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Play 17 · Public records

ForRegistered agents and tax preparersToThe owner

Your Texas entity lost its right to do business

A seven-step play for a registered agent or small-business tax preparer. It starts from Texas Comptroller, stacks Texas Secretary of State and Google Maps on top, and ends in a message to the owner that is useful before anyone replies.

Deploy in Glider

Installs this workflow, five project tables and a draft campaign. Source access and any external outputs are checked before research.

Category
Public records
Sources
3
Steps
7

The workflow

  1. TriggerTexas ComptrollerFranchise tax status: forfeited, and since when
  2. Evidence
    Texas Secretary of StateThe entity record: officers and registered agentGoogle MapsProof the business is still operating
  3. Artifact
    What you hand overA reinstatement brief: what is missing, what forfeiture means for the officers, and the steps to fix it in order.
  4. Contact
    GliderFinds the owner, with a verified work email and a phone
  5. Message
    Send itFrom your own mailboxes, evidence attached

Why it earns attention

When a Texas company's right to do business is forfeited, its officers can become personally liable for some company debts, and most owners have no idea it happened. A still-open business is the clearest sign they don't know.

The play in seven steps

  1. 01

    Find forfeited companies

    Texas Comptroller
    What you pull
    Franchise tax account status for entities in your area: status, the date it changed, and the last report filed.
    Why it matters
    Forfeited means the company lost its right to do business in Texas. The date tells you how long the exposure has been running.
    Example

    Right to transact business: forfeited · since Aug 14, 2026 · last report filed for 2025

  2. 02

    Find who is exposed

    Texas Secretary of State
    What you pull
    The entity record: officers and directors, registered agent, and formation date.
    Why it matters
    These are the people who can carry the liability. It also tells you whether a registered agent is already supposed to be watching.
    Example

    LLC formed 2018 · 2 managing members · registered agent is the owner at the business address

  3. 03

    Confirm the business is still trading

    Google Maps
    What you pull
    The listing at the business address: open hours, recent reviews and whether it is marked open.
    Why it matters
    An open shop with a forfeited charter is the case where the owner almost certainly does not know. A closed one is not worth the message.
    Example

    Austin location · open today · 6 reviews this month

  4. 04

    Build the reinstatement brief

    Your artifact
    What you build
    What is missing (the report, the tax, or both), what forfeiture means for officers in plain words, and the reinstatement steps in order with forms named.
    Why it works
    Owners panic at the word liability. A short ordered list turns it into a chore they can hand you.
    Example

    Missing: 2026 franchise tax report · 3 steps · Comptroller first, then Secretary of State if needed

  5. 05

    Check before you send

    Statuses update with a lag: recheck the Comptroller the day you send. Keep the liability line general and factual, and do not give legal advice in the message.

  6. 06

    Find the owner in Glider

    Glider
    Search for
    OwnerManaging memberPresidentOffice manager
    Why them
    The owner is the officer who is exposed and the one who signs the filing. In a small business there is nobody else.
    What you get
    A work email and a direct phone, with the email verified before it goes into a sequence.
  7. 07

    Send the evidence, then run the first test

    • Facts from the data (the number is the step)
    • What you built for them
    • One small ask
    Why it works
    It tells the owner something true and urgent about their own company that they can check in a minute. The fix is small and you have already mapped it.
    First test
    Twenty forfeited entities that still have a live Maps listing and recent reviews.
    Success looks like
    Four reinstatement filings out of twenty open businesses.

The sample message is hypothetical and its numbers are illustrative. Verify every claim, date and rule before sending.

Sources used

The three sources this play names. Each links to the other plays that use it.

Texas ComptrollerFranchise tax status and sales tax permits1 playTexas Secretary of StateTexas business entity registry1 playGoogle MapsLocal businesses, hours, status and reviews10 plays
Play 15Public recordsForBid writers and vendorsToThe vendor's ownerLast time this contract got one bid+16 sources · 7 stepsPlay 23Public recordsForDisaster-loan packagersToThe business ownerYour county is in the disaster declaration3 sources · 7 stepsPlay 01Public recordsForSpecialty subcontractorsToThe prime's subcontracts managerYour next customer just won a contract they can't fulfill alone3 sources · 7 steps
All 63 GTM plays

Run this play with Glider.

Deploy the full workflow into a project. Conway checks your scope and source access, builds the evidence, and prepares outreach for review.

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