Below are 3 VetBiz Certification issues that we see on a regular basis. If you can avoid these three issues, your VA VetBiz application will go through the verification process much faster and with a positive outcome.
1. Full-time Devotion to the Applicant Concern
The 51% Veteran or Service-Disabled Veteran owner(s) should devote full time to the applicant concern during normal operating hours of similar businesses. In addition, the veteran owners should not have any other outside employment that could take away from their day-to-day management of the applicant firm. Make sure resumes and LinkedIn profiles are up to date with current positions and previous employment has ended. Any Veterans with outside employment will face many questions from the CVE which will most likely end in denial.
2. Licenses
You must provide current copies of all the required and special licenses for your company. This includes city, county, and state business licenses (sometimes called a business tax receipt or BPOL), and special licenses for general contractors, professional engineers and any other professions that require them. If your SAM registration or VIP profile list NAICS codes for a construction area (236xxx) or Engineering (541330), you will be asked to provide the appropriate licenses. If you do not have these licenses, you will need to either remove these NAICS codes or provide an adequate explanation of why you are not required to have them.
3. Signatures on Contracts, Leases and Checks
When you submit copies of your firm’s contracts, property leases or checks, one of the items the CVE is looking at is who signs the documents. Typically, they want to see that that Veteran owner signs these documents showing that they have control over the activities of the company. If someone other than the Veteran owner has been signing your documents, be prepared to explain why and be able to show that they are doing so under the authority and direction of the Veteran owner.
We offer a free online VA VetBiz Program eligibility analysis to see if you qualify. If you are interested in assistance with your application, we offer a turnkey service for VA VetBiz application completion. Feel free to read more frequently asked questions on the VA VetBiz Application too.
