Background checks are an essential part of the hiring process. It can give you crucial information about a potential employee.
Not doing one can result in damage to your brand’s image and reputation.
So if you’re running a business, you need to be doing this as well. But where can you get a background check done? Are all background checks the same?
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If you run a quick Google search, you’ll learn that there are countless types of background checks offered by hundreds of different services.
It’s tough to figure out which ones will actually give you the information that you’re looking for.
That’s I want to show you the top background check services on the market today, and help you decide which one is the best for your business.
The 5 Best Background Check Companies
- Intelius — The best for being able to run an unlimited number of background checks
- GoodHire — The best for flexible pricing and intermittent use
- B&B Reporting — The best for next-day background check results
- Accurate — The most affordable background checks for small businesses
- Verifirst — The best background check service for property management companies
In a market flooded with background check services, there are really only five companies that I would consider using as an employer. I’ll explain the pros, cons, and pricing of each service below.
#1 – Intelius — Best for Unlimited Background Checks
- Free limited searches
- Premium plan only $29.95/mo
- Search names, numbers & more
- Quick background checks
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Intelius is slightly different compared to other background check services on this list. That’s because they offer their services to the Average Joe who wants to run a quick background check.
However, an employer could still use this service to find information about a prospective hire.
Intelius allows you to search for names, phone numbers, and addresses for free. It also shows the person’s age and a few associated cities. Of course, the results will be limited.
To get the most out of Intelius, you’ll need a premier account. These reports include:
- Full name
- Possible relatives
- Phone numbers
- Email addresses
- Social networks
- Employment
- Education
- Current and past address
- Age and date of birth
- Known aliases
- Criminal records
- Marriage and divorce history
- Lawsuits, bankruptcies, and liens
With Intelius, you’ll pay a fixed monthly fee to run unlimited reports. Memberships are month-to-month and cost $29.95. You can try your first month for a discounted rate of $14.95.
The price of Intelius is definitely appealing, but the reports are limited compared to other companies. If you have a large business that runs tons of background checks, you could use Intelius as a way to pre-screen candidates before running a more thorough report.
For example, the $29.95 per month fee could save you money in the long run if you avoid wasting upwards of $100 on extensive reports.
A red flag on Intelius would be enough to narrow down your candidate pool. Then you could always run a full background check through another platform.
#2 – GoodHire — Best for Flexible Pricing and Intermittent Use
- Most popular for small business
- Flexible pricing plans
- Fast and detailed reports
- Multiple options
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GoodHire is one of the most popular background check services for small business owners.
It’s also used by some larger and well-known companies like Tuft & Needle and Draft Kings—along with 75,000 other orgs that rely on GoodHire.
72% of GoodHire customers say that these background checks are faster than other services that they’ve used in the past.
One of the reasons why GoodHire is such an excellent choice for small business owners is because of the flexibility in their pricing.
Since a small business owner doesn’t hire as frequently as a larger organization, you won’t have to pay a monthly fee for background checks.
For example, if you plan to run less than 25 background checks per year, they only charge for each report. Only need five checks? Just pay for the five. It’s that simple.
The cost of a background check depends on how much information you want to find:
Basic
- 1 business day
- SSN trace and associated countries
- National criminal database search
- Sex offender search
Standard
- 1-2 business days
- SSN trace and associated countries
- National criminal database search
- Sex offender search
- Domestic watch list search
- 7 year county criminal court search
Premium
- 2-4 business days
- SSN trace and associated countries
- National criminal database search
- Sex offender search
- Domestic watch list search
- 7 year county criminal court search
- 1 education verification
- 1 employer verification
As price increases, the background checks become more extensive. GoodHire also gives you the option to add-on other screenings and services like:
- Ongoing monthly monitoring
- Education verification
- Employment verification
- Professional license verification
- Motor vehicle records search
- Credit report
- International employer verification
GoodHire provides additional assistance for drug screenings and healthcare sanctions as well. At the end of the day, they have nearly every type of background check that a small business owner would need before hiring someone.
