Every register faces the same question. Who decides what passes, and do they have something to gain. If the answer is hidden, the standard is worthless. So here is the answer.
Who operates the register
Vetted IT Firms is operated by Loading Growth Pty Limited, an Australian company. The Standard is set and applied by the registrar, and every verification decision is recorded against the entry it relates to.
The related businesses
The same group runs the following businesses. Several of them sell to IT services firms, which is precisely why this page exists.
Loading Growth
Coaching and advisory for founders of IT services and systems integration firms. Operates this register.
SELLS TO IT FIRMS · YES
ConsultancyOS
An operating platform for consulting and IT services firms, covering delivery and operations. Endorses this register.
SELLS TO IT FIRMS · YES
The IT VA
Offshore marketing and back office support for IT firms. Provides the team that maintains this register.
SELLS TO IT FIRMS · YES
IT Marketing Automation
A marketing automation and CRM platform for IT services and IT software businesses, covering lead capture, nurture, appointment booking, pipeline and invoicing.
SELLS TO IT FIRMS · YES
IT Master Mind Talks
A podcast and peer group for leaders of IT services firms. Firms listed on this register are sometimes featured or invited to take part.
FEATURES IT FIRMS · YES
What this does not affect
The same applies in reverse. No firm is required to buy anything to be listed, to be verified, or to keep either.
How we keep it that way
The Standard is published and versioned
The criteria are public and carry a version number. When they change, the change is published. A hidden standard can be bent, a published one cannot be bent quietly.
Verification decisions are recorded
Each decision is evidenced and logged against the entry, so it can be reviewed later rather than remembered.
Commercial status is not visible to the decision
Whether a firm is a customer of any related business is not shown to the person applying the Standard, and it is not a field in the assessment.
Paid membership is invisible to buyers
Membership buys services, promotion and referral access. It is never displayed on an entry and it never affects ordering, so a buyer cannot tell who pays. There is no visual marker for it anywhere.
Ordering is not for sale
Where a firm appears is determined by the Standard, by evidence of delivery, and by relevance to what a buyer asked for. There is no sponsored position and no paid promotion within results.
What we never do
Sell placement, ranking, position or featured status, in any form.
Sell the seal, or grant it to a firm that has not passed the Standard.
Require a firm to buy anything in order to be listed or verified.
Trade removal of an entry against a purchase. Removal is free and unconditional, on request.
Suggest, in any channel, that engaging a related business improves standing on the register.
Require a link back to this register as a condition of anything.
Referrals, and how they work
A firm that has claimed its entry may sometimes receive one relevant introduction to a related business, for example marketing support where no client work is published, or automation where no follow up system exists. Three things about that.
It only happens after a firm has claimed its entry and opted in. It is limited to one introduction per firm per quarter. And declining costs the firm nothing, changes nothing, and is not recorded against the entry in any way.
Where a related business is paid by a firm following an introduction, that is a commercial arrangement between them. It has no bearing on the entry.
Questions or a complaint
If you believe a firm has been treated favourably or unfavourably because of a commercial relationship, say so and it will be reviewed by the registrar. Write to hello@vetteditfirms.com. We respond within two business days.
DISCLOSURE v1.0 · LOADING GROWTH PTY LIMITED · AUSTRALIA