Corporation Division does get the job done
NH QuickStart portal provides fast, easy business services
The Secretary of State’s office and Corporation Division have been actively streamlining our services, saving time and money, converting previously mailed or in-person filings to electronic submissions and attracting new business while promoting economic development.
In a column published in the Oct. 12-25 NH Business Review (“It’s time to modernize the Secretary of State’s office”) a number of inaccurate comments were made about a truly modern and friendly process for business creation and innovation through the Secretary of State’s office that necessitate a response. The writer even goes so far as to argue that our “office is closer to the ‘rotary phone’ era than the ‘smartphone’ era.”
In fact, where four years ago we had planned to develop a mobile application for smartphones, today we have instead optimized our mobile user interface, which allows users to complete their filings without downloading an application, an easier and more practical usage for busy users on the run.
This is hardly rotary phone technology.
The Corporation Division is often, indeed, the first stop in registering or updating your business in New Hampshire. Over 93 percent of business filings are now completed online or over our mobile interface. These offerings are secure and consistently evolving with modern user preferences and stringent PCI Compliance standards.
Consider these recent rankings:
• “New Hampshire No. 1 State for Business Friendliness,” by CNBC.
• “New Hampshire NO. 2 Best State to Start a Small Business,” by business resourceThumbtack.com, as “the largest continuous study of small business perceptions of government policy in the United States,” according to the website.
• “New Hampshire earns an A for Overall Business Friendliness.” This metric includes making it possible to comply with regulations governing starting a business online, providing helpful “how to” guides and information for complying with regulations governing starting a business, and providing helpful people to talk to online, in person, or on the phone. (thumbtack.com)
• “New Hampshire earns an A+ for Ease of Starting a Business.” The ease of NH QuickStart has enabled an exponential increase in online business filings, which also frees up our division resources for attentive service unlike anything you will find in nearly any other state. The Secretary of State’s office is further working in cooperation with the Governor’s Office, State initiatives like Live Free and Start and state agencies, such as the Department of Information Technology and Department of Education, to accomplish our very tangible goal of NH QuickStart becoming an all-in-one service for the end-user. (thumbtack.com)
The Corporation Division has worked in conjunction with the Legislature to retool our organizational structure, optimizing a culture of opportunity and customer responsiveness, and to explore business friendly updates to our statutes and forward reaching tools such as blockchain technology and digital notarization.
Having a strong relationship with job creators and business is the top reason we have a reputation for business friendliness. The majority of our approvals are instantaneous or take less than 24 hours for personal inspection. We actively participate in and host finger-to-the-pulse events ranging from young professional and chamber of commerce meet-ups to Small Business Administration presentations.
Contracts for our online filings and in-house functions were signed in June 2014. The phased rollout began in March 2015 and now nears completion with online administrative functions, including applications for notary public and justice of the peace.
If you have questions or suggestions during the process of launching your business, please call the Corporation Division at 603-271-3246, or visit QuickStart.SOS.NH.Gov.
Adam Robert Schroadter is assistant secretary of state and Corporation Division director.
