Permitting Software Buyer's Guide

Introduction

Replacing your permitting system is a big decision. The process takes time, the options can feel endless, and the goal is to come out the other side with a system that actually improves how your department works, not just a new system with the same broken processes as before.

In this guide, we answer the most common questions permitting departments ask when evaluating a new system. You’ll learn what to look for in a permitting solution (and a vendor), how to build your business case, how to navigate procurement and implementation, and more.

The right permitting software depends on your size, budget, workflows, and the specific problems you need to solve.

Whether you’re just starting to explore options or actively evaluating vendors, this guide will help you make a confident decision.

Use cases

Permitting software can be used for a single, specific use case like special use permits, or as a one-stop shop for community development. The most flexible platforms support all of the following:

• Building Permitting — manage the full lifecycle from application through to permit issuance and certificate of occupancy
• Planning — handle zoning, variances, land use entitlements, and planning applications
• Inspections — schedule, assign, and complete inspections in the field from any device, including building, fire, and code enforcement inspections
• Code Enforcement — manage complaints, violations, citations, and follow-up inspections
• Fire Prevention — manage fire plan reviews, operational permits, inspections, and burn permits
• Licensing — manage any licensing use case, from business and occupational licenses to renewals and compliance workflows
• Environmental Health — manage permits and inspections for food service, health, and safety compliance

You may choose to start with a specific small use case, prove ROI, and then configure from there. The best permitting software is flexible and includes extensive prebuilt functionality you can start working with right away. Your permitting system should match your processes, not the other way around. As your needs grow or regulations change, adding new permit types, workflows, or use cases shouldn’t require starting from scratch.

How does permitting software work?

Permitting software digitizes and automates the end-to-end process of receiving, reviewing, approving, and managing permit applications — replacing paper-based or legacy workflows with a single, connected system that staff and applicants can access online, 24/7.

Every system is different, but to give you a sense of how permitting software works in practice, here’s a snapshot of everyday workflows using Clariti Enterprise:

What are the most common permitting software features?

The most common permitting software features include online application portals, process automation, mobile inspections, property history, analytics and reporting, correspondence tracking, financials, and integrations with tools like GIS and electronic plan review. When scoping out a permitting solution, look for these core features to ensure your team is set up for success.

Online application process

Many solutions offer an online portal that supports a completely digital permit application process. But for the majority of applicants (especially first-timers), this alone doesn’t help them understand which documents they need to submit, the rules and regulations that apply, or the steps they need to take.

For the best experience, and to reduce pre-application questions and submission errors, complement your portal with a permit guide: a tool that asks each customer unique questions and generates a manual of personalized application instructions. Used together, you can make every customer a permit application pro, even if it’s their first time.

In Placerville, CA, Chief Building Official Greg Horsfall explained that the quality of submissions “improved so much” after implementing Clariti’s pre-application permit guide, which significantly reduced the amount of time staff spent fixing errors and chasing missing documents.

Guided AI plan review solutions like CivCheck can also significantly reduce intake cycles and review times by helping applicants submit higher-quality plans and staff complete more checks in less time. In Honolulu, CivCheck helped reduce residential review times by 70%, corrections per permit by 67%, and review cycles by 58%. See the AI Plan Review Software Buyer’s Guide for a full breakdown of what to look for.

Analytics and reporting

Look for platforms that let your team create reports and dashboards without IT support, using drag-and-drop tools that are easy for non-technical staff to use.

Orange County’s permitting team is a good example of what this looks like in practice. Each department has its own real-time dashboard tracking staff workload, incoming applications, KPIs, and housing numbers. Before Clariti, most reports required IT support, and at one point, the public works department needed a full-time employee dedicated to report creation.

“We can’t talk about our reports and dashboards enough. Our dashboards track everything for us including our staff workload, incoming applications, all of our KPIs and metrics, and our housing numbers.”

— Judy Kim, Permitting Manager, Orange County, CA

Process automation

All permitting systems offer some level of process automation, but how much your team can actually do without IT or vendor support varies. With the most configurable platforms, staff can create new permit types, adjust workflows, update fee structures, and make process changes themselves — without IT involvement or change orders.

