How to claim and register your business in under 60 seconds with auto-fill

Adding your business to BizGrid.lk used to mean typing out your address, phone numbers, website and opening hours by hand. Now you can pull those details straight from OpenStreetMap, the free world map. If your business is already on the map, you can fill in most of the form in under a minute. This guide shows you how, step by step.

Step 1: Sign in with one click

Go to Create an account and choose Continue with Google, Continue with Facebook or Continue with LinkedIn. Confirm on the screen that opens, and you’ll come straight back to BizGrid.lk.

The first time, we ask for your mobile number to finish setting up your account. You don’t need to create a password or click a confirmation email, because Google, Facebook or LinkedIn has already confirmed your email address. We only receive your name, email address and profile picture. Read more about what we receive.

Prefer not to use a social account? Sign up with your email address and a password instead. Everything else in this guide works the same way.

Step 2: Check whether you’re already listed

Many Sri Lankan businesses are already in our directory. Search for your business name in the directory. If you find it:

1. Open the listing and choose Claim this business.
2. We email a 6-digit code to the email address shown on the listing.
3. Enter the code, and the listing moves into your account, ready to edit.

If you no longer have access to that email address, use the “I don’t have access to that email address” option on the claim page and our team will verify you another way. If your business isn’t listed, carry on to step 3.

Don’t worry if you skip this step: the auto-fill tool also tells you if the business you pick is already on BizGrid.lk.

Are you an individual professional rather than a business, such as a lawyer, electrician or tutor? Follow our guide to creating a professional profile instead; you won’t need a business registration number.

Step 3: Find your business with auto-fill

In your dashboard, choose Add a business. At the top of the form you’ll see Auto-fill from OpenStreetMap.

1. Type your business name followed by your town, for example “Perera Hardware Kandy”. Results appear after a moment.
2. Choose your business from the list. Only businesses in Sri Lanka are shown.
3. We fill in the form with the details OpenStreetMap holds for your business (not every place has all of them):
   • business name
   • street address, district, town and map location
   • phone numbers (a mobile number goes into “Mobile / WhatsApp”, a landline into “Office phone”)
   • email, website and Facebook page
   • opening hours for each day of the week

The fields that were filled in are highlighted in green, and a message lists what was copied.

Step 4: Check the details and add what the map doesn’t know

Go through the three steps of the form and check everything. Map information is added by volunteers and can be missing or out of date, especially phone numbers and opening hours. Change anything that isn’t right. Then add the details only you can provide:

• Industry and speciality, so customers browsing a category can find you.
• Business Registration Number (BRN), which we use to check that the business is real.
• Year established.
• A description of at least 80 characters. Say what you sell or do, who it’s for and where you work. Our guide on writing a profile that gets enquiries has examples.

Step 5: Submit for review

Press Submit for review. Every new listing is checked by our team, usually within one to two business days, and we email you as soon as it’s live. You can keep improving the listing in the meantime from My businesses: add your logo, social media links and keywords.

If your business doesn’t appear in the list

• Add your town or street to the search, or try the name exactly as it appears on your signboard.
• Many businesses are not on OpenStreetMap yet. Fill in the form yourself; it takes a couple of minutes.
• Add your business to the map. Anyone can add a business on openstreetmap.org for free. It helps apps and maps that use OpenStreetMap show you, and the auto-fill will find you next time. A free Google Business Profile at business.google.com is also worth having for Google Search and Maps.

If the auto-filled details are out of date

Correct them in our form before you submit. What you submit is what appears on BizGrid.lk; we don’t overwrite your listing with map data later. You can also correct your business on openstreetmap.org and in your Google Business Profile, so customers see the same information everywhere. Consistent details across maps, directories and your website also help your business rank better in search results.

Auto-fill results come from OpenStreetMap. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. BizGrid.lk is not affiliated with the OpenStreetMap Foundation.