Illustrative vignette

A look at the current state

Nicole is opening a flower shop business in Vancouver, British Columbia. Today, there is a wide range of cumbersome proofs that Nicole may need to obtain from the government—a business licence from the City of Vancouver, a provincial sales tax number, building permits, and more. Some of these can only be obtained through multiple in-person interactions. When Nicole tries to apply for her business licence, for example, she’s rejected because she needs to present a certificate from the provincial government first. The processes are confusing and burdensome, with unclear sequencing of activities and compliance requirements.

Envisioning the digital ID-enabled future state

In the digital ID-enabled future, Nicole will access a helpful tool called the Flower Shop Toolkit, which British Columbia provides in its “Organizational Record” business registry page. The toolkit contains a list of common credentials required for flower shops in British Columbia.

First, Nicole incorporates her business with her lawyer’s help. She completes the incorporation filing, using her personal digital ID to identify herself as the owner-applicant; she is soon issued her first verifiable business credential, with the business registry acting as the holder. Using the Flower Shop Toolkit, Nicole sees that her next step is to obtain a provincial sales tax number—and that she can use her new verifiable business credential to begin that process. She finds the application is already pre-populated from the business registry, which saves her time.

The business registry greatly facilitates Nicole’s journey to opening her business and getting to Day One of focusing on what she loves: people and flowers. She’s confident she’s done things right and complies with all the rules and regulations about operating her business. She has even delegated her lawyer to use the shop’s credentials, as needed, to carry out regulatory/compliance activities.

Fast forward even further and Nicole’s shop’s Organizational Record contains credentials she’s been issued to prove she’s an official vendor of the government, and is designated as an official “Green” business.