Before implementing Clariti Enterprise, Orange County’s team needed weeks — sometimes months — to push through a basic workflow change. Now their permitting manager can make changes as needed, often in just a few minutes. When California passed new ADU legislation, the public works team created a new permit type and had it live the same day.

Aspen, CO saw a similar shift. Their inspections team was spending 1.5 hours a day on manual admin work. But with Clariti’s automation, those same tasks now take 15 minutes, and 99% of inspections are completed on the day they’re requested.

Mobile inspections

Look for mobile inspection capabilities that allow your inspectors to do everything they’d do in the office from the field. Everything they can access on their office computer — assignments, daily itineraries, plans, and land parcel information — should be accessible via whatever device they use onsite, even when offline.

Property history

Everything you need to know about a project or property should be visible and accessible from one screen. You should be able to search by address or land parcel and get a full view of current and historical information: applications, statuses, inspections, complaints, violations, enforcement actions, and easily navigate between tasks and records with a click.

Correspondence tracking

Your chosen permitting solution should automate the creation, tracking, and sending of everyday correspondence, such as emails, permits, violations, and public notices. Systems like Clariti Enterprise also offer automated document conversion so you can turn static PDFs into editable, reusable templates in just a few clicks. Many systems also offer prebuilt templates for common communications, all-in-one communication tracking per permit record, and visibility into whether an email was opened.

Financials

Look for comprehensive capabilities to manage and track permitting-related financial workflows end-to-end: cashiering, accounts payable, accounts receivable, subledger accounting, and online payments. You should also be able to connect to your existing financial system or ERP for data accuracy and seamless collaboration with your accounting department.

There are other helpful features outside of these core seven for different use cases, but to ensure long-term value, your chosen permitting solution should offer the above at a minimum.

What are the best permitting software integrations and complementary tools?

The most valuable permitting software integrations include electronic plan review, GIS, online payments, email, electronic document management, and financial or ERP systems. AI plan review solutions like CivCheck are increasingly part of the stack as well. Before settling on a new system, ask your chosen vendor what managed integrations they offer and what the process would be to integrate with your existing tools.

Most vendors offer managed integrations that ensure seamless bi-directional data sharing between your permitting system and other solutions. They’re partly pre-built and tested, require minimal configuration, and allow you to centralize all of your permitting-related data in one place.

Common integrations to look for

Integration	What it does
Electronic Plan Review (Avolve, Bluebeam, ePlanSoft)	Track and complete all plan review steps within your permitting system
GIS (Esri ArcGIS)	View and analyze real-time GIS data alongside your permitting data to inform land use decisions
Payments	Pre-configured online payment integrations let customers pay for permits and services online without staff handling transactions manually
Email / Outlook	Centralize all email communication associated with a permit record directly in your permitting system
Electronic Document Management (EDMS)	Store, share, track, and manage files like building plans
Financial / ERP Systems	Connect permitting financials to your broader accounting infrastructure

AI plan review software is increasingly becoming part of the common technology stack for permitting departments. CivCheck’s Guided AI Plan Review platform™ integrates with any permitting system and offers modules for AI-powered pre-check and code compliance.

Consider your long-term needs and whether your chosen solution is flexible enough to evolve with you. If a solution doesn’t have an open or public API, making future changes will either not be possible or expensive. An open API allows platforms to easily interact with each other, and gives you the flexibility to easily add new tools over time.

What ROI can I expect from permitting software?

Permitting software delivers measurable ROI through faster permit approvals, reduced staff admin time, lower reliance on IT, and improved customer self-service, with results documented across hundreds of jurisdictions in North America. Purchasing and implementing the right permitting system will yield measurable, tangible results over the long term. It will also produce outcomes that are harder to quantify but equally important: improved resident satisfaction and a stronger reputation for responsive, accessible service.

