Contractors faced with lengthy delays while seeking permissions from local authorities will be interested in an Internet-based system being introduced in the US. Currently available in the San Francisco Bay Area and the Phoenix Metropolitan Area, with a planned roll-out to 20 more urban areas across the US this year, the NetClerk Permit Management system is described as a 'high-performance, easy-to-use electronic intermediary between contractors applying for building permits and the local building departments, which issue the permits.

Using a Web browser, contracting professionals can access city and county permit applications from the NetClerk forms library at www.netclerk.com They can complete, submit, store and retrieve the forms electronically. The system streamlines the building permit process and saves time by allowing contractors to obtain permits without making a physical trip to the local building department.

South San Francisco-based NetClerk has facilitated over 10,000 permit transactions since September 1999 for its plumbing, roofing, electrical, and HVAC (heating, ventilating, air conditioning) subcontractor customers. Contractors have used NetClerk Permit Management to obtain building permits for jobs ranging from a single residential water heater replacement to a 14-building commercial roofing project.

"NetClerk's building permit management service is the 'killer app' that will bring the construction industry into the Internet age," said Chris Hollenbeck, Principal at H&Q Venture Associates and a recent addition to the NetClerk Board of Directors. "We believe the Internet will change the way subcontractors obtain over $120 billion in goods and services each year, and NetClerk is positioned at a critical node to capitalise on this momentous shift."

Vipin Kumar, vice president of product development at NetClerk, said, "Every subcontractor is faced with the task of getting permits - some of our customers process up to 50 permit applications a day across 75 cities. Traditionally that has meant spending time and energy driving, waiting in lines, faxing documents, mailing packages, etc. Now a contractor never has to leave the office. As a result, many of our customers consider NetClerk Permit Management to be an indispensable part of their day-to-day business operations. And the city building departments are overwhelmingly supportive -- they understand and appreciate the benefit we provide to the city and their constituency."

Richard Byatt