WASHINGTON - Businesspeople who visited Business.gov, the new federal compliance Website for businesses, confirm the site saves time and money on their business operations. Of businesses surveyed by the Website, 72 percent said they saved up to 25 hours. Almost half of surveyed businesses reported saving money.

“By providing a one-stop Website for federal compliance resources, Business.gov continues to improve services to businesses through technology,” SBA Administrator Steven Preston said. “The positive responses and feedback allow Business.gov to streamline the site to businesses’ needs.”

According to survey respondents, the Business.gov information most searched include compliance, business law, business library, business licenses and permits, launching a business, and advertising and marketing. The most useful content areas were the federal forms, business library, and business law section.

“Business.gov is a fabulous resource for small business,” said Amy Frey, president, ATC International Inc. “I run a company that is growing rapidly and in an ever-changing environment where time is of the essence. I’ve found it enables me to get information about up and coming issues for my business related to legal, as well as tax and human resource concerns.”

The site’s new focus on compliance information, federal forms, and contacts was re-launched in October 2006 and since the launch has received close to 11,000 visits per day. Based on survey results, the largest percentage of visitors is small businesses and people thinking of starting a business. Those surveyed had between five and more than 20 years experience in their fields. Feedback from Website users will allow Business.gov to make updates and integrate state and municipal compliance information into the site, set to release in fall 2007.

“Just keeping up with the paperwork could be a full-time job,” said Beth Boyll, adult day care director of Randolph Hills Nursing Center. “The easy access to federal forms provided by Business.gov makes my job easier and gives me more time to spend on the needs of my clients.”

Business.gov is managed by the U.S. Small Business Administration in partnership with 21 other federal agencies and is part of the President's Management Agenda. Originally launched in 2004, the Website provided information on starting, growing, and managing a small business. The new compliance focus is designed to better meet the needs of the business community, based on feedback from test groups.

Publication date:04/02/2007