Business & trade rating methodology

How Client Bureau business and trade ratings work.

Client Bureau now uses role-specific rating models: one for contractor business reliability and one for subcontractor trade partner reliability. Both are public trust signals, not customer star reviews.

Browse business profiles Client rating methodology

Two roles. Two rating models.

Contractors and subcontractors work from different risk positions, so Client Bureau separates business reliability from trade partner reliability.

Range

0-100

Presented with a public letter grade.

Models

Separate contractor and subcontractor rating scales.

Process

Evidence

Contracts, reports, trade scope, and resolution posture matter.

Privacy

Protected

Private account data is not displayed publicly.

A+92-100

Strong verification and documentation confidence.

A82-91

High readiness with meaningful approved activity.

B68-81

Good-standing or developing profile with room for stronger documentation.

C50-67

Adverse context or limited readiness needs review.

Review Pending0-49

Insufficient public-safe context.

Prime and service-business profile

Contractor Business Reliability Rating

Built for contractors, service businesses, and customer-facing operators. It weighs business identity, client-facing project history, contracts, private evidence, payment resolution posture, and account readiness.

Business identity and verification

Client-facing project history

Contracts and evidence discipline

Payment and resolution posture

Account and response readiness

Trade and crew profile

Subcontractor Trade Partner Reliability Rating

Built for subcontractors, installers, crews, labor providers, and specialty trades. It weighs trade identity, scope documentation, GC/sub relationship history, payment-chain context, evidence readiness, and resolution posture.

Trade identity and credential readiness

Scope and documentation clarity

GC/sub relationship history

Payment-chain reliability context

Evidence and completion readiness

Communication and resolution posture

Subcontractor rating inputs

Trade Partner Reliability is built around the payment chain.

A subcontractor profile should answer who performed the trade work, what scope was authorized, who hired whom, what documentation exists, and whether payment-chain issues were resolved.

Trade identity

Specialty trade, crew type, installer role, labor-provider context, service area, and license or insurance indicators where available.

Scope proof

Signed subcontract, work order, purchase order, accepted proposal, change order, completion photo, invoice, or message thread.

Relationship proof

Subcontractor-to-contractor, contractor-to-subcontractor, or business-to-business context with enough detail for moderation.

Payment-chain proof

Pay applications, retainage, draw requests, milestone billing, unpaid balance context, and documented resolution or follow-up.

Primary

Role-specific verification

Contractor profiles emphasize operating business identity, service area, and customer-facing readiness. Subcontractor profiles emphasize trade identity, license or insurance indicators where available, crew readiness, and GC/sub relationship context.

High

Project documentation

Client Bureau rewards private documentation such as signed agreements, change orders, invoices, screenshots, photos, PDFs, and evidence summaries connected to moderated reports or business workflows.

High

Approved relationship history

Contractor ratings consider client-facing approved records. Subcontractor ratings place more weight on documented contractor-to-subcontractor, subcontractor-to-contractor, and business-to-business work relationships.

High

Payment and resolution posture

Open dispute context, unresolved balances, retainage/payment-chain signals, and documented resolution outcomes influence the rating. The system rewards clear records and response-aware handling.

Support

Profile readiness

Complete platform setup, profile claiming, response readiness, business details, and documentation habits establish a good-standing baseline before approved relationship history exists.

What the rating is designed to show

Client Bureau rating models are designed for business-owner protection and trust presentation. Contractor profiles help service businesses show verified identity, documented workflows, private evidence handling, moderated reports, and response readiness. Subcontractor profiles help trade professionals show scope clarity, documented GC/sub relationships, payment-chain context, and evidence readiness.

Neither rating is built as a public complaint score. They reward process quality: verification, documentation, approved relationship history, resolution posture, and profile completeness. As more verified and approved context becomes available, rating confidence can move from Basic to Moderate or Strong.

New contractor and subcontractor profiles are not automatically treated as risky just because they have limited public history. When there is no approved adverse subject-history, Client Bureau uses a good-standing baseline based on the quality and completeness of the business information provided.

Public pages should remain neutral and factual. A high rating does not mean every future project will go well, and a lower rating may simply mean the business has not finished verification or has limited approved public context.

What the rating is not

It is not a customer review score.

It is not a guarantee of workmanship, payment collection, project outcome, or legal eligibility.

It is not a credit score, background check, licensing board result, or insurance verification service.

It does not display private emails, phone numbers, street addresses, uploaded evidence files, or staff-only moderation notes.

Build your business profile

A stronger Client Bureau business record starts with verification and documentation.

Claim your profile, complete verification, and keep your project records organized before you ask people to trust your business profile.

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