Table of Contents
Overview
Jobber facilitates secure payments and works with trusted partners who help protect both businesses and their clients.
To do this effectively, our payments partner needs a clear understanding of each business's model, financial health, and potential credit risk. This evaluation happens through a process called credit underwriting.
What to expect during the underwriting process
As part of the underwriting process, we’ll take a closer look at key areas of your business to better understand your risk profile. This may include:
- Your business model and billing practices
- How your product or service is used
- Your payment processing history
- Your financial stability
We may also request updated financial documents and ask questions about your recent processing activity, especially if you’ve used other payment providers in the past.
What contributes to credit risk?
Credit risk is typically higher for businesses that collect payments well in advance of delivering their products or services. A high volume of refunds or chargebacks (especially relative to the size of the business) can also increase risk.
When there’s an elevated level of credit risk, it’s important that the business can demonstrate strong financial and operational stability to continue meeting its obligations, such as fulfilling orders, processing refunds, and covering chargebacks-related fees.
Payment best practices to keep your business in good standing
Following these tips can help reduce credit risk, prevent chargebacks, and support the long-term health of your business:
- Charge close to delivery. Whenever possible, charge clients close to the date they’ll receive your product or service to minimize delays and reduce risk.
- Pause recurring charges during service disruptions. If your business experiences unexpected interruptions, pause recurring billing until service resumes.
- Proactively refund when needed. If you anticipate a chargeback may be initiated, consider cancelling and refunding it before it escalates while maintaining a bank account balance that can cover for the refunded amount if needed.
- Respond quickly to chargebacks. Timely responses improve your chances of resolving them successfully.
- Stay ahead of fraud. Use fraud prevention tools and monitor for suspicious activity.
- Be transparent. Clearly post your shipping terms, refund and return policies, and any money-back guarantees on your website.
- Keep strong records. Save receipts, agreements, and proof of delivery. For digital services, maintain access logs or usage documentation linked to clients.
- Make it easy to contact you. Provide clear ways for clients to get in touch if they have concerns or questions.
- Set service expectations. Clearly communicate your response times and resolution for any service or payment-related inquiries from your clients.
- Communicate delays. If there’s a delay in delivery, notify your clients right away to manage expectations.
- Maintain inventory levels. Ensure you have enough product to fulfill orders on time.
- Share tracking info. Always provide tracking numbers so clients can follow their orders.
Why these reviews are important
Jobber takes on financial liability when processing payments through Jobber Payments, especially in situations where a payment is accepted but the business is unable to deliver the promised service. To manage this risk and comply with requirements from our financial partners, we conduct periodic reviews of the businesses using Jobber Payments. These reviews are part of a standard credit underwriting process to help ensure continued eligibility and secure payment processing.
These reviews help monitor credit risk and ensure ongoing compliance. They rely on accurate, up-to-date information about your business model, fund flows, and vendor relationships. Connecting your bank account also provides valuable insight into your liquidity, which may reduce the need for additional review.
How to help your review go smoothly
To make the review process as quick and efficient as possible:
- Keep your contact details up to date so we can reach you if needed.
- Provide clear and detailed responses, along with any relevant supporting documents.
- Connect your bank account to give us a more complete view of your financial health, which may reduce future review requests.
The more complete your information, the easier it is to assess your account accurately and without unnecessary delays.
What happens if the information requested isn't available?
In some cases, your business may meet certain internal criteria that require a manual underwriting review.
Providing complete and timely information helps us avoid delays and ensures we can support your business without unexpected disruptions.
If you're unable to provide the requested documentation, please reach out to our support team. We're happy to work with you to explore alternative options if needed.
Can you appeal a decision?
Yes, we understand that each situation is unique, and we're here to help. Our Risk Team reviews account decisions on a case-by-case basis and may be able to re-evaluate depending on the circumstances.
As part of the review, we may request supporting documents or additional context. While final decisions are made at Jobber’s discretion, we aim to be fair and considerate by balancing your business needs with our risk requirements.
To help move things forward smoothly, we recommend:
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Responding promptly to emails from our team
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Providing any requested documents
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Reducing refund or chargebacks rates where possible
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Ensuring a consistent account balance
We're committed to making the process as straightforward as possible while ensuring a safe experience for everyone using Jobber.