Pro tip: get your vendor insurance check done before you sign, I skipped it and ate $2,300

William Jackson · 2026-10-07T12:20:04.492059+00:00

I run a small shop and last fall I hired a guy out of Vancouver, WA to handle my payroll and bookkeeping, and he seemed great on the phone. Fast forward 4 months and I get a letter from the state saying my quarterly filings were never sent, so now I owe $2,300 in fees and back interest. I called him and his number was dead, his email bounced, and the address on his contract was a UPS store. What I should have done was ask for his business license number and a certificate of insurance before I ever handed over a login. My accountant buddy walked me through it after the fact and it took him 10 minutes to pull the guy's registration, which showed it lapsed 2 years back. Now I check that stuff on every service provider I bring in, no exceptions. Has anyone here used a small biz verification service they actually trust, or do you just do it yourself?

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Pro tip: get your vendor insurance check done before you sign, I skipped it and ate $2,300 | Business Services - Talk Freely