Here are 10 of the many benefits you can expect:

At a glance: results from Clariti customers

Jurisdiction	Result
Doña Ana County, NM	50% reduction in commercial permit processing time; 42% reduction in residential processing time
Athens-Clarke County, GA	2-day permit turnaround maintained even as application volumes grew
Orange County, CA	10 business functions consolidated into one platform; 10-day permit turnaround year-round
Albany, NY	Planning review times cut by more than 50%
Aspen, CO	87% reduction in inspectors’ daily admin work; 99% of inspections completed same day
Placerville, CA	Efficiency gains equivalent to adding a full-time staff member
Syracuse, NY	3,126 hours of staff time saved in one year, totalling $93,766 in cost savings

1. Faster permit approvals

The time savings from permitting software come from removing friction: automated workflows instead of manual hand-offs, a single platform instead of scattered systems, and less back-and-forth over missing information.

Departments that also add AI plan review software see those gains compound. The City and County of Honolulu, for example, saw a 70% reduction in residential review times after complementing their permitting system with CivCheck.

2. A better customer experience

With self-serve online portals, customers can easily access the services and information they need, 24/7/365. Whether they’re looking for information, want to apply for a permit or request an inspection, or need to pay fees or check the status of their application — they can do it all online.

“Customers don’t need to call in to figure out what’s going on.”

— Michael Carnes, System Administrator, Athens-Clarke County, GA

3. A better staff experience

Adopting supportive technology that helps with productivity can significantly improve the employee experience and even help you retain and attract talent. Staff have far less repetitive, manual work and can focus on high-priority tasks like reviewing plans or conducting inspections.

“It makes everything a million times easier.”

— Ric Bennett, Field Inspector, City of Aspen, CO

4. Process transparency

All-in-one solutions give customers and staff full visibility into the permitting process. Customers can get the answers and status updates they need online, reducing calls and counter visits, and staff can see all data associated with a permit record or land parcel from one screen. All activity is tracked and visible in the system.

5. Flexibility to meet changing demands

Highly configurable permitting systems are the best choice if you want a system that will continue to deliver value for your jurisdiction long-term. Systems like Clariti Enterprise — the most configurable permitting software in its category — allow you to easily add/change/remove workflows and processes in real time to adapt to changes in demand or regulations.

“We’ve grown a lot with Clariti over the years. We really made the system our own — the sheer flexibility is great.”

— Kathy Finholm, Financial Operations Manager, Norfolk, VA

6. Better reporting and analytics

Look for a system with drag-and-drop reporting tools and subscription settings that automatically update designated stakeholders in real time. Systems with powerful reporting capabilities like Clariti Enterprise allow you to create endless custom reports and dashboards using a simple drag-and-drop interface.

7. Reduced reliance on IT

Highly configurable cloud-based systems reduce IT’s workload because security is the responsibility of the vendor, and administrators and business process analysts can set up business rules and permissions without IT support. Staff can also maintain logins, run reports, create merge documents, and make changes to processes as codes and policies change.

“Super users can make configurations on the fly to update processes and workflows as quickly as needed. And that’s with no technical background.”

— Judy Kim, Permitting Manager, Orange County, CA

8. Less repetitive admin work

All solutions offer tools and automation that help your staff do more with less, such as prebuilt templates, automated inspection assignment and scheduling, and much more. After implementing Clariti Launch, Syracuse, NY, saved 3,126 hours of staff time in one year, totalling $93,766 in cost savings.

9. Inspectors spend more time in the field

With mobile inspection capabilities, your inspectors and code enforcement officials can take their office with them wherever they go. They can manage all inspection-related tasks from a phone, tablet, or computer, whether they’re online or offline.

10. Helpful integrations and complementary tools

More and more local governments are turning to AI tools to help address the root causes of permit delays. When evaluating permitting software vendors, make sure to ask what managed integrations are available and, specifically, what the process would be to integrate with an AI solution now or in the future.

How do I get stakeholder buy-in for a new permitting system?

