Getting BBB accredited can open doorways to your small enterprise. A BBB accreditation (aka a Higher Enterprise Bureau accreditation) is a certification from the Higher Enterprise Bureau that reveals prospects you’re a reputable, good-standing enterprise. Whereas it isn’t a requirement, it’s one thing to contemplate setting your sights on for constructing your long-term model fame.
And studying find out how to get BBB accredited may not be as difficult as you suppose. Learn on for every part that you must find out about getting BBB accredited, the way it works, its largest advantages, and the appliance course of.
What Does It Imply to Be BBB Accredited?
A BBB accreditation is sort of a seal of credibility to your small enterprise. It locations you in the neighborhood of companies verified by the Higher Enterprise Bureau, which vets good and reliable small companies. Its aim is to create a more healthy and moral small enterprise ecosystem for shoppers.
The BBB accredits companies based mostly on eight requirements:
Construct Belief: Companies should have a superb observe report, function for at the least six months, fulfill all licensing necessities, keep a B ranking, and have zero authorities violations.
Promote Actually: Observe all authorized and moral promoting insurance policies (no deceptive advertisements or exaggerated claims).
Inform the Fact: At all times signify your services in truth, each internally and externally—from the way you talk along with your workers to the way you write your advertising and marketing messages.
Be Clear: Be clear about enterprise particulars like its nature, location, and possession, each to the BBB and to prospects.
Honor Guarantees: At all times comply with by means of on contracts and commitments your corporation makes, together with resolving excellent BBB complaints.
Be Responsive: If the BBB requires any documentation from your corporation, reply in a manner that’s skilled and adequately addresses the request.
Safeguard Privateness: Deal with all delicate details about your prospects with utmost safety, similar to bank card data, Social Safety numbers, or salaries. Make certain your web site has a privateness coverage, and disclose the way you accumulate and deal with data.
Embody Integrity: This merely means to deal with all your corporation practices in good religion, from manufacturing to promotion and past.
As you may need observed, all these requirements are simply plain and easy tips on being a superb, respected enterprise. All of them are issues your corporation wants to meet earlier than you may get accepted for accreditation.
Advantages of Getting BBB Accreditation
So is it really price it to get accredited by the Higher Enterprise Bureau? From a advertising and marketing and branding perspective, sure. Greater than something, a BBB accreditation grants you the perfect seal of credibility potential for a small enterprise. Check out among the largest advantages of getting BBB accredited.
It makes your model reliable. Greater than something, elevated belief is the most important advantage of BBB accreditation. A BBB seal of approval makes your corporation extra respected and lets prospects know you’re worthy of their enterprise—particularly in a time when prospects are warier than ever of scams or dishonest companies.
It attracts extra prospects. That is correlated with having higher model belief. Analysis has even proven that 80% of shoppers would belief a BBB-accredited enterprise over a non-accredited one with an A+ ranking.
It helps you get found by native audiences. The BBB can also be a web based listing for small companies, just like the Yellow Pages or Google Enterprise Profiles, however particularly for companies in your space, making it one in every of our greatest native promoting concepts. Not solely that, audiences can even contact you straight through the BBB web site.
It’s recognizable throughout generations. The BBB has been round since 1912, and it’s nonetheless a mark of credibility right now. So regardless of who you’re advertising and marketing to, from Child Boomers to Gen Z, the BBB brand is the signal of a reliable enterprise.
Is studying find out how to get BBB accredited price it? If being a reliable enterprise and attracting new prospects is vital to you, positively embrace BBB accreditation as a part of your native advertising and marketing technique. Listed here are another cases the place your small enterprise can profit most from getting BBB accredited:
You will have a gentle buyer base however wish to develop your corporation and construct a stronger model presence in your space.
You will have trade rivals and wish to stand out—a BBB accreditation offers you that edge and indicators that you simply’re a reliable enterprise.
You propose to broaden to new areas and wish to seize new prospects.
You will have a totally on-line enterprise and need prospects to know you’re 100% respectable (particularly if in case you have many rivals).
Alternatively, I don’t advocate putting BBB accreditation on prime of your advertising and marketing to-do checklist whenever you’re simply beginning out. Making use of for the BBB ought to come when your corporation is already working and has a gentle advertising and marketing basis.
Get BBB Accredited in 3 Steps
If you happen to’ve determined to go forward and apply for accreditation from the BBB, comply with the steps for the appliance course of under. The entire thing might be achieved through the BBB web site. Simply fill out the appliance kind, reply eligibility questions, and await the BBB’s response.
Step 1: Fill Out the BBB Accreditation Utility Type
Go to the BBB’s on-line utility. There, you’ll discover a kind to fill in your e-mail deal with, title, telephone quantity, and title, and whether or not you’re the enterprise proprietor or major decision-maker. If you happen to’re not the principle resolution maker, you’ll must fill of their contact data.
After filling out the shape, choose the inexperienced “Proceed” button, which is able to immediate you to seek for your corporation within the “Discover My Enterprise” window. After discovering your corporation, fill in all of the remaining fields.
Step 2: Reply BBB Eligibility Questions
After choosing “Proceed,” you’ll must reply questions on your corporation’s BBB eligibility. These will probably be based mostly on the eight BBB requirements I outlined above. Questions will contain how lengthy you’ve been in enterprise, your annual income, and if in case you have multiple location.
