What Vertikal does

Vertikal, Inc. (operating as Vertikal RMS) is a privately held US software company founded in 1998 and headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. It provides an integrated risk management platform for enterprise supply chain compliance, combining its CertFocus product for Certificate of Insurance (COI) tracking and document management with PreQual for subcontractor and supplier financial prequalification. The platform automates COI collection, coverage verification, endorsement interpretation (including additional insured, waiver of subrogation, and primary and noncontributory requirements), AM Best carrier rating validation, and renewal tracking. Vertikal serves over 180 customers across more than 25 industries, with named enterprise logos in construction (Skanska, Turner Construction, STO Building Group), hospitality (Marriott International), retail (Ace Hardware, 10+ year customer), healthcare distribution (Henry Schein), real estate (W.P. Carey), transportation/government (Massport), sports (NASCAR, US Olympic & Paralympic Committee), and food distribution (Performance Food Group). Reported outcomes include compliance rates improving from below 40% to over 90% and a 99% customer retention rate.

Vertikal's business model is subscription SaaS priced per managed vendor, with three CertFocus tiers — Self-Service ($6-$8 per vendor/year, $7,500 annual minimum), Full-Service ($13-$29 per vendor/year, $10,000 annual minimum) reviewed by credentialed insurance professionals, and Vendor-Pay ($85-$150 per vendor/year) — plus PreQual add-on and bundle discounts. Implementation fees of $3,500-$4,800 apply. Distribution combines direct enterprise field sales with a channel partner program targeting insurance brokers, third-party administrators, and resellers that offer white-labeled COI tracking services to their clients. Integrations are available with SAP, Oracle, PeopleSoft, JD Edwards, AP systems, and SSO providers. In May 2025 Vertikal launched Hawk-I, an AI module integrated into CertFocus that performs computer-vision extraction of structured COI fields, NLP interpretation of free-form endorsement language, and AM Best rating validation, enabling straight-through COI processing in seconds rather than days.

The company is founder/management-owned with no disclosed institutional investment, PE/VC backing, or funding rounds. Headcount is in the 11-50 range. Operating geographies are North America-focused. Leadership includes Joseph Sforzo (CEO), Matthew Kelly (President and Co-Founder), RJ Anderson (CTO), Robert Rodriguez (COO since 2022, with prior COI-tracking experience at Insurance Data Services, Ebix, and Exigis), Lisa Deatherage (Client Advocate, former COO), and Rachel Crowe (Director of Customer Success).

Name

Vertikal

Legal name

Vertikal, Inc.

Website

https://vertikalrms.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Vertikal RMS is a privately held US SaaS company providing an integrated risk management platform combining Certificate of Insurance tracking (CertFocus) and subcontractor prequalification (PreQual), serving over 180 enterprise customers across 25+ industries with AI-powered automation via its Hawk-I module.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Risk Management Software

NAICS

Custom Computer Programming Services (541511)

akta.pro primary industry

Third-Party/Vendor Risk Management (TPRM) & Due Diligence (BPAKADAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Third-Party Risk, Vendor Due Diligence & Supply Chain Compliance (BPAEAPAG)

Keywords

• Certificate of insurance tracking
• Subcontractor prequalification software
• Vendor risk management
• COI compliance tracking
• Third party risk management

Headquarters

HQ city

Plainview

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. CertFocus SaaS Subscriptions: Annual subscription-based SaaS pricing with three tiers: Self-Service ($6-$8 per vendor/year with $7,500 annual minimum), Full-Service ($13-$29 per vendor/year with $10,000 annual minimum), and Vendor-Pay ($85-$150 per vendor/year). Implementation fees of $3,500-$4,800 apply. Revenue is recurring annual subscriptions based on vendor count under management.
2. Channel Partner Program: Partnership programs for insurance brokers and third-party administrators to provide Vertikal RMS solutions to their clients. Partners can offer agency-branded certificate of insurance tracking services, potentially creating referral or reselling revenue streams.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Vertikal RMS sells an integrated risk management SaaS platform that combines CertFocus for certificate of insurance (COI) compliance tracking with PreQual for subcontractor and supplier financial prequalification. The platform automates COI collection, verification, endorsement interpretation, AM Best rating checks, and renewal tracking for enterprise supply chains, and is augmented by the proprietary Hawk-I AI tool that processes COIs within seconds and is supported by credentialed insurance professionals (CIC, CPCU, CISR, CRIS).

