Specific fields in the application are programmed to allow or prohibit certain characters and numeric values conditional to the question.

Transcription

1 Executive Summary The mission of the Kansas Secretary of State is to be the least complicated, most accessible agency in state government. To fulfill that goal, the Kansas Secretary of State s office (KSOS) is constantly looking for ways to improve customer access to their office. The electronic articles of formation filing system is the most recent example of KSOS s use of the Internet to improve this access. Anyone who wishes to incorporate/qualify a new business in the state of Kansas files articles of formation with KSOS. Approximately 12,000 new domestic businesses file articles annually. To streamline the articles of formation filing process, KSOS in partnership with accesskansas created an online system that allows individuals to file articles for a domestic entity electronically. Filing electronically increases efficiency, reduces costs, increases customers access to KSOS, meets customer demands, and does so economically without burdening the filer or Kansas taxpayers. Immediate filing and access to certified documents sets Kansas online articles of formation filing system apart from similar systems in other states. In Kansas, the filer does not wait for the office to internally review the information after it is submitted electronically, nor do they wait for a certified copy to be sent to them. Staff intervention is not required. The document is file stamped with the exact time (hour, minute and second) the electronic filing was completed. Additional correspondence between KSOS and the newly formed entity is not necessary. The filing is legal and binding. Because filing is instantaneous, filing time is decreased from weeks to mere minutes. The electronic system also saves time by catching filing errors as filers enter information. Filers have the ability to file at any time on any day. This gives filers the ability to choose the exact filing date, an option filers have been requesting for years. Filing electronically saves most customers up to $26 depending on the business entity type. (Electronic filing is not less expensive for not for profits because their fees are so low to begin with.) This electronic service has been operational since the end of September As of May 2, 2005, more than 2,100 filings have been completed electronically, which is 29% of all filings (an average of 288 per month). This adoption rate is expected to increase to 40% after the first full year. Electronic filings continue to increase each month with very little marketing.

2 Project Description To fulfill its mission of being the least complicated, most accessible agency in state government, the Kansas Secretary of State s office (KSOS) is constantly looking for ways to improve customer access to their office. The electronic articles of formation filing system is the most recent example of KSOS s use of the Internet to improve this access. (A click-through demonstration of the application may be viewed at The Kansas Secretary of State aspires to be a 24/7 operational filing office providing services to customers immediately via electronic filing from the convenience of their home or office at a reduced cost. KSOS does not want customers merely to submit information electronically but actually file the information electronically making it effective immediately. The electronic articles of formation system is one of the electronic services that allows KSOS to meet this goal. Approximately 12,000 new domestic businesses file articles annually. Anyone who wishes to incorporate/qualify a new business in the state of Kansas files articles of formation with KSOS. To streamline the articles of formation filing process, KSOS and accesskansas created an online system that allows anyone to file articles for a domestic entity electronically. Filing articles of formation electronically increases efficiency, reduces costs, increases customers access to KSOS, meets customer demands, and does so economically without burdening the filer or Kansas taxpayers. The Kansas electronic articles of formation filing system is designed to be understandable, orderly and comprehensible to allow ease of use. A majority of the filers are business owners, attorneys, regional representatives and CPAs, who have little time to decipher a new system. The system was intricately designed to allow immediate, effective and complete filing without staff intervention, allowing these individuals may file articles electronically at any time on any day. By filing electronically customers can decrease filing time from weeks to mere minutes. Filing articles electronically merely requires customers to register and log in to the KS Business Center. The registration is free and allows repeat access to the documents filed. Clear and userfriendly screens navigate users through the application step by step. Many checks are programmed into the application to ensure the ease of filing and appropriate information is captured for statutory and practical purposes. These checks include the following:

3 The application is connected to an external database that ensures the registered office address entered by the filer is truly a domestic (Kansas) address. The application is connected to a live business entity database, which ensures the name chosen by the filer is truly available at the beginning and end of the filing. If the filer designates a business entity as their resident agent, the database verifies the entity is registered with the state of Kansas. Specific fields in the application are programmed to allow or prohibit certain characters and numeric values conditional to the question. The filer may review the filing in a preview screen before submitting payment. Upon completion of the filing, payments may be made with any major credit card or billed to an accesskansas subscriber account. After payment is submitted, the filer is given direct links to the certified copy of the articles filed as well as the official letter from KSOS. Each time the filer logs into their Businessfolio (in the KS Business Center), they will see all filings made electronically. They are allowed to view and print the certified copy and cover letter as many times as needed at no additional cost. Additional correspondence between KSOS and the newly formed entity is not necessary. The filing is legal and binding. Immediate filing and access to certified documents sets Kansas online articles of formation filing system apart from similar systems in other states. In Kansas the filer does not wait for the office to internally review the information after it is submitted electronically, nor do they wait for a certified copy to be sent to them. Staff intervention is not required. The document is file stamped with the exact time (hour, minute and second) the electronic filing was completed. Prior to the launch and use of the program, KSOS wanted to ensure functionality, usability, statutory requirements, accuracy, data transmission, and clear communication were addressed. A demo of the application was created to test the application. This testing phase of the application took nearly one year to ensure the program met elevated standards, high expectations and provided users a quality program/service. KSOS filing clerks, customer service specialists, legal staff, information technology staff, other Kansas state agencies and selected groups of customers worked with the demo thoroughly during the testing period. Requesting input from actual customers is one of the innovative and creative components of the development of KSOS s electronic services. Secretary Thornburgh works with customers to create systems to meet their needs. This approach of meeting with government customers and asking for their input should not be novel, but it is.

