Barada Associates
Barada Associates is a family-owned, second-generation employment background screening and reference checking firm founded in 1979, serving enterprise clients nationwide across healthcare, financial services, government, and education through transaction-fee screening services delivered via secure client portal and ATS integrations.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1979
- HeadquartersIndianapolis, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Barada Associates does
Barada Associates is a privately held, family-owned employment background screening and reference checking firm founded in 1979 by Paul Barada in Rushville, Indiana. Now in its second generation of family leadership with Will Barada serving as President, the company employs 26 people and serves clients nationwide across eight primary verticals: healthcare, financial services, government, manufacturing, higher education, law firms, insurance, and nonprofits. Disclosed enterprise clients include Genworth Financial, Acorda, the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, MainSource Financial Group, University of Evansville, Conner Prairie, and Meridian Services Corporation. The company is a member of NAPBS/PBSA since 2003 and appeared at No. 3104 on the 2021 Inc. 5000 list.
The company's core offering is a full-service background screening platform built around employment verification, academic verification, criminal history checks, reference checking, drug and alcohol testing, and skills/cognitive assessments, plus a High Profile Screening line with media search for executive placements. The technology stack comprises a secure online client portal (with separate login environments maintained for legacy American Business Services clients following the 2018 acquisition), multi-database criminal searches spanning county court records, state police systems, and the national sex offender registry, and ATS integrations — most prominently with Indianapolis-based ExactHire. The operating model emphasizes human review of all screening data prior to hire/no-hire decisions, and the company bundles FCRA, EEOC, Ban-the-Box, and adverse-action compliance documentation and legal resources with its service.
Revenue is generated primarily through transaction-fee per-check pricing or bundled screening packages, with quote-based custom pricing and multi-year contracts; no public pricing tiers are disclosed. Go-to-market is sales-led and enterprise-focused, combining direct phone and quote-request engagement, an active content marketing program (blog, case studies, downloadable forms, legal resources), and channel partnerships with technology integrators (ExactHire) and regional HR/community organizations (Indy Chamber, Indy SHRM). Distribution is direct-to-client domestically with national reach; geographic focus remains anchored in the Midwest (Indiana) following the 2023 downtown Indianapolis office expansion.
Barada Associates firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Barada Associates
- Legal name
- Barada Associates, Inc.
- Website
- https://baradainc.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1979
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Barada Associates is a family-owned, second-generation employment background screening and reference checking firm founded in 1979, serving enterprise clients nationwide across healthcare, financial services, government, and education through transaction-fee screening services delivered via secure client portal and ATS integrations.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Barada Associates industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Employment Background Screening Services
- NAICS
- Investigation and Personal Background Check Services (561611)
- SIC
- Services-Consumer Credit Reporting, Collection Agencies (7320)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Pre-Employment Background Checks & Screening (BPAKAEAA)
Keywords
Where Barada Associates is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Indianapolis
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Barada Associates business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Employment Background Screening Services: Fee-based background screening services including criminal history checks, employment verification, academic verification, reference checks, drug testing, and skills/cognitive assessments. Services are priced per-check or as bundled packages based on client needs.
- Reference Checking Services: Specialized reference checking service where trained specialists conduct structured interviews with candidate-provided references to assess job performance, management style, and suitability.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Quote-based custom pricing |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Barada Associates product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Barada Associates provides full-service employment background screening and reference checking for employers, covering criminal history, employment and academic verification, drug/alcohol testing, and skills assessments. Services are delivered with human review of results and FCRA compliance support, accessed via secure online client portals.
