by Sarah Schauerte
I absolutely adore Halloween, so I thought it was worth writing a post on a topic that is very scary to veteran business owners….the VetBiz verification process!
As a certified VetBiz Counselor, I hear a lot of complaints about the Center for Verification and Evaluation’s (“CVE,” formerly the “Center for Veterans Enterprise”) VetBiz application process. Public sentiment has gotten to the point that this summer, a House bill was introduced in Congress to take the verification process from the VA and give it to the Small Business Administration.
Perhaps in part prompted by the hostile feedback, the CVE instituted two different programs to give veteran business owners a second shot in getting verified. Rather than getting denied and having to go through the request for reconsideration process (terrible!), it developed two alternative processes. One of these is VetBiz pre-determination. This is when the only thing wrong with an application rests in “easily correctable errors” to the business’ corporate document(s), and the CVE gives the business five days to fix the document(s) and resubmit. Basically, it’s when your only issue is a drafting problem. (And think about it. How often does a business use its bylaws/operating agreement, anyway?)
This process is great if it goes right. If it doesn’t, however – well, here is one veteran company’s* story….
In mid-September, a mother-and-daughter company (we’ll call them “Company Eligible”), receive a pre-determination letter. Their application looks good, but the CVE found a few problems with their operating agreement.
Do they want to participate in the VetBiz pre-determination process? Of course they do! Company Eligible quickly fixes the issues with their operating agreement and resubmits, holding their breath. Two of the commercial vendors they do business with require VetBiz verification, and they know that if they get denied or don’t get their verification quickly, they’ll lose work.
They don’t have to wait long. Almost immediately, they receive a letter back from CVE. “Sorry,” it says in essence, “you forgot to sign and re-date your document. You’re going to have to withdraw your application.” (Note – The CVE’s “Required Documents List” does not say the operating agreement needs to be signed and dated).
“Wait!” the owners say frantically, tearing out their hair, “we’ll sign! Right now! How do you want us to get it to you? Fax? Scanned? Hand delivery? Carrier pigeon? How?”
“Nope,” says CVE. “You gotta resubmit.”
At this point in time, Company Eligible contacts me. I email and call the CVE several times over the next several days, explaining the situation with the contracts. I provide contact information for the prime contractors. Ultimately, the only answer I receive is, “we don’t expedite applications, but since their application was already reviewed, it shouldn’t take too long.”
CVE then requests information it hadn’t the first time around. Company Eligible provides it. The company owners tear out more hair. This is late September.
Weeks go by. The owners are running out of hair to pull out. They’ve lost one of their two contracts. I engage the CVE again, and via the hotline I am told it is taking this long in order to “protect the integrity of the process.” (Note – the stated sole mission of the CVE is to assist veterans with starting and building their businesses). I ask why it is necessary to re-evaluate an application that had already been evaluated a month ago and found sufficient save for a few drafting errors. The CVE employee doesn’t have an answer. Meanwhile, the company owners run out of hair to pull out.
Finally, today, on this All Hallow’s Eve, Company Eligible was released from VetBiz purgatory by receiving their VetBiz verification, almost a month and a half after CVE had determined that the only issues with their application were minor drafting problems.
Luckily it is Halloween, so the owners can place wigs over their bald heads and everyone will think it is part of a costume. Company Eligible has lost business because of the delay in processing their VetBiz application, but at least they have the verification, and they are still in the game for one of the contracts.
This is a scary story because it can happen to anyone who goes through the VetBiz pre-determination process. If the business fixes its issues right away and CVE approves them, it’s great. But if not, the business is forced to withdraw and is back in the application pool.
More alarming, however, is this fate makes no sense. If CVE is re-evaluating all of those applications deemed eligible for the predetermination process, that’s double work. Both for the sake of efficiency, and to promote its stated mission of helping veteran-owned small businesses, you would think the CVE would want to work with those businesses flagged for VetBiz pre-determination to push them to verification as soon as possible. But the CVE has the power to do things that don’t make sense, and that’s the scariest thing of all.
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*Blog written at company’s request