Getting buy-in for a new permitting system requires early engagement with three key groups: elected officials, customers, and staff. Start by identifying all stakeholders, build a strong business case, and communicate clearly and often throughout the process. Getting buy-in is critical to your project’s success. If key stakeholders don’t feel heard or that their needs are met, they’re unlikely to be satisfied with the final product.

To avoid encountering roadblocks, follow these 3 proven steps to get your stakeholders on board:

1. Define and engage your stakeholders

Start by identifying who will be directly and indirectly impacted by the new system. A good way to do this is to ask one of your professional customers (like a developer who does a lot of business with your community) and 3-4 of your permitting staff to sit down and document every person involved in your most common permitting process. They should be able to compile a complete list of stakeholders in as little as 30 minutes.

In most cases, the three most important groups to engage early will be:

• Elected officials — they hold the authority and funding. Engage them from the start. Tell your story in no more than 15-20 minutes, and then ask if they know of any other groups they suggest you meet with. As Barb Mock, former Planning and Development Director, advises: “The way to have a project crash is to not involve elected officials early on.” Keep them informed with regular updates, and don’t overpromise: “You really need them to trust you in order to keep your credibility intact.”
• Customers — the developers, builders, and residents your system will serve. Invite them to share what’s working and what isn’t. As Barb puts it: “How often does the government ask its customers what they need? When they do, it’s gold.”
• Staff — the people who will use the system every day. Look for internal champions who can build excitement and help bring along colleagues who are more hesitant about change. Set up regular meetings with a standing agenda item to address any emerging issues.

Make sure to also engage IT early. They’ll know the technical and security requirements, ask the right questions during vendor evaluations, and be instrumental partners throughout. As Retired CIO Dennis John puts it: “When IT doesn’t understand your goals, they default to no.”

Meeting with a similar-sized jurisdiction that has already implemented permitting software can also help illustrate the contrast between your current process and your envisioned future in practice.

2. Build a business case

A business case answers the ‘why’ in detail, and will likely be the most detailed document you produce throughout the life of the project aside from your RFP.

It helps to justify your project based on its expected measurable benefits, and should outline in plain language:

• The problem and business need
• The benefits and risks of each solution you identify
• Expected return on investment (ROI)
• Your final recommendation, subject to funding and legislative approval

A well put together business case should also include:

• How many permits you issue annually by type
• The average cost to handle paper permits, if applicable
• Cost of lost files (electronic or paper)
• Cost of storage, microfilm, and archives
• The estimated cost of software, hardware, and professional services to implement the software
• Current and future performance metrics, current and goal review times, and customer satisfaction measures

Most importantly, make sure to avoid technical or permitting jargon so your business case can be understood by non-technical audiences, and triple-check that your assumptions and estimates don’t overstate the expected results.

3. Build a communication plan

Build momentum with frequent, clear communication. A reusable presentation template covering who, what, why, where, and how will serve you well for council meetings, finance questions, and onboarding new staff. Include: the purpose of the project, the problem you’re solving, expected outcomes, scope, draft schedule, and estimated budget.

How do I put together a funding proposal for new permitting software?

A strong funding proposal for permitting software identifies the key decision-makers, quantifies the problem in terms that leadership understands, outlines expected ROI, and includes a detailed cost breakdown and project timeline. A well-put-together funding proposal clearly outlines the purpose of your project and the value it will provide. At this stage, you’re building the case for investment, not committing to a vendor. That said, having a sense of the solution type you’re targeting will help you produce realistic cost estimates.

Step 1: Identify the key decision-makers and assemble the necessary team. Include everyone who will benefit from the project.

Step 2: Put together your proposal, ensuring you include the following at a minimum:

• Basic details about what your agency or department does
• A description of your pain points, and if applicable, how they’re negatively impacting your community
• How permit software will solve these challenges
• Your expected return on investment (ROI)
• Your proposed budget for the project
• The expected project timeline and a clear plan of action for purchasing through to implementation
• Your recommended vendor solution and why, including a detailed cost breakdown

How do I navigate permitting software procurement?