One downside of using GoodHire is that they charge a one-time setup fee to verify your company. This cost might be tough to justify if you’re only running a couple of checks per year. But if you plan to use the service at least a dozen times or so, it’s worth it.
The add-ons can also drive up the cost of your checks. So if you need lots of add-ons for each background check, it might be worth requesting a custom quote from their sales team.
#3 – B&B Reporting — Best for Next-Day Results
B&B Reporting has offered great background check solutions for 20+ years.
On average, they turnaround reports in less than 24 hours. B&B Reporting also has a 19% criminal hit ratio, which is above the industry average.
They accomplish this by using the latest tech. This cloud-based platform makes it easy for you to order and review background checks online.
Each background check is completely customized. Choose exactly what types of records you want to search for or verify, and the price will vary based on those inquiries.
Unlike other background check services on the market today, B&B reporting does not require a monthly minimum or charge you for an initial setup cost.
The B&B Reporting technology allows you to send electronic consent forms to applicants to initiate the process. They also have an intuitive dashboard that shows you the status of candidates and reports at a glance.
With B&B Reporting, you can run background checks for:
- Multi-jurisdictional criminal search
- County criminal search
- Statewide criminal search
- Federal criminal search
- Public records
- Professional references
- Employment verification
- Motor vehicle records
- Education verification
- Licenses and professional certifications verification
- Employment credit checks
If you need it, they likely have the info you’re looking for.
One downside: pricing isn’t transparent. To start running background checks and get a quote, you need to fill out a form online to discuss your screening program with a sales agent.
For prices, you need to be verified by B&B Reporting. Then you can receive a quote.
#4 – Accurate — Most Affordable for Small Businesses
- Affordable without monthly minimums
- Straightforward and easy to use
- Great for small businesses
- One-time setup fee
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Accurate is a simple and straightforward way to run background checks for your small business.
Though it’s advertised for small and medium-sized companies, I recommend it to microbusinesses (1-9 employees) and companies with very small teams. That’s because you pay per report and can add on other searches and verifications such as Motor Vehicle Reports and License Verifications a la carte — and for just $9.95. That’s an ideal payment format for smaller teams with niche requirements and checks to make.
Accurate is affordable and does not require any monthly minimums for background checks. They are FCRA compliant, which will help you avoid lawsuits while screening employees.
To get started with Accurate, you’ll need to register your account, e-sign their agreement, and get approved before you can start ordering reports. This company does charge a one-time setup fee to verify your business.
Once you’ve been verified, you can order the following reports:
Basic
- Social security trace
- Address history
- Current criminal county search
- National criminal check
- National sex offender registry
Standard
- Social security trace
- Address history
- 7 year criminal history
- National criminal check
- National sex offender registry
- Global watch
Premium
- Social security trace
- Address history
- 7 year criminal history
- National criminal check
- National sex offender registry
- Global watch
- 1 education verification
- 1 employment verification
As you can see, these plans are very similar to the ones offered by GoodHire. The biggest difference between Accurate and GoodHire is the add-on options.
Accurate doesn’t offer as many add-ons, but the add-ons they do offer are cheaper. GoodHire’s add-ons typically start at $14.99, whereas Accurate begins at $9.95.
All of this makes Accurate a better choice for smaller businesses that don’t need features like international employment verification. But this does make Accurate a bit more limited than some of the other options on our list.
#5 – Verifirst — The Best for Property Management Companies
- Niche-specific solutions
- Customer ID verification
- Unlimited number of users
- Find the most qualified tenants
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Verifirst offer a wide range of services including:
- Customer ID verification
- Employment screening
- Tenant screening
- Corporate screening
All these options are great, but I’d prefer to use Verifirst for niche-specific solutions. Their tenant-screening services stand out the most to me. It’s great no matter if you own one investment property or run a larger property management business. They’ll help you get the best information on your tenants.
If you’ve been managing properties for a while, you know that renting a unit to the wrong person can be a costly mistake. Not only are you putting your property at risk, but this decision can also result in thousands of lost rent, legal fees, and turnover costs.
