regulations evolve and community needs change, you need the right tools for your building permitting process. Many permitting software vendors promise to streamline your processes and improve accuracy. But how do you pick one that:

Fits your regulations and processes?
Makes life easier on your staff, residents, and contractors?
Won’t be a pain to implement?
Will scale with you as your community grows?

In this blog, we discuss the top five features that you need to ask your potential vendor about before signing on the dotted line.

1. Smart Forms for Permit Applications

Permits for different types of buildings require you to collect different types of information. That’s why traditional paper forms are often five or six pages long, with confusing “IRS-like” instructions saying things like “If you marked NO on question 5, leave items 6-10 blank.”

Some software solutions have the same problem. This results in a poor user experience for residents and contractors. But it also causes problems when people leave out important information that you then have to call to collect.

That’s why you need permitting software with smart or “wizard” forms. These forms display the relevant information as the contractor puts information into the various fields. For example, the first form field would ask for a broad type of permit: New construction, remodel, addition, etc. If the contractor selects “New construction,” the next form field might be a drop-down box for single-family, multi-family, etc. Selecting “single-family” from the drop-down would display fields such as “number of bedrooms.”

2. Fully Configurable Forms and Workflows

Some permitting software comes out of the box 80% configured for you. While that may seem like a good thing, you can’t change that 80% of the software if it doesn’t meet your needs. These software solutions are often pre-configured based on the regulations and workflows that are most common in the state where they’re headquartered—and you have to adapt to those processes.

On the other hand, GovBuilt comes out of the box 20% configured. You can tailor the software to meet your specific needs, ensuring that it adapts to your operational requirements rather than the other way around.

For instance, some permitting software requires an address on every form submitted. In GovBuilt, you can make the address field optional if you live in a rural area where many parcels of land don’t have street addresses.

This also means that the software can be configured for a wider variety of use cases, such as a citizen-facing “report a concern” form for Code Enforcement, in addition to just permitting.

3. Full-Service Implementation and Configuration

But wait—if the software is only 20% configured out of the box, doesn’t that mean that it’s a lot more work to set up? In many instances, the downside of configurable software is that you have to actually configure it! This can become a full-time job for months on end.

But it doesn’t have to. It depends on your vendor’s approach to onboarding. Do they give you a few videos and say, “Good luck figuring this out!” Or do they provide implementation support?

At GovBuilt, we pride ourselves on being not just a vendor but a partner. We provide full-service configuration of your software when you launch, complete with process discovery, configuration, training, and ongoing support.

4. Low-Code/No-Code Functionality

Once you’ve gone live in the system, what happens if you need to update your workflows or create new forms? A low-code/no-code solution like GovBuilt can be updated without the assistance of a developer. While some features can be enhanced by using a little bit of coding, our drag-and-drop forms and workflows are easy for your general staff to learn to use and maintain. This makes it easy to create or change processes as new needs arise, such as in a disaster recovery situation.

5. Scalable Modern Technology

A modern permit solution will likely be more scalable and meet your needs longer than your legacy system.

System Updates. Some systems have been cobbled together over the years, meaning that the vendor may have difficulty updating its older architecture significantly. A newer system is likely to be more nimble and able to push out new updates faster.

Cloud-Based Software. With many states adopting a cloud-first approach to new software, some vendors are scrambling to create a cloud version. Modern software is more likely to have been developed specifically for the cloud. It will likely be more secure, feature-rich, and less buggy than one originally developed for on-premise use.

Open-API Architecture. Open-API means that software allows for seamless integration with other systems and tools. This flexibility means you can connect the software to various applications, enabling a smoother workflow and reducing the need for manual data entry.

GovBuilt was developed in 2019 as a cloud-first, open-API solution. To date, we’ve developed over 30 integrations, and create more regularly when our clients need them.

Learn More About GovBuilt

Ready to transform your permitting process? Contact GovBuilt to discover how our innovative software can reduce headaches and increase efficiency. Reach out today and see the difference we can make for your organization.