A formal permitting software procurement process typically takes six to eighteen months and includes issuing an RFP, evaluating proposals, hosting demos, and entering a contract. Depending on your jurisdiction, faster paths — such as cooperative contracts, direct purchase, or an RFQ — may also be available. If bandwidth is a constraint and you have the budget for it, consider partnering with a technology consultant to take on the bulk of administrative work.

Options to reduce time and cost

• Buying group or procurement vehicle — many states allow purchasing through groups like Carahsoft or Insight that do much of the heavy lifting.
• Direct purchase — depending on your community’s purchasing rules, you may be able to purchase software directly if under $100,000. If you’re a smaller jurisdiction, you could look at a solution that offers a platform price rather than a user price, which is more likely to fall within this budget. Or, if you’re a larger organization with more users and complex requirements, you could consider purchasing the software separately from the implementation services. Then you only have to release an RFP for implementation services.
• RFQ — if you’re ready to move forward with your preferred vendor and don’t need to formally evaluate other solutions, you can write an RFQ (request for quote). Unlike an RFP, an RFQ only details pricing options, making it a much faster path to purchase.
• Invite-only RFP — if you’ve narrowed your search to a few vendors, you can host an invite-only RFP which limits the number of proposals you receive.
• Existing contracts — you might have the option of purchasing from a contract held by a neighboring municipality or state-level agency to save time.

Writing your RFP

To help vendors provide you with the best solution at the best value, clearly explain your needs and pain points in your RFP. Before writing, answer:

• What does your community find challenging about your current permitting system?
• What do your staff find challenging?
• How quickly do you process permits compared to neighboring communities?
• How often do staff answer calls from applicants about status or requirements?
• How often do applications contain mistakes?
• What does it take to make changes to your system today?
• What information is your organization or community missing?

Your answers will help you prioritize and clearly define your needs in your RFP, in turn ensuring that vendors address them in proposals. Just make sure you get input from staff across departments and levels to avoid leaving anything out.

What are best practices for evaluating permitting software vendors?

If you receive a high number of proposals, consider limiting demonstrations to three vendors. That way you’ll get a good comparison of options without getting overwhelmed by choice. You also need to decide whether you want a formal demo or an informal demo — each has tradeoffs worth understanding before you choose.

Formal demo vs. informal demo

Demo type	Advantages	Disadvantages
Formal demo	You see the same thing from each vendor, allowing you to make an apples-to-apples comparison	No flexibility to see different things from different vendors (unless you schedule an additional demo)
Informal demo	More flexibility to dive into your areas of interest and ask your vendor questions as they walk you through the software	You won’t see the same thing from each vendor, which makes it harder (but not impossible) to do a fair comparison

Either way, leave time to explore the solution in full. The most important thing to evaluate in a demo is configurability — whether your staff can make changes themselves, without code. The Plano, TX approach: every vendor faced the same test. Set up a fee schedule and modify a permit status live during the demo. Vendors who needed to get into code didn’t make the shortlist.

“A lot of vendors came in and passed the test to show us they could do what we needed. But when we said, ‘Now show us where that’s configured,’ they started getting into code. That’s when we knew.”

— Roger Wright, CIO, City of Plano, TX

How do I prepare for organizational change when implementing permitting software?

A successful change management plan when implementing permitting software involves building the right internal team, communicating early and often, managing risk proactively, and staying closely engaged with your vendor throughout. A well-thought-out change management plan can go a long way in helping your staff navigate change and embrace your new system.

Here are 5 tips to build one that will help ease the transition:

1. Build your best team

Create a cross-functional team of informal leaders, problem solvers, and go-to people from every department this project will impact. Designate a project manager who will be responsible for implementing the rollout plan, keeping the momentum going, and dodging roadblocks along the way. As Plano, Texas, CIO Roger Wright explains, “The project manager coordinates across everything and has independent accountability to call balls and strikes.” Also know that you’ll need to take some high performers off the front line (at least for a short time), so plan to backfill their roles if budget and hiring bandwidth allow.