Verifirst offers specific background checks for tenant screening. These reports include:
- Identity checks
- Criminal searches
- Rental history
- Eviction records
- Credit and financial history
In addition to the actual reports, Verifirst makes it easy for you to manage applicants and view everything online. You can access this web-based platform 24 hours per day and grant access to an unlimited number of users.
This is perfect for those of you who run a property management business. Furthermore, Verifirst integrates with popular property management systems that you’re already using.
The also offer complimentary pre-screenings of an applicant’s income and analysis of their assets. This gives you a good idea of who your applicant is before you even run the actual screen.
Verifirst lets you run multiple screenings simultaneously, which is ideal for joint applications or leases with co-signers.
All pricing on Verifirst is custom. So you need to contact their team to get started and learn more about the rates for running reports.
Overall, Verifirst is the best background check company for tenant screening. But I’d look for other options if my business was in another industry.
How to Find the Best Background Check Services
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You might have your own unique needs in background checks. However, there are specific sets of features everyone should keep an eye out for.
This is the methodology that I used in this guide. I’ll explain why each one is important as you’re narrowing down your choices.
Types of Background Checks
Background check companies offer a variety of services depending on what you’re looking for.
Some are intended for personal use, connecting with relatives, or finding information about your neighbors. None of these are really useful for employers.
When running a check on potential hires, these are some of the most common types of searches you’ll want on the report:
- SSN trace and identity verification
- County, state, and federal criminal search
- Sex offender registry
- Employment verification
- Professional certifications and licenses verification
Depending on the type of business you have, you might also want to run motor vehicle records, or various international screenings.
Turnaround Time
Basic information like identity verification is usually instant. Other reports such as licenses verification and employment verification can take a few days, depending on what you’re searching for.
Understand how long it takes for reports to come in. Tip: It shouldn’t take weeks for a report to come in. In fact, it should just take a few days at most.
You don’t want that much time to pass, as it extends the hiring process longer than it needs to be.
Company Size
The size of your business is crucial when looking for a background screening service. Smaller companies obviously don’t run checks as frequently. So as a small business owner, you should find a service that doesn’t require monthly or annual minimums.
Very small businesses don’t always need extensive reports either. A basic identity verification and criminal check is usually sufficient.
If you’re a large business though, you’ll need the kind of background check service that can meet your needs and the amount of checks you need to make each quarter.
Initial Setup and New Background Checks
If you’re running a background check for the first time with a new service, you might need to get your business verified before you get started. This process is easier with some services compared to others.
Sometimes you can just sign up online, but in other instances, you’ll need to request a quote and speak to an agent to get set up. In some cases, you’ll need to pay a one-time setup fee as well.
Once approved, look for background check services that make it as easy as possible for you to run a new search. Companies like B&B Reporting let candidates e-sign consent forms, which speeds up the process.
Report Accuracy
At the end of the day, accurate reporting is probably the most important part of the background check process.
It would be terrible if a report came up clean, but the person actually had a criminal history. This is something you need to know about before hiring someone.
All of the companies in this guide have been around for years, which should help you rest easy when you’re running reports. But it’s always a good idea to check and see what databases they are using for screenings.
Conclusion
Background checks are common practice in the hiring process. As a business owner, this is something that needs to be taken seriously.
Of the five I’ve reviewed above, each one fits neatly into different organizational needs.
If you’re constantly running background checks (perhaps because you’re on a hiring spree) or simply don’t want to worry about running into a monthly limit (or incurring charges because you’ve exceeded it), go with Intelius.
On the opposite end, organizations who run background checks infrequently but need a reliable provider would do well to choose GoodHire.
B&B Reporting is the top choice if you need a quick turnaround on your checks. They’ll get you results in 24 hours.
For organizations on a tight budget, Accurate is worth your consideration for affordable background checks.
And those who work in property management or otherwise have to screen potential tenants should home in on Verifirst, my top choice for running background checks for that specific purpose.
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