Online Business Registrations Made Even Easier With Hawaii Business Express

HONOLULU--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 7, 2004--

Live Online Customer Service and One-Stop Registrations with Multiple Agencies Now Available at www.eHawaii.gov

“With the launch today of Hawaii Business Express, we continue to make great strides toward those twin goals.”

Registering a new business in Hawaii is now a simple and efficient process, thanks to an innovative service available through the state's official Web site at www.eHawaii.gov.

Hawaii Business Express eliminates the need for new business owners to use paper forms to register separately with federal and state agencies, which reduces the registration time required to create a new business from hours or days to just minutes. Yesterday, Governor Linda Lingle introduced Hawaii Business Express and hailed the online service as yet another convenience for the state's growing business community.

"We've been working to make Hawaii a more business-friendly state and to reduce the cost of doing business in Hawaii ever since we took office," said Governor Lingle. "With the launch today of Hawaii Business Express, we continue to make great strides toward those twin goals."

Hawaii Business Express was conceived and built as a part of Governor Lingle's commitment to help new and existing businesses to prosper in Hawaii. Last year, Governor Lingle reduced the filing fee for businesses established online by 25 percent, which immediately caused a 50-percent increase in online business filings. More than half of all new companies created in Hawaii are now created over the Internet.

"Hawaii Business Express is truly a one-stop shop -- instead of standing in line at four separate state and federal departments, people will be able to get their businesses started on line by visiting a single Web site," said Governor Lingle.

The user-friendly system consolidates the information requirements of multiple government departments, which means new businesses can input data once and have it sent electronically to the state's four regulating agencies for new businesses.

The online wizard leads filers quickly through the process of applying for the state general excise tax licenses, employee income tax withholding numbers, and unemployment insurance identification numbers. Hawaii Business Express also allows users to file articles of business registration and register trade names with the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. The new service also provides links directly to the Internal Revenue Service's online system and provides a fast way for business owners to obtain Federal Employer Identification Numbers (FEIN) as soon as state registrations are complete.

To help answer user questions immediately, Hawaii Business Express also offers real-time online customer service. By clicking on the service's live chat icon, users can conduct a live online session with a customer service representative at the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism's Business Action Center. Live Help is another feature designed to make Hawaii a leader in government customer service.

"Hawaii Business Express is a major leap forward toward a more streamlined government, with better service and less paperwork for the benefit of Hawaii's new businesses," said Mark Recktenwald, director of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.

This is the first time a cooperative project of such magnitude has been undertaken to benefit the business community. The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Department of Taxation, and Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism collaborated with the Internal Revenue Service and eHawaiiGov to create Hawaii Business Express.

About eHawaiiGov

eHawaiiGov is the state of Hawaii's official internet portal (www.eHawaii.gov) and provider of electronic government solutions for the state. It is managed by Hawaii Information Consortium, LLC, a Honolulu-based subsidiary of eGovernment firm NIC (Nasdaq: EGOV).

About NIC

NIC manages more eGovernment services than any provider in the world. The company helps government communicate more effectively with citizens and businesses by putting essential services online. NIC provides eGovernment solutions for 1,500 state and local agencies that serve more than 51 million people in the United States. Additional information is available at www.nicusa.com.