Why Building Departments Are Ditching Paper and Getting Results.
Here’s what Monday morning looks like for most building departments.
You walk in to find 47 new permit applications stacked on the counter. Your phone already has six voicemails from contractors asking about status updates. Someone lost the Henderson file again. And your most experienced plan reviewer just told you she’s spending half her day hunting down missing documents instead of actually reviewing plans.
Sound familiar?
Building officials everywhere are dealing with the same problem. Last year, you processed 400 permits. This year, you’re on track for 700. Your team is already working overtime. Your budget request for another staff member got denied. Again. But here’s the thing. You don’t actually need more people.
Stop Drowning in Permit Applications
The Challenge: More permits, same budget, no new hires. Paper costs 206X more than digital, and your staff wastes half their time on busywork rather than on plan reviews.
The Solution: Government permitting software automates admin tasks and lets you handle 2-3X more permits with your current team. Processing time drops up to 80%.
The Bottom Line: Pays for itself in year one. MCCi Community Development delivers proven results for agencies of any size.
Government permitting software built for building departments helps you handle way more permits with the team you already have. We’re talking about cutting your processing time by up to 80%. No joke. And you don’t have to sacrifice quality or skip any compliance steps to do it.
Let’s talk about how the right technology stops the overwhelm and starts getting your department ahead of the curve.
What Makes Government Permitting Software Different
Smart government permits do more than replace paper forms. Way more.
Think about your current process. Someone submits an application. You check if it’s complete. It probably isn’t. You call them back. They resubmit. You manually route it to different departments. Everyone reviews it one at a time. The file gets passed around. Someone has to track it down. You process payment separately. Eventually, maybe, you issue the permit.
Now imagine this instead.
The system checks applications automatically before they even hit your desk. If something’s missing, the applicant can’t submit. No back and forth. No phone tag. The software routes permit all the right people at once. Your fire department, utilities, and planning team can all review simultaneously. Inspectors pull up everything they need on their tablets in the field. Payments are processed automatically. You always know exactly where every permit is.
Your experienced staff stops chasing paperwork and starts doing what you actually hired them to do. Review plans. Conduct inspections. Ensure construction meets your codes.
What Manual Processes Actually Cost You
You might think paper is free. It’s not even close.
Here’s what happens with every single application that comes through your door. Your staff opens it. Realizes page three is missing. Calls the applicant. Waits for them to call back. They resubmit. Someone files it. Someone else pulls it out. Creates a routing slip. Walks it over to the first reviewer. That person finishes and walks it to the next department. At some point, somebody can’t find it. Meanwhile, the applicant has called three times asking where their permit is.
Every single one of those steps costs money and time.
Research shows paper documents cost 206 times more than digital ones over their lifetime. You’re paying for printing, filing cabinets, storage space, and all those hours your team spends just managing paper. That adds up fast.
But the real cost goes deeper. Your senior building official who knows the code inside and out? They’re spending 40% to 60% of their day on paperwork instead of reviewing plans. You’re basically paying an expert to be a file clerk.
Payment processing takes forever. That impacts your department’s cash flow. When someone questions a decision, you’re digging through filing cabinets for hours trying to reconstruct what happened.
And here’s what nobody talks about. Slow permits hurt your whole community. That commercial building sitting idle while waiting for approval? The contractor has crews doing nothing. Material prices keep changing. The developer is paying interest on their loan. The business that was going to open there is losing money every day. Your community is losing tax revenue.
Every week, a permit sits on someone’s desk that costs real money for real people.
How the Best Permitting Software Actually Works
Get Your Time Back
Time is the one thing your building department never has enough of. MCCi Community Development gives you hours back every single week.
The software automatically checks addresses against your GIS system. It verifies who owns the parcel. It makes sure every required field is filled out before accepting the application. If something’s wrong, the applicant fixes it before you ever see it. No more incomplete applications clogging up your queue.
Want permits routed by project type? Valuation? Zoning district? You set the rules once. The system handles it from there. Applications go straight to the right people without you lifting a finger. Different departments can review at the same time instead of waiting in line.
