If you want to see how the score itself works, our company credit check page explains how payment risk is read from public signals rather than a lender's credit file.
Contractor Client Screening for Commercial Customers
Contractors and B2B service firms carry a lot of money before they see any of it: materials, crews, subcontractors, equipment and weeks of labor billed in progress invoices. When a commercial customer turns out to be a shell company, a forfeited LLC or a business with a trail of unpaid vendors, the loss is real and often large. ClientVetter screens the business customer before you take a deposit or schedule the first crew. You get one scored report built from public business records, domain and website signals, dispute mentions, sanctions screening and evidence-backed member reports, with a reason and a source for every flag. ClientVetter checks commercial customers only. It never screens homeowners or other private persons.
Built for firms that bill businesses
This page is for contractors whose customers are companies, not households.
Construction subcontractors working for general contractors, developers or property management companies.
IT services and managed service providers onboarding business accounts.
Facilities, maintenance, signage, fit-out and installation firms working for commercial tenants and operators.
Equipment, logistics and other B2B service firms that invoice after delivery.
If your customer is a private person, ClientVetter is not the right tool, and our terms forbid using it that way. Screening individuals for a service decision falls under consumer reporting rules, and we stay out of that by design. Our fcra compliant background check page explains the line in plain words.
Where commercial jobs go wrong
The pattern repeats across trades. A new customer calls with an urgent job and a good budget. The paperwork looks normal, the deposit is small or waived to win the work, and progress invoices start piling up. Then the payments stop, and only later does it come out that the entity was dissolved, that the company name on the purchase order does not match any registry record, or that other vendors have liens or lawsuits against the same business.
Checking by hand means visiting the state business registry, looking up the domain, searching court news and reviews and screening the sanctions list. On a busy week that rarely happens. ClientVetter does it in one pass, so the check fits into the estimate stage instead of being skipped.
What you see before the deposit
Every full report covers the company you are about to bill.
Registry match with status (active, dissolved, forfeited), formation date, state and registered agent. A name on the contract that does not match the registry is flagged.
Domain registration age, website reachability and HTTPS, plus mail records (MX, SPF, DMARC) that show a business with a working operation.
A summary of public review ratings and listings, with links.
Public news and court-record mentions tied to unpaid vendors, liens or lawsuits, in the company's business capacity.
Verified reports from other members about non paying clients, with the company's reply next to each one.
Sanctions screening against the OFAC SDN list and other public government lists.
A score from 0 to 100 with a band (Low, Watch, High), every point tied to a written reason and a source.
Set deposit and billing terms by risk band
The report ends with suggested terms for the band and the project value you chose. On a Low band job you may keep your usual schedule. On Watch, a larger deposit, shorter payment terms or smaller progress draws reduce how much you carry. On High, many firms ask for payment before materials are ordered or decline the job.
These suggestions are practical guidance, not legal advice. Lien rights, notice deadlines and prompt payment rules differ by state, so check them with a construction attorney or your trade association when a job is large.
Watch customers during long projects
Long jobs bring a second risk: a customer that was healthy at the start can change halfway through. ClientVetter monitors the clients you choose and alerts you when the registry status changes, the domain lapses, a new dispute appears in public records or a member files a verified non-payment report. That gives you a chance to pause the next phase before more money goes out. See business credit monitoring for details.
Plans for contractors
Most small contractors start on Starter: 25 full checks and 10 monitored clients a month for $49, or $24 a month billed $288 a year. Firms with several estimators choose Team for 120 checks, 50 monitored clients, 5 seats and the right to submit non-payment reports, at $129 a month or $64 a month billed $768 a year. Limits reset each billing period, and you can cancel anytime.
See pricing
Can I check a general contractor who hires me as a sub?
Yes. A general contractor is a business customer, so it is exactly what ClientVetter is built to check.
Can I screen a homeowner before a remodel?
No. ClientVetter checks businesses and people only in their role at a business. Screening a private person for a service decision is consumer reporting, and our terms forbid it.
What if the customer uses a DBA name?
Enter the domain and the state. The report shows the legal entity it finds in the registry and flags a mismatch between the trade name and the registered name when it sees one.
Does a High band mean I must turn down the job?
No. The band summarizes the signals and the reasons are listed so you can judge them. Many firms take High band jobs with payment up front.
Screen the next commercial customer before you order materials
Enter the customer's domain and see the first signals in about a minute. No card needed for the preview.