SmartGov 2026: Benefits, Features & Pricing

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On this page

Overview
Pricing and Plans
Features
User Reviews

Overview

SmartGov

4.6

(57)

Pricing

Starting at $1.00 per year

About SmartGov

SmartGov is a cloud-based and mobile enabled platform that maximizes process efficiencies, reduces operating costs and provides online, self-help tools for your community with configurable forms and templates to manage permit processing, business licensing, code enforcement, inspections and more.

Back-end process automation, combined with an intuitive public portal, provides an end-to-end solution that streamlines permit routing flows and simplifies access for citizens, contractors and businesses.

Build a stronger connection with your community and increase citizen satisfaction while saving time and money by allowing 24/7 online access for citizens to complete processes and check statuses.

Configurable plan review and permit routing ensure optimum efficiency to meet organizational and community demand for scalable development and growth.

Permitting & Inspections
Streamline permit processing and inspections with automated workflow and approval processes in our permitting software and mobile app. Customize unlimited permit types, forms and requirements that meet your organizational needs and streamlines citizen engagement for faster processing.

Citizen Portal
Allow citizens to...

SmartGov Screenshots

SmartGov Pricing and Plans

Starting price: $1.00 per year

Free Trial

Free Version

Basic

$1.00

per year

No plan information available

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SmartGov Features

Popular features found in Public Works
Alerts/Notifications
Billing & Invoicing
Compliance Management
Customer Database
Data Import/Export
Document Management
Equipment Maintenance
Inventory Management
Job Costing
Mobile Access
Project Management
Service Request Management
More features of SmartGov
Activity Dashboard
Appointment Management
Automated Routing
Building Permits
Business License
Case Management
Code Enforcement
Code Maintenance
Customer Portal
Customizable Forms
Dispatch Management
Expiry Notifications
Failed Inspection Tracking
Fee Management
GIS Integration
Image Capture
Inspection Management
Job Management
Monitoring
Online Applications
Online Payments
Performance Metrics
Permit Issuance
Photo Management
Planning & Zoning
Purchasing & Receiving
Renewal Management
Reporting/Analytics
Report Templates
Routing
Self Service Portal
Status Tracking
Subcontractor Management
Taxation & Assessment
Violation Tracking
Weed Abatement Control

SmartGov User Reviews

Overall Rating

4.6

Ratings Breakdown

72%

21%

Secondary Ratings

Ease of Use

4.4

Value for money

4.4

Customer support

4.4

Functionality

4.4

Have you used SmartGov and would like to share your experience with others?

Beatriz T.

Verified reviewer

Government Administration

51-200 employees

Used daily for less than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed December 2024

SmartGov, SmartRoute

After a few clicks, SmartGov was easy to handle and easy to show others how to use it, as a former City employee this is the system they used for contractors to input their permits

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

Its user friendly, If you forget to input something in you cannot proceed which is great.

Cons:

Perhaps due to the usage system was constantly loading

Miriam V.

Verified reviewer

Construction

2-10 employees

Used weekly for more than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed December 2023

Custom home builder user experience

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

SmartGov is relatively easy to use and navigate. The information is displayed in an easy to read and find manner, and it has the functionality needed for the lifecycle of a permit, once it's been submitted and in review

Cons:

The functionality of uploading a permit to SmartGov needs to be improved. Our jurisdiction bridged this with using Camino which is a decent product to walk a person through submitting all the documents that are needed for the submittal, but it's proven to be a cumbersome bridge to SmartGov.

Randy G.

Verified reviewer

Government Administration

2-10 employees

Used daily for less than 6 months

Review source

Reviewed February 2025

Not a happy camper

We (staff who actually uses it) had no say in changing programs. It takes longer to process permits and print the required documents in order to issue a permit. The portal doesn't seem to be very user friendly for contractors in the field.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

Nothing! We had an excellent software program that was so much easier to use and more user friendly for both staff and contractors.

Cons:

The mobile app for field inspections is absolute garbage compared to what we had. The system takes us longer now to process a permit with so many added steps. We cannot easily drag and drop electronic documents as we could with our previous program.

Reasons for switching to SmartGov

Didn't have a choice. It was a much easier and more user friendly program.

Alicia S.

Verified reviewer

Non-Profit Organization Management

11-50 employees

Used weekly for more than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed July 2023

Use of SmartGov for non-profit organization

We are experiencing much more transparency with our permits than we would without SmartGov. Documents can readily, be downloaded, printed and shared amongst our group with ease - again, something that would be delayed with no SmartGov.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

Our usage of SmartGov has been limited to permitting, and we've been using the service for several years now. We are an entity made up of almost 20 individuals, any of whom can use SmartGov to apply for, pay for and monitor permits. It is extremely valuable in that anyone can set up an account in order to review all activity, therefore perform additional oversight of permit activity within our group - a critical oversight above and beyond government oversight.

Cons:

Since we are a non-profit, some features do not apply to us, but of the ones we utilize, many have been improved over the years we've been using this. Updates to the product seemed slow several years ago, but they seem frequent now, and currently we have no complaints.

Woody S.