Everything lives in one place. Plans, photos, inspection reports, emails. All searchable. You need the Martinez file from six months ago? You’ve got it in five seconds instead of five minutes. Or five hours.
Your team answers questions instantly because they can see exactly where every permit is right now.
Building departments using government permitting software regularly handle two to three times more permits with the same number of people. That’s not hype. That’s what actually happens.
Stay Compliant Without the Headache
Compliance requirements keep getting more complicated. The regulations don’t care if you’re understaffed.
Some states like California now require automated systems for solar permits with strict deadlines. Federal rules say your website and applications have to meet accessibility standards. Miss these requirements and you’re looking at legal problems.
Digital platforms build compliance right into how they work. You set your timelines. The system sends alerts automatically. You generate compliance reports in minutes, not days.
Standardized checklists mean every permit gets reviewed the same way. When someone challenges your decision, you’ve got complete documentation showing every step you took and every code section you applied. It’s all timestamped and searchable.
Need a report for an audit? A state review? A public records request? A few clicks and you’re done. Track processing times, inspection results, violation patterns, whatever you need.
Make Life Better for Everyone
Better service for applicants means better working conditions for your staff. They go together.
Contractors submit applications at 10 PM on Sunday if that’s when they have time. Your department gets complete, validated applications Monday morning ready to review. No more playing phone tag about missing documents.
Most inquiry calls disappear because applicants check their status online. When they do call, your team can answer in hours instead of days because they’re not buried in paperwork.
Less administrative frustration means fewer angry people at your counter. Your front desk staff and plan reviewers deal with less hostility. People actually want to come to work.
Word gets around. Builders talk. Developers compare notes. When your community makes permitting straightforward, people want to build there. That’s economic development in action.
Handle Growth Without Breaking the Budget
Most government operations work like this: twice the work means twice the staff. Smart government permits break that rule.
Pottawatomie County started using MCCi Community Development and cut its permit turnaround time by an estimated 80%. They handle way more applications with the same team. Automation takes care of admin work. Your professionals do technical reviews and inspections.
The money makes sense. Avoiding just one new hire usually covers the software cost for 10 to 15 people. Most growing communities see payback in the first year.
Construction goes up and down with the economy. The software handles volume spikes instantly. No emergency hiring. No crazy overtime. When things slow down, you’re not stuck with extra people you don’t need.
Get Ready for What’s Coming
The building departments that will be doing well five years from now are making technology decisions today.
Cloud-based means no servers to maintain. No software updates to install. Security and backups happen automatically. Access your system from anywhere with an internet connection. Updates roll out without disrupting your work.
Mobile inspection software changes how fieldwork happens. Your inspectors finish reports right there at the property using their tablets or phones. They take photos, check codes, and complete everything before they leave the site. No more spending hours back at the office doing paperwork.
MCCi Community Development connects with your other systems. GIS, property records, payment processors, state reporting. It works with what you already have.
The analytics show you things you’d never see with paper. Which permits take the longest? Where do things get stuck? Which contractors always submit complete applications? You use that information to keep improving how you work.
How the Best Permitting Software Actually Works
Your community’s growth shouldn’t overwhelm your department. It should be a good thing.
The right government permitting software stops the pile-up and starts moving things forward. You handle more permits. Your staff stays sane. Applicants get faster answers. Your community gets a reputation for being easy to work with.
MCCi Community Development works for departments of all sizes. Whether you’re a township of 8,000 or a county of 250,000, you get the same comprehensive platform. Your citizens get the modern, efficient experience they expect. You get your evenings and weekends back.
The real question isn’t whether to upgrade your systems. Construction keeps coming. Applications keep piling up. Manual processes keep taking forever.
The question is whether you make the change now while you still have some breathing room, or wait until things get completely out of control.
MCCi Community Development serves agencies all over the country. Small towns. Big counties. Everything in between. They all report the same results: faster processing, more capacity, happier staff, better service.
Want to see what this looks like for your specific situation? We’ll show you a demo built around your needs. Talk about timelines and support. Hear from agencies like yours that have already made the move.
Your building department can handle tomorrow’s growth today. You just need the right tools to do it.