4 This electronic service has been operational since the end of September As of May 2, 2005, more than 2,100 filings have been completed electronically, which is 29% of all filings (an average of 288 per month). This adoption rate is expected to increase to 40% after the first full year. Electronic filings continue to increase each month with very little marketing. Significance to the improvement of the operation of government Immediate filing and access to certified documents sets Kansas online articles of formation filing system apart from similar systems in other states. This system streamlined the filing process for KSOS, which increased staff productivity and efficiency. The staff is not required to internally review the information after it is submitted electronically, or process, copy, mail and fax the electronic filings and requests for additional copies of documents. The electronic system completes all these steps without staff intervention. The electronic system manages quality control during filing through checks programmed into the application to ensure appropriate information is captured for statutory and practical purposes. With the paper process, filing errors in information provided were not seen until the filing was received and then KSOS staff would need to follow-up with the filer to correct the errors adding time to the overall processing. The electronic filing system also has many checkpoints to ensure proper data transfers have been established. Automatically generated s are sent on an hourly basis with approval or disapproval of data to KSOS. This allows for quality control and the ability to monitor the transfer of data from accesskansas to KSOS. The electronic filing system improves the customer service KSOS can provide by allowing filings to be completed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, which allows customers to choose the exact date of their filing, as well as the most convenient time to complete the process. Customers have been requesting the ability to select a specific filing date for years, but this was not possible with the paper system. KSOS receives positive feedback from customers on a daily basis regarding the electronic application and how helpful, convenient, easy and fast this service is for their needs. Benefits realized by service recipients, taxpayers, agency or state Under Secretary Ron Thornburgh s guidance, the Secretary of State s office has played a vital role in making state government more accessible to all citizens. Filers have the ability to file

5 articles of formation anytime - 24 hours a day, seven days a week from any location with a computer. Filers are not held hostage to the hours or location of the Topeka office. The electronic system allows filers to determine the exact day, hour, minute and second the filing is completed. (Many filers request a specific filing date.) Filers also have the ability to print as many copies of certified and file stamped filing documents and official cover letter at no cost at any time. This electronic system enables individuals to conduct business with KSOS whenever it is convenient for them. Filers and KSOS receive significant time savings with the electronic articles filing system. Filing is instantaneous and does not require staff intervention, which allows customers to decrease filing time from weeks to mere minutes. Additionally, due to the checks put into the system, the opportunity for the filer to submit incomplete or incorrect information is removed, ensuring immediate processing will occur. As the adoption of online filing increases the amount of time required for KSOS staff to process paper filings will be greatly reduced. Both filers and KSOS also receive cost savings from the electronic articles system. Electronic filers potentially save up to $26 per filing depending on the business entity type and they have additional payment options including billing. Due to the success and high immediate adoption rate of the electronic filing system, KSOS has not filled a vacant filing position that was created through attrition. This has saved an annual salary of approximately $22,000 plus benefits. Before online articles of formation filing Until September 2004 the only option for filing articles of formation was to complete these filings on paper. Filing articles of formation by paper can be a lengthy, expensive and constraining process for both the filer and KSOS. Including mail and processing time, it can take a week or more to completely file articles by paper, providing the documents are submitted correctly. If a customer submits documents incorrectly, the processing time could be doubled. To expedite the paper filing, a filer may pay an additional $20 fee and fax the documents to KSOS. The filer may also bring the documents to the office; however, the only location is in Topeka, Kansas. Many filers want specific dates of incorporation/qualification. Due to mail time, processing time, and business days/hours it was impossible to guarantee a specific date on a paper filing. Many customers also like to obtain additional copies of the articles of formation filing. KSOS charges a fee to complete these requests. Methods of payment for KSOS copy services are limited and billing is not available.

6 Return on Investment The Secretary of State s return on investment for the electronic articles of formation system can be seen in actual cost savings, increased office efficiency and improved customer service. This service was developed at no cost to KSOS. In the short-term KSOS realized a cost avoidance of a potential $1 million by partnering with accesskansas to build the application. (The cost associated with creating this application was limited to current staff salaries.) accesskansas uses a self-funded model to provide applications and online services for state agencies. The state agency does not pay development, technical support, billing, customer service or maintenance costs to accesskansas. Instead, accesskansas receives a small portion of the fee the user pays for each transaction for some applications. For the articles of formation electronic filing, accesskansas receives between $1.38 and $1.60 per transaction depending on the filing type. This model provides a substantial, ongoing savings to KSOS for development, technical support, billing, customer service and maintenance costs. The fee is a small amount for the user to pay for the convenience and speed of filing electronically. Even with this added transaction fee, electronic articles of formation filing is less expensive for the user in most instances. A long-term cost savings to KSOS is the reduction in staff time needed to process filings combined with needing less staff to offer the service. Due to the success and high immediate adoption rate of the electronic filing system, KSOS has not filled a vacant filing position, which was created through attrition. This has saved an annual salary of approximately $22,000 plus benefits. The Kansas Secretary of State considers the improved customer service a very important return on investment. The electronic articles of formation system improves customer service by giving customers options they have been requesting for years. With this electronic service businesses can file 24/7 giving them the ability to choose their filing date. Businesses can also print as many copies of the completed filing and letter as they want at no cost. The articles of formation online filing system is the most recent example of Secretary Thornburgh increasing ease and access to the Kansas Secretary of State s office without increasing the office s budget for providing a valuable service.