The Economic Service Portal.NRW (WSP.NRW)

The WSP.NRW is the central digital gateway for the economy in North Rhine-Westphalia. A large number of business-related administrative services can be handled digitally via the WSP.NRW. The offer is gradually being expanded. This implements the requirements of the [Online Access Act] (https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/ozg/BJNR313800017.html) and the [Single Digital Gateway Regulation] (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/DE/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32018R1724&from=EN) (SDG Regulation).

Further information on the context of OZG/SDG-VO can be found here.

The WSP.NRW takes over the tasks of the [point of single contact](/help/point of single contact/) (EA) in accordance with the Services and Professional Recognition Directive and is supported by the contact persons of info@nrw-ea.de (head office of the EA). It is also a unitary body within the meaning of the Administrative Procedure Act NRW.

The WSP.NRW is based on the commercial service portal.NRW (GSP.NRW), which was launched in July 2018.

The legal basis for the WSP.NRW is the Wirtschafts-Portal-Gesetz NRW (WiPG NRW) and the related Implementing Regulation (WiPG-DVO).

The WSP.NRW consistently relies on intuitive user guidance. The clear website with clear structures, a responsive design and only 3 clicks to the application support an optimal user experience. The prospect of an efficient implementation of the "once-only principle", i.e. the principle of the once-only collection of company data, also promises to make things easier for companies.

In the future, the WSP.NRW will, in particular, include administrative services from the business situations of "establishing, managing and closing companies" and "cross-border services", thus targeting the needs of companies in the context of their business activities.

The WSP.NRW consists of various components and basic services:

• nrwGOV is the state content management system based on Drupal-8 for the websites and portals of all state authorities and institutions in NRW
• The administrative search engine searches nationwide specifically for the authorities responsible for an administrative service in the Internet offers of the public administration
• ePayBL is the electronic payment service in the WSP.NRW
• Via the central ‘nala’ distribution platform, data from the commercial advertisement is forwarded to the ‘authorised entities’ in accordance with § 14 Abs. 8 GewO. This relieves the burden on municipalities and other authorities, as the data can be entered into the specialist procedures of the competent authorities via the ‘nala distribution platform’ without media disruption
• In the WSP.NRW, users can register via the Servicekonto.NRW or the nationwide uniform company account based on ELSTER technology
• Form.io is an open source form management system that allows online services to be created in a standardised way in the ‘modular system’

The WSP 3.0 was launched in May 2021. The relaunch of the website includes, among other things, a modernized user interface, the refinement of the search function and the further development of the chatbot Guido. In addition, the Start-up Assistant (Project Clarification) supports you step by step in the processing of your request. It guides the founders iteratively to clarify their concerns with the help of a questionnaire and at the end offers a complete overview of the next steps, necessary forms and evidence as well as the responsible contact persons and authorities in the process.

After registration in the user account, the Business Assistant also supports the digital submission of the completed forms and required proofs and provides up-to-date information on the processing status of the request. Thus, the Economic Assistant is an important partner at the side of the founders. Experienced and less experienced founders can benefit equally from the use of the start-up assistant and, above all, save time and effort in this way.

Since June 2021, the WSP.NRW has been connected as [one of the first pilot partners] (https://www.stmd.bayern.de/federal-uniform-company-account-startet-gerlach-richter-hagen-und-fueracker-quantensprung-fuer-kommunikation-inter-unternehmen-und-behoerden/) to the [federal-uniform-company-account] (https://mein-unternehmenskonto.de/public/#startpage). Identification and authentication is carried out by means of ELSTER ID.

On 2 June 2021, our virtual event ‘One-for-All – A Look at the Digitalisation Workshop.NRW’ took place.

Recordings of the event, presentations and all further information can be found here.

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