Verifying Business Entities
Abstract
Businesses must verify their entity details to comply with financial and banking regulations. Accurate verification ensures that submitted information aligns with legal documentation, preventing potential issues with financial transactions.
Verifying a business entity is a critical step for ensuring compliance with financial regulations, banking standards, and payment processing requirements. Whether verifying a legal business or completing sole proprietorship validation, accurate information must be submitted to avoid delays and maintain secure, compliant operations. This process ensures that all submitted data aligns with official records and enables the system to activate payment and onboarding features. This article outlines the full verification process, including how to enter business details such as legal name, address, classification, and EIN, as well as how to complete verification by providing personal information, accepting terms of service, and confirming verification status.
Preparing for Verification
To help prepare for business verification, we recommend collecting the following information ahead of time for each legal business entity. This will help speed up the verification process and avoid the risk of being rejected.
Business Information
Legal Name: This name must match the business name used when applying for an EIN (Employer Identification Number).
Business Type: LLC, Corporation, Sole Proprietorship, or Partnership (Note: Trusts should use Sole Proprietorship)
Doing Business As Name (Optional): The preferred business name, also known as fictitious name or assumed name. If your business uses this, additional documentation may be requested in the verification process.
Physical Address: The physical address of your business. PO Boxes and virtual addresses are not allowed. If your business does not have a physical address, the controller's physical address may be used.
Employer Identification Number: The EIN number for your registered business.
Controller Information
Name: The first and last name of your controller. If you do not have a dedicated controller or would prefer to designate another high-level officer (e.g. CEO, CFO, VP, Treasurer) as your acting controller, you choose to proceed with that officer's information.
Title: The title of the acting controller.
Date of Birth: The date of birth of the acting controller.
Physical Address: The personal residential address of your acting controller. PO Boxes and virtual addresses are not allowed.
SSN: The last 4 digits of the acting controller's SSN are required. If additional information is requested, you may be requested to provide their full SSN. If the controller does not have a SSN (non-US person), a passport number will be required.
Owner Information (for each owner that owns 25% or more of the business). This is not needed for sole proprietorships, publicly traded corporations, or non-profits.
Name: The first and last name of the owner.
Date of Birth: The date of birth of the owner.
Physical Address: The personal residential address of the owner. PO Boxes and virtual addresses are not allowed.
SSN: The full SSN of the owner. If the owner does not have a SSN number (non-US person), a passport number will be required.
Once you’ve gathered the necessary details, you’re ready to begin entering the business information for verification.
Providing Business Information
To verify a business entity, it is necessary to provide accurate details that match official records. This ensures that the information submitted is valid and prevents issues during the verification process.
The following steps outline how to enter business details correctly:
You must create a business entity in the system before proceeding with verification. The entity must be established first to enable the entry of business information.
When the entity has been created, enter the First Name and Last Name of the person filling out the form:
This identifies the individual responsible for submitting the business verification details.
To ensure consistency with legal records, input the Legal Business Name exactly as it appears on the EIN documentation:
Matching this information with official documents helps avoid verification issues.
To define the business structure, select the appropriate type of business. In this case, if the business operates as a Sole Proprietorship, select it from Business Type dropdown:
After providing all required details, click the Continue button to proceed to the next step of the verification process:
If the business operates under a different name, you can enter the Doing Business As name:
This field is optional but must be completed if the DBA name does not match the legal business name on EIN documentation. Additional documentation may be required if DBA is provided.
To specify the business location, provide the official business address in the given fields:
Note: The address must be a public business location, PO boxes and private residences are not accepted.
To classify the business correctly, select the closest matching Business Classification and Industry from the available options:
Choosing the right classification ensures proper identification for regulatory and financial purposes. If a customer cannot find an exact match for their business in the Business Classification dropdown, they should select the classification that most closely matches their business.
If applicable, enter the Employer Identification Number (Optional):
While this field is marked as optional, providing the EIN ensures proper business identification and may be required for certain verification processes.
Review all entered information for accuracy, ensuring everything matches the official documentation. Then, click the Continue button to proceed:
Providing Owner Information
Before the system can verify a sole proprietorship, it requires the owner’s essential personal details. This is necessary to confirm legal identity and ensure compliance with financial regulations.
Once you have successfully entered and verified all required business information, you will next need to complete the verification process to confirm the ownership status.
To confirm personal ownership details, enter the Date of Birth of the owner:
Once you’re ready to comply with legal requirements, provide the Last Four SSN:
If your business is an LLC, Corporation, or Partnership you may be asked to verify all owners with equity stake of greater than 25%
Accepting the Terms of Service
Accepting the required terms of service is crucial for moving forward with verification, as it ensures you understand and agree to both Dwolla’s and SquareWorks’ policies.
Dwolla is a secure, third-party financial services platform that SquareWorks partners with to facilitate identity verification and payment processing in compliance with banking regulations.
To proceed with compliance confirmation, check the box to agree to SquareWorks’ Terms of Service and Dwolla’s Terms of Service and privacy policies:
Next, click the Agree and Continue button to finalize your acceptance of the terms:
Note: Whenever you want additional clarification, click the Onboarding Help button to open a new tab for more information:
Checking Verification Status
After submitting your personal information and accepting the terms, the system typically reviews the details for accuracy and compliance. This status check ensures you can confirm the verification’s progress.
When you see that the Business Entity information has been submitted, note that it is still processing, and your entity may initially appear as “Not Verified”:
The Business Verification process can take thirty to sixty seconds, wait momentarily and refresh the page until the verification status reflects “Verified”:
Document Upload
EIN Letter: If our compliance team does not already have an EIN Letter (IRS-issued SS4 confirmation letter) on file, you may be requested to upload additional documentation. This must be a PDF document. EIN letters are not accepted as proof of address.
Proof of Address: If our external sources do not have any record of your legal business entity operating the provided physical address, you may be required to provide proof of address if additional documentation is requested. Proof of address can be any of the following in PDF format: utility bill, financial statement, tax statement or fully executed lease agreement (must be valid for a minimum of 30 days). The document must show the business name and address matching your submitted business name and address.
DBA Document: A DBA (Doing Business As) document should be issued by the government and should include the DBA name along with the state registered business name. The DBA document must be a PDF document. This is not needed if not using a DBA or fictitious name.
Trust Document: Trusts will be requested to upload a signed trust document as a PDF.
Controller and Owner Documentation
Personal Identification for US persons: If requested, a photo of one of the following will be required for your controller and/or owner(s).
Non-expired State Issued Driver’s License/Identification Card
Non-expired US Passport
Federal Employment Authorization Card
US Visa
Personal Identification for non-US persons: If requested, a photo of the following will be required for your controller and/or owner(s).
Non-expired Foreign Passport
In many cases, this step is not required and your business will be automatically verified and approved. If this step is required, you will receive an email notifying you that additional documentation is required. We will help direct which documents must be uploaded to complete your business's verification via a follow up email. One or more of the following types of documents may be requested:
This concludes the process of verifying business entities and ownership information in SquareWorks Automate.
Frequently Asked Questions
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