General Consultant Discussion

Has anyone been asked by an end user to undergo a criminal background check? I'm just curious for next time as I've just received this request from a banking customer. I'm totally open to the request provided it's part of a quote I've prepared specifically for a high security customer: a. Requires a clearance of any type b. Requires any agreement except an NDA c. Requires bonding or anything except a copy of liability insurance

Our banking customers requires us to prove E&O. Does not surprise me that some would require criminal background check. We are also seeing requirements to tighten VPN access sometime with a static IP and many times with a security FOB enabled VPN. A criminal background requirement is something that we should add to our IT risk assessment for banks. It is a good idea. Not a regulatory requirement that I have seen though however regulatory enforcement can vary some by region.

I'm not opposed to any such requests - they can all be priced into the project when known in advance. The issue I've run up against with this company is that none of this came up until I provided the 4th updated proposal for a GLAP upgrade of Sage 100 4.3 to 2013. I didn't bother to ask whether we'd be required to foot the bill for the background check - I just said no thanks and good luck.

Wayne, we have a number of Casino clients operated by Tribal organizations here in Oklahoma. All require a background check for any consultant who will either access their systems or go on-site and enter any back office operational area. The background checks are updated on an annual basis and accompany an application filed with each tribal gaming commission as well as with the state.

I need to work these types of requests into my standard pricing - as to who pays, at what point do you undergo them. It's now the norm for end users (at least mine) to request a myriad of proposals which they quickly ignore and then come back to us in 6-9 months asking for another. Increasingly I'm of the mind that the first proposal (for the same project) is a freebie provided the customer is under our support. Subsequent updates of the proposal are fee based depending upon the customer.

Just remember that you need to make yourself as easy to do business with as possible. The more barriers you impose, the harder it is to do business. After while, you start looking like Sage Software! ;-)

My wife works with a company that performs background checks and our PEO will also do them for a fee. It is not very expensive and if the customer makes the request I would pass it through as an out of pocket expense.

@ShawnSlavin - Ouch!!

The other thing you get is they want to know how you encrypt all your communications with them including video recordings etc.

@ShawnSlavin - I agree with you to a point. However as they say - the devil is in the details. Do not pursue me for 4 separate updated quotes (none of which you take) then ask me for a ""final"" quote and a week before deadline casually mention ""oh by the way you need to have a criminal background check and send that to HR"".... All this for the most basic of GLAP upgrades..... We are not talking about us having access to ""keys to the kingdom"" administrative passwords or unattended network access. Hey I'm 100% fine with most requirements --- so long as it's been discussed and I've priced it into a high security proposal (this means I anticipate using a VPN, anticipate it taking three times longer than normal to make one connection, waiting for IT to login as Admin, signing criminal and NDA). However that is in my mind not a $6,000 upgrade and I priced it --- Instead you're talking about possibly a $15,000 to $25,000 upgrade (go ahead and laugh but I've had too much experience with these companies that take forever to respond to any of your requests and where the staff don' make themselves available for testing). I think it's bad faith to throw an 11th hour request like ""please undergo a criminal background check"". I'm not going further with any of those types of customers.

I hear you. I guess I don't run into that many of these kind of issues. I'm surprised they are having you get the background check done. That sounds like the fox guarding the hen house but whatever. If you have someone jacking you around over and over, I would start to set rates that we refer to at the Robert F Kennedy eternal flame rate. You will remember the burn forever. I guarantee.