Business Startup Filings Reach Monthly High

COLUMBUS, Ohio – More new entities filed to do business in Ohio during the month of March than in any month since records began to be kept, reports Secretary of State Jon Husted, who credits the gains to expedited processes instituted by his office.

In March a record 10,102 new entities filed start-up documents in Ohio. This number is up significantly compared to February, when 7,918 new entities filed documents, and March 2014, when 9,271 new entities filed.

During the first three months of the year, the secretary of state’s office has assisted with a total of 25,525 new business filings.

“If you build it, they will come,” Husted said in releasing the numbers. “Over the past few years, we’ve turned an outdated and cumbersome business startup process into a modern, 21st century system that helps businesses hit the ground running in less than 24 hours.”

The historical monthly high puts the state on track for a record-breaking year in 2015, he added.

Husted’s office has made it possible for more than 80% of all filings to be done online with one in two companies now being established electronically through the Secretary of State’s Ohio Business Central service.

The state legislature is poised to give final approval in the coming weeks to a bill that would cut fees associated with forming a new business, Husted noted.

Upon passage, it would mark the first time this fee has been cut in modern history and would make Ohio the least expensive state in the region to start and maintain a new business, he said.

New business filings are classified as forms filed with the state that declare the formation of a business entity. Filing as a business does not guarantee the company will begin operations, be profitable or create jobs.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.