*As I know this information does not impact every veteran following my blog, later this week I will also blog on a veteran topic similar to the scathing Philadelphia Regional Office audit or the Elf on the Shelf scandal. Stay tuned!
For those veteran-owned small businesses (VOSBs) that are either verified with the VA’s Center for Verification and Evaluation (CVE), or going through the verification process, please note that as of April 27, 2015, some substantive changes to the VetBiz registry may affect you. The following is the “quick and dirty” summary of the changes, in case you don’t have time to watch the video recording the CVE sent to you:
- The Landing Page – The VetBiz landing page has been revamped to include additional information, including links to additional resources and pertinent contact information. Also note that it provides a new email for those seeking a status update on their Vetbiz application: [email protected].
- Login Changes – When you log in after April 27th, you will be required to choose and answer three security questions, as well as choose a new password (with specific new parameters to prevent you from choosing a password that could be easily hacked). You will also now be required to change your password every 90 days (which in my opinion is a bit of a headache, but it only takes a minute or two). This requirement reflects a VA-wide change that also includes the VA’s internal email system.
- Public Listing – The “last modified” field of your posted listing will now be changed to the last date your business was verified, and the date it will expire. Also, the owner’s (veteran’s) information will be removed from the public search.
- 0877 Changes – You will now be prevented from moving forward from the 0877 form if the veteran’s ownership listing is not 51% or more, as this is a basic eligibility criterion.
- Additional Business Designations – On your profile, you are now allowed to select additional socioeconomic categories (such as HUBZone, WOSB, or 8a). This is a “self-certification” only; by allowing this listing, the CVE is not confirming that a business meets the applicable criteria.
- Document Uploads– When uploading documents to the VetBiz profile, “upload successful” will appear in green to confirm that a document was successfully uploaded.
- Withdrawing a Firm – This is a great change – finally! Now, when a business receives a Pre-Decision letter, it can withdraw itself by clicking on the “withdraw” button on its account. Previously, a business had to click this button and then call the CVE help desk to complete the process. This eliminates that extra step, and a confirmation email will let a business owner know that a withdrawal is complete.
- Session Timeout – Now, once a veteran logs into his VetBiz portal, an automatic logout will occur in 60 minutes, not 15. (Lengthening the time for automatic logout for security purposes does, however, seem to conflict with the requirement that one must change his password every 90 days as a means to protecting information).
While none of these changes are earth-shattering, it’s important to be aware of them if you’re listed in the VetBiz registry. And it’s important to know they reflect an effort to make the verification process less painful. Now, if the CVE tech team could fix the glitch that’s made it impossible to view documents uploaded in response to a Document Request, we’d be in business!
*Did you find this article informative? If so, sign up for Sarah Schauerte’s blog covering veteran business issues at: https://legalmeetspractical.com. Remember to click the link sent to your email to activate your subscription!
Yes, very helpful. Thank you.