Frequently asked questions
Application
No, if a business does not meet the requirements, they are not eligible to become a Member Accredited Business.
You can read BBB's Standards here.
You can apply over the phone, through a virtual meeting or online.
Schedule a conversation or apply online
BBB Member dues are based on the amount of full time employees per business. Calculate your monthly BBB Member Accreditation fee here.
Better Business Bureau is a non-profit association. Contributions or gifts to the Better Business Bureau are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes. However, dues payments are deductible by Member Accredited Businesses as an ordinary and necessary business expense. The Better Business Bureau does not lobby. Payment of your dues confirms your commitment to the BBB Accreditation Standards.
BBB recommends businesses commit to a year to see your full return on investment through exclusive member benefits. However, there is no penalty if you need to resign.
If BBB created a website for you, your website will no longer be active. You will no longer be able to use the Accredited Business Seal.
BBB has Accreditation Standards that all Member Accredited Businesses must abide by. BBB does a background check on the business and the principal of the businesses, as well as verifying all licenses are up to date and valid.
Benefits
Better Business Bureau is a non-profit association. Contributions or gifts to the Better Business Bureau are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes. However, dues payments are deductible by Member Accredited Businesses as an ordinary and necessary business expense. The Better Business Bureau does not lobby. Payment of your dues confirms your commitment to the BBB Code of Business Practices.
Yes, you can post job openings through BBB.
Website maintenance is included with your BBB Member Accreditation. If you need any edits made to your BBB supplied website, you are welcome to email your Customer Care Representative. Alternatively, upon request, BBB can provide you access to make your own website edits, but training on the website platform (Weebly) can not be provided.
Note: Only available to Member Accredited Businesses on the BBB+ and BBB Max plans.
Yes, through BBB's Get Connected Customer Referral service.
Yes, there are business to business discounts posted in your BBB Account login. Other Member Accredited Businesses logging into their account will be able to see your posted discount as well.
No, all BBB benefits and services are included in your Member Accreditation depending on the plan you select.
Once approved as a BBB Member Accredited Business, you will be assigned a dedicated Customer Care Representative. Your representative will be available to help walk you through activating your member benefits based on the plan you selected.
There are a few ways ROI (return on investment) is factored.
1. Actual cost of the product.
2. Average value from BBB Members' feedback.
3. Typical cost of the marketplace.
Once a quote is submitted, a notification is sent out immediately. You can sign up for notifications via email, text or both. A reminder email is sent out the next day, as a confirmation, to see if the business received the request or got the job.
All Member Accredited Businesses are automatically added to BBB's Get Connected Customer Referral service, but they can be removed upon request.
Upon request, your website can take up to 4 weeks, from start to launch. This can vary depending on the amount of content and photos your business includes on the website.
Note: Only available to Member Accredited Businesses on the BBB+ and BBB Max plans.
BBB does offer arbitration to disputes that can not be resolved during the complaint process.
There are over 50+ business solutions & benefits of becoming an member accredited business. One of the most important is the BBB Seal of Trust.
See and read about all 50+ benefits here..
BBB Member Accreditation shows that your business is committed to BBB's Standards for Trust, fueling customer confidence and differentiating your business from the competition.
BBB Toolbox is an easy business management system to keep tools in one accessible platform. BBB Toolbox is a simple and cost-effective system that helps companies drive new business through multiple marketing channels. The à la carte feature allows businesses to customize digital products so they only pay for what they need without getting tied into contracts.
BBB Toolbox Directory Management is included in the BBB Max plan.
Upon cancellation of BBB Member Accreditation, a business' website will no longer be live.
A business can request to have the domain name transferred.
Business logo
Upon request, creation of your business logo can take up to 4 weeks.
Our team will always focus on quality over quantity. The turnaround time depends on the type of business, how much content is involved, how much involvement the business has during the development process, and our team’s other logo/website maintenance priorities. It’s a creative process to develop a brand/colors/styles for a business and these creative factors can also affect the turnaround time.
Note: Only available to Member Accredited Businesses on the BBB+ and BBB Max plans.
Complaints
Responding to complaints is a good business practice and the right thing to do whether or not a business is a BBB Member Accredited Business.
A majority of non-Accredited Businesses cooperate with BBB by responding to complaints from their customers. Cooperation by non-Accredited Businesses is voluntary. Unlike BBB Member Accredited Businesses, non-Accredited Businesses have not made a commitment to respond to BBB complaints.
BBB is committed to dealing fairly and evenhandedly with all businesses in the manner in which we handle, close and report customer complaints. You can read the full complaint process here.
General
BBB does a yearly review on all Member Accredited Businesses to confirm they are continuously upholding and maintaining the standards they agreed to. BBB will spot check businesses at any time.
You can see the count, but not exactly who viewed your BBB Business Profile. You can also see the location of where people view your Business Profile on a map in your BBB Member Account.
Ratings
BBB ratings represent BBB's opinion of how the business is likely to interact with its customers. The BBB rating is based on information BBB is able to obtain about the business, including complaints received from the public. BBB seeks and uses information directly from businesses and from public data sources.
BBB assigns ratings from A+ (highest) to F (lowest). In some cases, BBB will not rate the business (indicated by an NR, or "No Rating") for reasons that include insufficient information about a business or ongoing review/update of the business's file.
BBB Business Profiles generally explain the most significant factors that raise or lower a business's rating.
BBB ratings are not a guarantee of a business's reliability or performance. BBB recommends that consumers consider a business's BBB rating in addition to all other available information about the business.
Customer Reviews are not used in the calculation of the BBB Letter Grade Rating.
Read the Ratings Elements here.