Winning the Incentive Is Only Half the Job

Securing an economic development incentive is a milestone, but the signed agreement is the start of a multi-year commitment. Most incentives are performance-based, tied to job creation, payroll thresholds, capital investment, and annual reporting. If a company misses one, it can face reduced benefits or clawbacks of incentives it has already received.

The hidden risk

Incentive agreements are often negotiated by one team and managed by another. The common problems are predictable:

• Multiple programs and agencies, each with its own deadlines and definitions
• Shifting business plans that the agreement doesn’t automatically account for
• Staff turnover that takes knowledge of the obligations with it
• Inconsistent definitions of “new job,” “qualified payroll,” or “eligible investment” from program to program

What we do

Vista Site Selection manages the full compliance process:

• Agreement review that turns each agreement into a clear map of commitments and deadlines
• Compliance calendar management across every program and location
• Report preparation and submission, coordinated with your HR, finance, and tax teams
• Performance monitoring that flags potential shortfalls early, while there’s still time to act
• Agency relationship management, including amendments or extensions when plans change
• Audit support backed by organized documentation

Why Vista

We understand incentives from the negotiating table forward. We help clients secure incentives through site selection, so we know how agreements are structured and where the risks sit.

We know the agencies. Strong relationships with economic development partners matter when a project needs flexibility.

We free up your team. We handle the tracking and reporting so compliance never becomes an afterthought.

To support our compliance services, Vista Site Selection developed Navigator, a tool that keeps all of a company’s incentive commitments in one place. Navigator turns each incentive agreement into a clear set of obligations, including job creation targets, payroll thresholds, capital investment requirements, and reporting deadlines. It then tracks actual performance against those commitments over the life of the agreement. Upcoming deadlines and potential shortfalls are flagged early, so teams can act before a missed report or an unmet target puts their benefits at risk. Whether a company manages one incentive or a portfolio spread across several states and programs, Navigator gives leadership a single, current view of where every commitment stands. Combined with Vista’s hands-on compliance management, the result is fewer surprises and better protection for the incentives you worked hard to secure.

Protect what you worked to secure

An incentive is only as valuable as your ability to keep it. Contact us for a complimentary review of your current incentive commitments.