Every badge here stands for one and only one thing we checked and verified to be true, against evidence we can show you. That was deliberate: one badge that means one specific thing is more useful than a rating system that aggregates into nothing at all. Here’s what we mean by each one.
Read about how our checks themselves work on our verification process page.
Verified
VerifiedEvery provider
What it means. The business is real, in good standing right now, and holds the licences its category demands.
How it is earned. A researcher verifies corporate filings, licensing boards, public and regulatory records, and the business’s public footprint manually. Every business in our directory has this badge because passing is the requirement for being here.
What it doesn’t mean. Nothing about quality, price, capacity, or the treatment you’ll receive.
Verified Plus
Verified PlusBy application
What it means. Everything in Verified, plus the business has also passed an automated Know Your Business check.
How it is earned. Manual review, followed by a KYB check that covers company registry and incorporation, beneficial ownership, sanctions and watchlist databases, and adverse media. Verified Plus businesses also receive a full profile.
What it doesn’t mean. Still nothing about quality. Knowing more about who sits behind a business is not the same as knowing how well it works.
Can it be bought? No. There is a fee to apply, but that goes to running the check, never towards passing it. If a business doesn’t pass, it receives no badge and the fee is not refunded.
Established
EstablishedEvery provider
What it means. The business has traded for ten years or more.
How it is earned. Taken from the formation date we see in corporate filings, not from what a business claims about itself. Tenure is a weak signal, but it’s also a hard one: to have made it this long, a firm has weathered at least one economic downturn.
What it doesn’t mean. That the business is better than a newer one. Lots of great providers are just three years old.
Award-Winning
Award-WinningEvery provider
What it means. The business has won an award from a recognised industry publication or organisation.
How it is earned. We double check the award with the group that gave it, and link to that group so you can see how valuable the award might be. We don’t rank awards ourselves. A provider cannot add this badge without us confirming their award first.
What it doesn’t mean. That we endorse the award or the group behind it. Some industry awards are rigorous; some are advertising. The link is there so you can decide which is which.
BizMonda Pick
BizMonda PickEvery provider
What it means. Editors reviewed this category and believe this provider gives you a good chance at a good experience.
How it is earned. Editorial review, informed by the verified facts above plus public reputation signals. More than one provider can hold it in a category.
This is the only opinion in this guide
Everything else on this page is a fact we checked. BizMonda Picks are our opinions. They can’t be bought, but they also can’t be independently verified like the others can. You should weigh them accordingly.
Nationwide
NationwideService providers only
What it means. The provider offers services to customers in all or most states in the United States.
How it is earned. Rated from publicly available information about where a provider’s service is available. Software vendors aren’t eligible, because geography is rarely a limitation for them.
What it doesn’t mean. That coverage is even. A company can cover forty states well and ten barely at all and still count — so ask the provider about your own area.
Multi-Location
Multi-LocationService providers only
What it means. The provider has more than one physical office.
How it is earned. Checked against filings and public records. Offices, not mailing addresses or “locations” at shared workspaces.
What it doesn’t mean. That bigger is better. It signals depth of resources, which matters for certain jobs and for just as many that it doesn’t.
Well-Funded
Well-FundedSoftware only
What it means. The company has had notable investment, or is backed by investors of standing.
How it is earned. From publicly sourced funding rounds and investors. This badge exists solely to answer one question any business ignores at their peril: what happens if the tool you build your business processes around goes away in eighteen months?
What it doesn’t mean. That the software is any good, or that funding guarantees survival. Funded companies axe products all the time.
What a missing badge means
Often nothing at all. Most badges are scoped. Nationwide and Multi-Location are for service providers only, Well-Funded only software — so where they don’t apply, you won’t see them. Others indicate facts that may simply not be true of a business yet. A five-year-old firm has no Established badge. Nor should it.
We’re particularly conscious of Verified Plus
If a provider lacks Verified Plus they didn’t fail a check — they’ve just usually not submitted to one. Please don’t interpret the lack of Verified Plus as thinking poorly of a business. Every business on this site has already passed the verification required to be here at all.
What no badge here guarantees
No badge here is an endorsement, recommendation, or guarantee of quality. We don’t audit financials, review work product, test software, or confirm pricing, availability, or results. Each badge here only tells you what a business is, never how well it performs.
Badges are re-checked every twelve months and withdrawn when they’re no longer true, which also means anything here may be out of date by up to a year. Confirm anything you need to rely on with the provider directly, and see our Terms of Use for details.