Background checks are useful to a number of different businesses and individuals (childcare for example), do any of your offer these as part of your VA services, and if so what do you charge?

It's not one of my regular services, but I get random requests all the time for stuff. I would charge my normal hourly rate plus any fees incurred.

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Rebecka Melson ~ Virtual Business Services

That's a new one! I've never been asked for anything in that area - don't you need to have access to the interpol or some other cryptic personal info site to be able to do that?

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Hey Tess! LOL, the information is available to most anyone, really, but a lot of people simply don't know how/where to find it or the time to look for it. Also, there are Federal and state regulations on this kind of reporting, and again many people won't have the know how or time to find out how to be compliant

Seems to me it could be a valuable service offering..I am just gonna go with it and see what happens

LOL Interesting - well I'd say if you're on the up with that kind of research and information gathering then go for it! It sounds like a very unique service offering and could be a great addition. I also doubt it's offered very widely, if at all, in the VA industry - so go for it!

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Far as I know, you can get background checks through the internet, and the only hitch is that it's expensive (maybe $50-$100? It was a while ago that I checked). Google background checks. It might be something a VA does as part of other services for a company, but it's not much to market in itself (altho maybe some people will be happy to know you'll do it!).
Where I live, at least, anyone can go personally to the courthouse and get their own background check for about $5. So an employer can ask job candidates to do that, if a certain basic level of trust exists already.

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Mary H. Ruth/Virtual Writing & Communications
http://www.writingVA.com

There are a few sites I've used in the past that are not that expensive. I don't remember what they are now, but you can shop around. You can usually get them from anywhere from $5 for a single state or $20 for all states. Some sites even let you pay an annual fee of $100-200 for unlimited checks. I know here in OK to get them from the Oklahoma Bureau of Investigations they are $15.00/each, so I would get mine online instead, because I could get a national search for $15.00.

I recommend doing the national searches. I can't count the number of BC's I've run where people had felonies in other states.

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Rebecka Melson ~ Virtual Business Services

I was thinking it might be valuable to say a contractor considering a subcontractor, working parents hiring nannies, that kind of thing. A big company will know all the ins and outs, a small business might not. Again just an added service to my overall research offerings.

There seems to be companies out there that specialize in that - and large companies usually do this themselves. I'm not sure there would be a large market for it.

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Julia

Actually most larger companies in the US that I know of do outsource it. My husband works for the 2nd largest homebuilder in the US and the company that did the background check for them was an outsourced company.

Definately target the contractors too because this is something that could prove quite valuable for them due to all the laws recently passed regarding the hiring of illegals. When we had our own Construction company I did this myself I had the knowledge on how to do it but, I am sure there are many out there that haven't a clue where to even start.

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Dawn Riley
A Virtual Assistant in Paradise
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