2. Prepare a risk management matrix

Document every risk that could delay the launch, impact adoption, or inflate costs, including staff attrition, poor internal adoption, and operational disruptions. Include mitigation actions for each.

3. Communicate clearly and often

Make sure you communicate clearly and often about your project’s progress. One of the first things you should do is share the why and the how of the new solution. How will it benefit staff? Why are you making the change? Sharing this early can reduce the likelihood that your staff will resist the change.

Celebrate achievements even if they’re small to keep team morale high, and keep everyone in the loop about any hiccups you encounter along the way.

4. Be ready to adapt

Set up regular team meetings to assess whether updates to the software interface or application process are warranted as the project progresses.

5. Stay engaged with your software vendor

Your vendor has helped organizations just like yours navigate change. Take advantage of their experience throughout implementation.

What can I do to ensure a successful permitting software implementation?

A successful permitting software implementation starts before the RFP is released. Plan for a 12 to 18-month timeline, invest in data preparation, establish clear goals upfront, and engage leadership early. The jurisdictions that get the most out of go-live are the ones that put in the work beforehand. You should plan for a 12 to 18-month implementation timeline (shorter for smaller jurisdictions), plus a 60-day hyper-care period after go-live.

Putting in the effort up front to prepare will pay dividends once you go live, especially for staff who’ve been using the same system for years.

As Nicki Decloux, former Principal Solutions Architect at Clariti, explained, changing permitting systems is equivalent to “walking into a room of all English speakers and saying ‘today we’re going to speak a different language.’”

Here are her 10 best practice tips to prepare for implementation and training:

1. Engage leadership early and establish clear expectations with staff from the start. Conduct internal change readiness assessments before kick-off.
2. Develop a comprehensive communications strategy. Plan for frequent updates for your executive team, project staff, and constituents. Clearly outline what the system will and won’t do, and tailor communications to the needs of each functional area and project phase.
3. Create a realistic project plan. Follow the iron triangle of project management: manage cost, time, and scope. Plan for a full-time project manager and ensure that your team (including IT) is adequately staffed to meet deadlines. Also include a contingency budget in the range of 10-20% to account for any changes over the life of the project.
4. Set goals upfront. Establish target metrics such as reducing processing time from x → z, increasing revenue by x, etc.
5. Track project data so you’ll be prepared to share reports and insights externally. Develop KPIs and measure current performance to establish a baseline before go-live.
6. Go in with realistic expectations. Your RFP requirements will likely get you 80-90% of the way there. The remaining 10-20% will surface during User Acceptance Testing (UAT).
7. Establish a training delivery model early. The three most common training delivery models are:
   • Train-the-Trainer (TTT), where key team members are trained by the project team and tasked with teaching others.
   • End-User Training (EUT), where your vendor trains your entire workforce (which may come with additional costs).
   • Computer-Based Training (CBT), where staff complete self-paced online training, usually in addition to other training due to the complexity of permitting modernization projects.
8. Take inventory of your letters and reports before the RFP phase. Identify which letters and reports you need, any reporting gaps, and the number and type of reports, letter templates, and license prints you’ll require.
9. Prepare your data for migration. This can save you a lot of time if done right.
   • Dig into statistical information to make sure you understand what type of data is being converted.
   • Address any data accuracy issues before your project. Make sure data fields are used for their intended purpose.
   • Set your expectations of data hygiene up front so you know the extent of cleansing you’ll need to perform.
   • Figure out if your legacy data can be consumed by conversion tools, and whether or not IT staff can access, manipulate, and cleanse it.
   • Analyze your historical data and clear any data retention rules.
   • Communicate the size of your legacy database so your vendor can plan data loading accordingly.
   • Document any areas of data complexity such as data with parent/child relationships that will require correct sequencing.
   • Identify the number of data sources to migrate (including any Excel or MS Access Tables).
10. Your vendor and system implementation partner (if you have one) have years of experience implementing permitting software. Take advantage of their expertise whenever possible.

There’s no such thing as an implementation going exactly to plan, but investing time upfront to prepare significantly limits the roadblocks you’ll encounter.