Reply the BBB’s eligibility questions based mostly on its accreditation requirements. (Supply: The Higher Enterprise Bureau)
Step 3: Evaluation and Submit Your BBB Utility
After answering the BBB’s eligibility questions, evaluation your data, test the consent field, and submit your utility. You’ll then be prompted to pay the membership charge, a requirement for accredited companies. You can too pay it later after your utility is authorized.
BBB Accreditation Prices
The price of higher enterprise bureau accreditation is determined by what number of workers your corporation has. The larger your corporation measurement, the upper your membership prices. You’ll discover the precise charges for your corporation after submitting your utility. In 2025, nevertheless, you’ll be able to anticipate the annual membership price for a enterprise with greater than 10 workers to be $965 (or $85.42 a month), in response to my analysis.
Evaluation your utility data and choose “Pay Now” (or later). (Supply: The Higher Enterprise Bureau)
You possibly can pay for the membership through credit score or debit card, financial institution switch, or test. (Supply: The Higher Enterprise Bureau)
After submitting your utility, all that’s left is to attend for the BBB to contact you. Normally, so long as you meet all its credibility requirements and fill in all the proper details about your corporation, the BBB ought to grant your utility.
The evaluation often takes just a few weeks (as much as 21 days), after which the BBB will contact you through e-mail or telephone and inform you about your utility. If you happen to’re granted an accreditation, you’ll additionally get a grade ranking from A+ to F. You’ll must maintain your membership yearly by paying annual renewal charges.
In case you are not granted accreditation, the BBB will clarify why. They’ll additionally provide the timeframe for when you’ll be able to reapply, the appeals course of, and the steps you’ll be able to take to safe accreditation sooner or later.
How the BBB Grading System Works
As talked about, the BBB awards accreditations to companies based mostly on a ranking system. Like college grades, this ranking system relies on the factors your corporation will get, which relies on components like how lengthy you’ve been in enterprise, what number of complaints you get, and the kind of enterprise you’ve gotten.
Your corporation begins with 100 factors, and deductions are made in response to every issue. Your general rating will then be equal to the next grading system.
Alternate options to BBB Accreditation
For getting the stamp of approval for your corporation’s credibility, there’s no actual equal to a BBB accreditation. However as I’ve talked about, it’s not the best choice for each enterprise, particularly those who aren’t trying to broaden their attain within the close to future or don’t have the finances but. There are different methods to get your corporation observed by native audiences.
A Google Enterprise Profile: Create a Google Enterprise Profile without cost and full the method to confirm your corporation. Whilst you gained’t get a seal of approval, you’ll be able to accumulate consumer evaluations in your profile, which can also be an efficient manner of constructing your credibility.
An SBA certification: SBA certification from the US authorities will help socially and economically deprived small companies get help. You possibly can apply if your corporation is at the least 51% minority, ladies, indigenous, or veteran-owned.
The Yellow Pages: Like Google Enterprise Profiles, itemizing on the Yellow Pages is totally free. Whereas it doesn’t supply a certification, it’s lengthy been a trusted supply for communities to find native companies.
A B Corp certification: When you have a social or environmental-focused enterprise, a B Corp certification is the worldwide customary seal of approval. It reveals your corporation is dedicated to fulfilling its social or environmental values.
Business-specific directories like Yelp and Angi: On-line enterprise directories are additionally often free or have a small membership or promoting charge. And so they will help you attain folks on the lookout for your particular services or products.
Often Requested Questions (FAQs)
What’s BBB accreditation?
A BBB accreditation is a certification from the Higher Enterprise Bureau (BBB) that certifies small companies based mostly on eight requirements: construct belief, promote truthfully, inform the reality, be clear, honor guarantees, be responsive, safeguard privateness, and embody integrity. It certifies small companies which can be credible and trustworthy. Having a BBB certification builds your model fame and makes you extra reliable to prospects.
Does it matter if a enterprise is just not BBB accredited?
Not having a BBB accreditation gained’t hurt your small enterprise—you’ll nonetheless have the ability to function usually. Nonetheless, it could possibly assist your corporation by making it extra credible to guests and by boosting its visibility as a result of it’ll be listed on the BBB’s web site. A BBB accreditation is a certification that your corporation is trustworthy and operates in good religion.
How a lot does it price to be BBB accredited?
The associated fee to get a BBB accreditation and membership is determined by your corporation measurement. The extra workers you’ve gotten, the upper your membership price. You’ll solely see your precise charges after making use of for accreditation. Nonetheless, the fee for a enterprise with 10 workers in February 2025 is roughly $85.42 a month or $965 a 12 months. Smaller companies may have a decrease price, whereas greater companies may have a better price.
Backside Line
A BBB accreditation is a lift of credibility to your small enterprise. It’s particularly efficient should you’re able to construct your model for the long run and broaden your buyer base. Whereas it isn’t a requirement, it’s probably the most tried and true methods to sign to prospects that you simply’re worthy of their belief and enterprise. If you happen to’re able to take the subsequent step in your corporation’ advertising and marketing journey, it’s price consideration.