Product overview

Vertikal RMS offers an Integrated Risk Management Platform combining two core software products — CertFocus for COI tracking and PreQual for subcontractor prequalification — on a single unified platform. CertFocus is the primary COI compliance and document management solution, available in self-service and full-service tiers. PreQual provides financial and operational prequalification of subcontractors and vendors. Hawk-I is an AI-powered add-on module (integrated into CertFocus) that automates COI data extraction and straight-through processing. Vertikal also offers consulting, implementation, and integration services as accompanying service offerings. The platform supports integrations with enterprise systems (SAP, Oracle, PeopleSoft, JD Edwards, AP systems, SSO) and serves clients across 25+ industries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CertFocus: Best-in-class COI tracking software and service solution for certificate of insurance compliance and document management.
• PreQual
• Hawk-I

Products and services

• CertFocus Best-in-class certificate of insurance (COI) compliance tracking and document management software and service that automates COI collection, verification, endorsement interpretation, compliance monitoring, and renewal tracking for contractors, vendors, and third-party suppliers across enterprise supply chains. Available in Self-Service, Full-Service, and Vendor-Pay service tiers with the proprietary Hawk-I AI module.
• PreQual Comprehensive subcontractor and supplier prequalification platform that collects financial and operational data, analyzes risk factors including financial health, safety ratings, licensing, and experience, and delivers tier-rated criteria-specific scorecards so enterprises can qualify vendors before contract awards. Features customizable forms and dashboards.
• Hawk-I Proprietary AI-powered tool for rapid and accurate certificate of insurance validation. Hawk-I extracts coverage data from COIs, interprets free-form endorsement language, validates AM Best carrier ratings, detects fraudulent or suspicious certificates, and enables straight-through COI processing that completes compliance reviews within seconds of receipt.
• Consulting Services Expert consulting delivered by credentialed insurance professionals (CIC, CPCU, CISR, CRIS) to help clients design risk management programs, configure compliance workflows, and adopt COI tracking and prequalification best practices.
• Implementation Services Guided setup and onboarding services to help clients configure CertFocus and PreQual, import vendor and subcontractor data, establish compliance workflows, and go live on the platform.
• Integration Services Technical integration services that connect CertFocus and PreQual with clients' existing enterprise systems including ERP platforms (SAP, Oracle, PeopleSoft, JD Edwards), accounts payable systems, and single sign-on providers to sync compliance data.

Quantifiable outcome

• Compliance rates improved from below 40% to over 90%
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

AI capability6 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Insurance BrokerscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership programs for insurance brokers seeking to provide extra level of service to their clients, fostering loyalty and increasing business referrals. Brokers can offer Vertikal RMS COI tracking services branded to their agency, automating renewal requests and achieving compliance faster for their clients.
• Third-Party AdministratorscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPrograms for third-party administrators to augment existing COI tracking, vendor management, safety compliance or other services with Vertikal RMS solutions. Administrators can integrate CertFocus and PreQual into their service offerings to provide comprehensive risk management to their clients.
• Channel Partners and ResellerscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSpecial programs for channel partners and resellers seeking to provide Vertikal RMS best-in-class solutions by augmenting existing services. Partners can build their business by protecting their clients' businesses through offering CertFocus and PreQual.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Exigis: Direct competitor offering COI tracking, vendor management, and risk/compliance workflows for insurance brokers and risk managers. Highly comparable — Vertikal's own COO Robert Rodriguez was previously Partner/COO at Exigis.
• MyCOI: Direct competitor providing automated certificate of insurance tracking and vendor compliance management for property management, construction, and facility management. Comparable in target verticals and core product offering.
• Avetta: Direct competitor in contractor/vendor prequalification and supply chain risk management. Comparable in serving construction and industrial customers with contractor qualification plus insurance verification workflows — overlaps with PreQual.
• B2B NOW: Direct competitor offering vendor onboarding, COI tracking, and compliance management for construction and real estate. Comparable in target verticals and bundled compliance + insurance verification approach.
• COI Pro: Direct competitor providing certificate of insurance tracking and compliance management for property managers, contractors, and facility operators. Closely comparable in core product and customer verticals.

Broad incumbents

• Origami Risk: Broader risk management information system serving insurance, risk, and claims management at scale. Overlaps with Vertikal on insurance certificate verification and vendor risk within a wider risk platform.
• SAP Ariba: Broad procurement and supplier management suite within SAP. Ariba's supplier risk and compliance modules overlap with Vertikal's vendor prequalification and COI workflows for enterprise procurement teams.
• KPA: Broader EHS and compliance management platform serving construction, manufacturing, and fleet. Overlaps with Vertikal's vendor compliance, safety tracking, and prequalification workflows.
• ServiceNow Vendor Risk Management: Broad enterprise platform with vendor risk and TPRM modules. Comparable in third-party risk workflows and increasingly used by large enterprises as the system of record for vendor compliance — competes with Vertikal for the same enterprise buyer.

Emerging players

• SafetyCulture: Adjacent compliance and inspection platform expanding into supplier and contractor risk management. Comparable to Vertikal's PreQual for SMB and mid-market customers seeking integrated safety, compliance, and vendor workflows.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/vertikal-rms

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Vertikal