Frequently asked questions about permitting software

What is the best permitting software for local government?

The best permitting software depends on your jurisdiction’s size, workflows, and the problems you most need to solve. Larger departments managing high permit volumes across multiple use cases typically need an enterprise platform with broad functionality and deep configurability. Smaller and mid-size jurisdictions often do better with a purpose-built system they can get live quickly and configure themselves without IT involvement. The right fit comes down to what your staff can own and maintain after go-live — not just what looks best in a demo.

How long does it take to implement permitting software?

Plan for 12 to 18 months for a full implementation depending on your organization’s size and scope, plus a 60-day hyper-care period after go-live. Scoping fewer use cases at launch can shorten timelines. Plano, Texas’ phased approach — getting key departments live first, then expanding over time — is a useful reference for what this looks like in practice. Ultimately, the effort you put into preparing for your implementation has a big impact on the quality of your outcome.

How do I build a business case for new permitting software?

Start by quantifying your current pain in terms leadership understands: average permit processing times, weekly resubmission volumes, hours spent on manual tasks, and staff time consumed by basic reporting. Then connect those numbers to outcomes: faster approvals, reduced counter visits, lower cost per permit. Engage elected officials early. As Barb Mock, who led a large-scale permitting modernization project for Snohomish County, Washington, said: “The way to have a project crash is to not involve elected officials early on.” Peer examples help too — Doña Ana County, Albany, and Athens-Clarke County have all published specific results that finance teams and councils will find credible.

How much does permitting software cost?

Permitting software is typically priced based on jurisdiction size, number of users, and the scope of modules you deploy. Some vendors charge per permit issued, others by annual license. Costs vary widely, so rather than chasing a specific number early in your search, ask vendors for tiered pricing ranges based on your permit volume and the use cases you want to start with. It’s also worth asking your vendor whether alternative, faster procurement options — such as cooperative contracts and buying groups — are available to you.

What should I look for when evaluating permitting software vendors?

Functionality and cost matter, but they’re not the whole picture. Look beyond the software and evaluate vendors on: whether IT supports the platform; how responsive they are during procurement; financial stability; whether community development is their core focus; the quality of their customer references; and whether they have a structured implementation methodology. A vendor that’s hard to reach before you’ve signed is unlikely to improve after you go live.

What does configurable permitting software actually mean?

Configurable permitting software allows staff with permissions to make system changes (new permit types, updated workflows, fee schedule adjustments, new fields) without touching source code or logging an IT ticket. It’s the difference between waiting weeks for a change order and making the update yourself in an afternoon. The Plano, TX test: ask vendors during demos to set up a fee schedule and modify a permit status live. If they need to get into code to do it, the system isn’t truly configurable.

How does Clariti compare to other permitting software vendors?

Unlike broader government ERP platforms where permitting is one module among many, or multi-product vendors where community development sits alongside unrelated government functions, Clariti is solely focused on community development — with a suite of solutions built for local governments of all sizes. That singular focus means every product, implementation methodology, and customer support resource is built around the same use cases your department runs every day.

Clariti Enterprise and Launch are cloud-native permitting platforms designed to be configured by non-technical staff using clicks rather than code. Clariti Enterprise is built for larger organizations managing high permit volumes across multiple departments. Clariti Launch is purpose-built for small to mid-size jurisdictions that need to go live quickly without enterprise-level complexity.

Departments that want a dedicated permitting and community development partner — rather than a module within a broader platform — typically choose Clariti.

What questions should I ask when comparing permitting software vendors?

The questions that matter most go beyond feature lists:

• Can you show us live during a demo how a staff member would update a fee schedule or workflow?
• How do you handle local amendments and jurisdiction-specific requirements?
• What does your implementation process look like, and how involved will our team need to be?
• Can you share references from jurisdictions similar to ours in size and permit volume?
• What integrations do you offer, and which are managed vs custom-built?
• What happens if we need to make a change after go-live — who does that work, and what does it cost?

How a vendor behaves before you sign is the clearest signal of how they’ll behave after.