Verified reviewer

Government Administration

201-500 employees

Used daily for more than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed January 2022

Superior Customer Service

I've used several permitting software applications over the years, and each has their unique advantages and disadvantages. I would say that Dude Solutions willingness to take customer feedback to improve SmartGOV is one of the most important things to me. They have an amazing team that is always available and willing to help find a solution.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

The customer portal and user interface is significantly more friendly that all other permitting software programs I've used in the past. The online portal has allowed us to shift our permit application and processing to virtually 100% online, which allowed us to keep running without a hiccup since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The interface is easy for customers and staff to navigate and custom help text that can be configured by department or even as specific as the permit type has allowed us to direct efficiently direct users through the process and know what is missing from their application prior to submitting. For our staff customizable workflow steps and actions ensure that permits appear on their user to do list at the right time and trigger the next review or administrative step once they are complete.

Cons:

The software's GIS capacity is currently one limitation that we're encountering. Being able to place parcel restrictions based on GIS layers like Zoning, Flood designations, critical area encumbrances, Historic designations, etc. would be a big improvement, although there are a couple ways Dude Solutions has helped us work around this and place notes on restricted parcels. We're also able to take a couple extra steps and pull permit data through the Adhoc Reporting and push data to our GIS servers to create online web maps.

Reasons for switching to SmartGov

Limited reporting capacity and no online portal for applications.

Kash P.

Verified reviewer

Government Administration

11-50 employees

Used daily for more than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed July 2022

Improvements in assisting and growing with customer

My overall observation is many updates are not being managed by SmartGov and the City is having to go out on their own and handle updates it seems SmartGov should be doing. We need better assistance and clarity from SmartGov as well as the timing with the actual assistance not just a response, but actual assistance.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

Every file is accounted for and can be updated as information is added from all departments within the City.

Cons:

The return on IT assistance is very slow. I would like to have the cases set-up where I can add a due date and it notifies me in the queue, however I was told this would incur extra fees when all government programs I have used offer this as a part of the software. It is an essential part of keeping up with each case.

Vendor Response

Hi Kash! We really value your feedback and would appreciate the opportunity to discuss it more deeply with you. Would you please reach out to support@brightlysoftware.com so we can help?

Replied July 2022

David W.

Verified reviewer

Government Administration

11-50 employees

Used daily for less than 12 months

Review source

Reviewed June 2022

smartgov review

My County has been a user of Smartgov for a coupe of years now. Despite this, a recent interaction a a conference asking for help with creating reports and helping with back end workflows resulted in my information being sent to the sales team where I go three weeks of daily sales calls. It is a sad excuse when the sales team doesn't even know who their own customers are. The system is buggy and we spend a good amount of staff time each day fixing failures of the system with our customers, which is inexcusable.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

There is absolutely nothing that I like about this software.

Cons:

Software is not intuitive to use. Programmers, especially the new Brightly programmers are making changes without consulting end users and creating workflow problems by adding features that create confusion.

Reasons for choosing SmartGov

I am not sure why they chose smartgov, but I can assume it was solely based on cost and not actual performance and functionality.

Reasons for switching to SmartGov

These decisions were made by the previous director and appeared to be based on cost and not functionality.

Vendor Response

Hi David! We really value your feedback and would appreciate the opportunity to discuss it more deeply with you. Would you please reach out to support@brightlysoftware.com so we can help?

Replied June 2022

Robert H.

Verified reviewer

Government Administration

201-500 employees

Used daily for more than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed January 2022

Review of SmartGov

This is the first permitting software for tracking I have used so my ability to compare to other software is limited. I am overall pleased with what I have learned and my particular process of use. I tend to be a source for others in our office who have questions about operating SmartGov and trouble shooting. I have also come to enjoy working on projects as administrator updating fees, creating permit types, adding to custom attributes, etc. I have also found that when I have an issue I cannot resolve the live support from the team is excellent. They are all patient, knowledgeable, and willing to teach me about the software every time I call.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

The flexibility of the software to meet particular needs is a plus. Changes in permit structure and appearance can be done without placing a work order to Dude Solutions as long as the Administrator is familiar and confident with making these changes.

Cons:

I do not have to work on compiling multiple user ID often but to me it seems overly complex, however, I only occasionally work on this aspect of the product and that could be a part of the problem.

Joelle W.

Verified reviewer

Environmental Services

2-10 employees

Used daily for more than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed December 2023

Online Permitting Portals

I have used Smart Gov from both sides and have really enjoyed it.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

Smart Gov is by far one of the easiest and most efficient online portals that I have used. I currently submit projects across the state and use several online portals. Smart Gov is hands down the easiest one to navigate.

Cons:

Not all the categories are available. I truly really like the Smart Gov program. I would like the option to cancel a permit once it has been started or started by mistake.

Eddie G.

Verified reviewer

Construction

51-200 employees

Used weekly for more than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed December 2023

Just honest feedback....

I love it, have for a while now. It has substantially simplified our submittal process.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

Once familiar with navigation, the amount of information available on the portal is wonderful, practically eliminates the need for a phone call, saving time and money for our organization.

Cons:

I would really love some little helpful hints for navigation on the portal. For first time users, I find that they struggle to properly navigate the site, as a lot of assumptions are implied as to where they need to go to submit certain items.

Showing 1 - 10 of 57 Reviews

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