Costs, Fees, and Prices

What we'll review:

Set Search Costs

Fees: The Price of Access

Understanding Default Search Prices

Applying Special A La Carte Pricing

Applying Special Package Pricing

Per Year Search Fees

Exception Pricing

"Costs" refer to the expenses incurred by the CRA for conducting a search, which are based on the input placed in the researcher network "Cost" column.

"Fees" are additional charges that can be set up in the researcher network and carried over or manually entered. These can include court fees, pass-through fees from the court, researcher, or provider, and fees added in exception price that are passed onto the client for employment and education verifications.

"Prices" are the amounts charged to the HR Customer for a search or service.

Set Search Costs

The 'Cost' typically refers to the amount a CRA pays to researchers or research entities to conduct searches of records. This expense is an operational cost for the CRA and varies depending on several factors. The complexity of the search, the particular county's requirements, and the volume of checks all influence the final cost. CRAs may employ internal resources or outsource to specialized researchers who have established access to specific county records. These researchers navigate the often intricate court systems to extract accurate data, justifying the amount they charge the CRAs.

Fees: The Price of Access

Apart from the operational cost, CRAs also deal with 'Court Fees.' These are fees that the researchers, either employed by or contracted by the CRA, must pay to access records. Unlike the 'Cost' to CRAs, the 'Court Fee' is not negotiable and is a standardized charge set by the courts or other entity to cover the administrative expenses of maintaining and providing access to the records. This fee may include the costs of document retrieval, photocopying, or the use of digital court record systems.



Fees can be setup in the Researcher Network by navigating to the Researcher tab -> Researcher Network -> View Location for desired search type -> Additional Fee To Charge Clients

You should be able to view all the fees you have set up in this location. Once these are done, you can choose which client or client types you want this fee passed onto by editing the overall settings in Pricing, or by location in the Special Pricing sections:

The Impact of Fees on Background Checks

For employers, these fees are often part of the background check package they pay for when hiring a CRA. It's a direct investment in workplace safety and integrity. For CRAs, these costs must be managed carefully to remain competitive without compromising the quality of the background check. It's a delicate balance to maintain profitability while ensuring comprehensive searches that meet legal and accuracy standards.

Default Search Prices

It is recommended that pricing be set up at the Client Type level first, and then any exceptions be created at the individual Client level afterward in their client settings.

To create exceptions by client, go to Clients -> View Clients, search for the client's account -> Prices -> locate the 'switch to client level pricing' option and click 'Update'

To initially setup pricing at the Client Type level, go to the Sales tab -> Client Types -> locate the desired client type -> Pricing Options. Under the Default Prices by Search Type section, you will fill in the pricing for individual searches only:

If utilizing the 'Push to Client Level' option, this will push any pricing changes from the client type down to the client level, even if the client is already using their own client-level pricing.

Legacy features that are not configurable in new system: Rush Fee, Court Copies. 

Per Year Search Fees

Fees can be added per year on any time-dependent searches where a researcher has the ability to control the years searched. For example, let's say you charge $1.00 for every year above the default 7. There is a time-dependent search in your system where the Years Searched is changed to 10 (or the search is resubmitted as 10 Years to Search, the client will be billed an extra $3.00:

Apply Special Non-Packaged Pricing by Location

The system has the ability to add special pricing to specific a la carte (or non-packaged) counties, states, instant providers, and MVRs by location. To locate the Special Pricing configurations for clients following client type level pricing, navigate to that client type -> Pricing Options -> 'Edit Pricing.' To locate the Special Pricing configurations for clients following client level pricing, navigate to that client's account -> Prices -> 'Modify Client Pricing.'

You will see the Default Prices by Service Type section at the top (as described above in Default Search Prices), then Special STATE/COUNTY Pricing for non-packaged searches. This is the section where you can apply Special Pricing to a la carte searches:

1. Select the jurisdiction.

2. Select the type of search.

3. Enter the price you wish to charge for this search type and jurisdiction. Also choose whether or not to pass the Court Fee (from the Researcher Network) to the client when this search is ordered (box checked = fees applied, box unchecked = fees not applied).

4. Click 'Add Price' and you're all set!

*NOTE* The way Special Package Pricing is structured depends on the package's content and the specific searches that have been requested. To provide an example, if a package includes 1 County Criminal search spanning 2 counties for an applicant, the cost of the first county search is absorbed by the package price. However, the cost of the second county search is separate and not categorized as an independent a la carte option within the Special Pricing structure. It's important to note that even though the second county search is tied to the package, the use of Special Package Pricing remains necessary to account for its inclusion alongside the primary package.

Apply Special Package Pricing

Special Pricing can also be applied to searches when ordered in or as a result of certain packages. This setting is below the Special Non-Packaged Pricing at the client or client type level, and there are sections to add Special Package Pricing by State or County jurisdiction. It can be used in conjunction with the a la carte Special Pricing, OR it can pull from the default a la carte pricing.

*NOTE* Should you desire to assign an alternate price, distinct from the standard a la carte rate, for a particular search ordered in conjunction with a specific package, adhere to the aforementioned guidelines for implementing Special Non-Packaged Pricing based on location. After completing that process, proceed as follows:

1. Under the appropriate section - either State or County and for the desired search type - select the jurisdiction.

2. Select the name of the package where you'd like to apply special pricing.

3. Choose whether or not to pass the Court Fee (from the Researcher Network) to the client when this search is ordered (box checked = fees applied, box unchecked = fees not applied). The default a la carte price will be used here unless a Special Non-Package Pricing should apply or if the search is included in package fulfillment.

4. Click 'Add.'

Exception Price

You can adjust the individual ‘search cost’ of a search through the ‘exception price’ process. Click "Exception Price" on the search level, which will take you to the exception pricing screen. 

New Price - The price the search will cost to your client

Fee - Any fees set-up in the researcher network to be carried over or manually entered

Search Cost - Cost of search based on input placed in the researcher network. Changing the ‘search cost’ will only change the cost of the individual search and not the search cost in the researcher network.