Modern business is fast-paced. To keep up, companies—regardless of industry—need to be agile and forward thinking. But many stumble when it comes to the details of achieving their goals, particularly when it comes to regulatory compliance. This is one case study where the company assessed their risk and opportunity ahead of time, and successfully navigated the business license transition of the company they acquired with the help of a trusted partner.
The client
A nationwide retailer with over 100 locations gained an additional 65 locations from an acquisition and needed to assimilate all the newly acquired store fronts to the parent company brand, as well as accurately reflect the new ownership in various jurisdictions, including with secretaries of state, city, and county license offices. Their licenses included a mix of general business and regulated.
The challenge
The client wanted to change the name of all new office locations as well as the Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN)—and they needed it completed within four months.
While the company considered using internal resources to make these changes, they realized that their team’s knowledge on the process was limited, and grew increasingly concerned with increased costs, accidental non-compliance, and possible financial penalties if processes weren’t completed accurately.
Without the proper knowledge and experience, projects can stall, wasting valuable resources. In the case of CSC’s client, they were rightfully concerned with:
- Whether the acquired locations could keep original licenses or if they’d need new ones
- What forms were needed, if any
- Where the proper forms could be obtained
- If one license change would roll over to another
- The expected turnaround time for each jurisdiction
The solution
Employing an expert to help with the transition was the best decision to ensure it would be handled smoothly while allowing the client to focus on other aspects of the acquisition.
CSC sought to first understand the total scope of change, the timetable for completion, the types of licenses on file, and highest priority locations. It was determined that a project of this company’s scale would require several months to complete, mainly due to jurisdiction filing times. Each part of the process was proactively reviewed with the customer biweekly, and as a result of those reviews, CSC was able to reprioritize tasks based on the client’s feedback.
During the process, the client’s need for overall business license portfolio management came to light, as well as the need for information consolidation, which CSC is able to provide in our web-based Business License Portfolio Management platform for easy client access and reporting.
To change the names and FEIN numbers for each of the 65 acquired locations our client acquired, CSC spoke with representatives in the various jurisdictions, prepared the forms alongside our customer through their direction, and submitted the proper forms to the jurisdiction. The project was completed one month ahead of schedule, and brought organization and transparency to the process. After obtaining the new licenses for the client, CSC began to actively manage the renewals for all their business licenses going forward.
Key takeaways
For a companywide undertaking such as a name and FEIN changes, understanding the scope of work is critical, especially when dealing with multiple jurisdictions.
By working with CSC, the customer was able to achieve its goals within the estimated timetable—ahead of time, in fact—and as a result, their organization was able to move forward with confidence that they were, and will remain, in compliance across the board.
Business license consolidation and management in CSC’s online Business License Portfolio Management platform allowed the client to reallocate internal resources, helping them make progress on other projects, benefitting the company overall.
We’re ready to talk
If you’d like to talk through your Business License Outsourcing needs, contact us at 855-212-6529 or email us at corpservices@cscglobal.com.