The Power of Automation for Small Governments

Since early 2022, the Town of Gananoque has been using Cloudpermit for online building permitting. The town in Ontario has just over 5,000 residents and has greatly benefited from automation.

We interviewed several software companies to find the right one to suit our needs,” said Blake Keyes, Chief Building Official for the Town of Gananoque. “Cloudpermit stood out because it had a ready-to-use portal and that was a major selling point for us. Its interface was superior to others and the cost was also a significant advantage.”

Before cloud-based community development software, this small town relied on paper for its building permits and inspections.

I used to handwrite inspection notes in the field and send photos to my email with notes explaining deficiencies,” Keyes shared. “Now, I can easily snap photos during on-site inspections with my phone and immediately upload them to Cloudpermit.”

Staff can not only conduct mobile inspections but also keep Gananoque residents informed about the progress of their permits and inspections.

Cloudpermit automatically sends an email to everyone involved in a project with each new status update. This makes it easier to keep communities up to speed.

Now, I can instantly inform our residents and builders about any updates to their permit or inspection status.”

Keyes can also stay better informed about submitted permits, questions, and inspections by receiving automatic updates to his email.

I get an email every time there is something new comes up or an application comes in. I can simply click a link from my email instead of logging into Cloudpermit for new updates.”

This means that Gananoque's Chief Building Official can receive updates in the field.

Inspections and reporting have become easier with this user-friendly software,” Keyes continued. “Cloudpermit has saved me hours of time creating StatsCan and MPAC reports. Now, I can create automatic reports for StatsCan, MPAC, building permits, and financial information. This turned what used to take hours into just a minute.”

Gananoque's team can create reports, issue building permits, and respond to questions faster with accurate, real-time information in the cloud.

I used to rely on Excel to generate and organize projects,” said Keyes. “It used to take me 10 minutes to create a building permit, but now it's as simple as a few clicks.”

Keyes can create automated reports quickly because Cloudpermit's team configured the software specifically for Gananoque during implementation.

As part of the implementation process, Cloudpermit matches each government with a Customer Success Manager. They handle the software setup, configuration, and staff training.

Our Customer Success Manager was amazing,” Keyes said. “I worked with them to tailor reports to our town's specific needs. Cloudpermit's support team has also been great as even today, I always receive thoughtful answers to my questions.”

In summary, Keyes shared that Cloudpermit has provided Gananoque with mobile inspections, automated emails and reports, and reliable support.

He concluded, “Cloudpermit works really well for our small government.”