Product overview
Barada Associates is a premier employment screening and background check company founded in 1979, offering a comprehensive suite of services as a single unified platform. The core product is Background Screening Services, which encompasses employment verification, academic verification, criminal history checks, drug and alcohol testing, skills/cognitive assessments, and software integrations. Complementary services include Reference Checking (the foundational service on which the company was built), High Profile Screening with media search capabilities for executive positions, and an Online Client Portal for secure order management. The company also provides downloadable compliance forms and legal resources. In 2018, Barada acquired American Business Services (ABS), whose legacy systems continue serving former ABS clients. All services are accessible through a gated secure online portal, with results available digitally.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Background Screening Services Comprehensive employment background screening for employers, including employment verification, academic verification, criminal history checks, drug and alcohol testing, and skills/cognitive assessments, helping verify candidate credentials and ensure workplace safety.
- Reference Checking Professional reference checking service where trained specialists conduct structured interviews with candidate-provided references to assess job performance, strengths, weaknesses, and suitability for a role. This is the foundational service on which the company was built.
- High Profile Screening Specialized screening for executive and high-profile positions, including media search capabilities to assess candidates' public-facing reputations and potential reputational risks.
- Drug and Alcohol Testing Pre-employment drug and alcohol testing ensuring compliance with governmental regulations, industry regulations, and company-specific testing policies.
- Skills/Cognitive Assessments Assessment tools evaluating candidates' professional skills and cognitive abilities to verify they possess qualifications necessary for specific roles.
- Employment Verification Verification service that reviews information about past employers and work performance to confirm candidates' employment history.
- Academic Verification Service that checks candidates' degrees, attendance, and issuing institutions to verify educational credentials.
- Criminal History Checks Criminal background screening using county court searches, state police searches, national sex offender registry, and other databases to reveal candidates' criminal history and assess hiring risks.
Quantifiable outcome
- Routine background checks completed in 48 hours to 5 business days
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Barada Associates
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments8 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Barada Associates technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
Feature3 records
Barada Associates partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- ExactHirecorePartnership announced August 3, 2010 with Indianapolis-based ExactHire, developer of applicant tracking software. The firms integrated web-based platforms enabling Indiana businesses to access both background screening and application tracking from a single online solution. The integration allows seamless workflow between candidate application and background check initiation.
- NAPBS (National Association of Professional Background Screeners)coreProfessional trade association membership since 2003. NAPBS serves as a non-profit trade association representing companies offering tenant, employment, and background screening services, shaping industry knowledge and regulations.
- Indy ChamberminorRegional chamber partnership for networking and business development in the Indianapolis metropolitan area.
- Indy SHRMminorPartnership with Indianapolis chapter of Society for Human Resource Management for industry networking and HR professional engagement.
- American Business Services (ABS)coreBarada Associates acquired ABS in 2018, bringing former ABS clients into the Barada platform with separate client portal access for historical records. This expanded Barada's client base and service capabilities.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Barada Associates competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- HireRight: Global employment screening provider offering criminal background checks, drug testing, and verification services integrated with major HR platforms. Competes for enterprise and high-volume screening accounts across healthcare, financial services, and government verticals.
- Sterling Talent Solutions: Large, established background screening and identity verification provider serving enterprise customers with broad screening services including criminal, employment, and drug testing. A scaled incumbent that competes head-to-head for the same enterprise buyers Barada targets.
- First Advantage: Public background screening company offering employment background checks, drug testing, and identity verification at scale. A broad incumbent in the same screening category, serving large enterprise and high-volume clients nationwide.
Direct peers
- Accurate Background: Mid-market background screening provider focused on employment and drug screening with ATS integrations and a client portal. Direct competitor targeting the same HR buyer with a comparable services-plus-tech model.
- A-Check Global: Employment background screening provider offering criminal, employment, and drug screening services with ATS integrations. Competes for the same HR customer with a comparable mid-sized services-plus-portal model.
- Checkr: Tech-enabled background screening platform serving enterprise and SMB customers with APIs and ATS integrations. Direct competitor to Barada, competing for the same HR and hiring-manager buyer with a vastly more automated, venture-backed delivery model.
- Certiphi Screening: Pre-employment background screening services company providing criminal history checks, verifications, and credentialing for healthcare and education employers. Overlaps directly with Barada's healthcare and higher-education verticals.
- Intellicorp (Accurate Records): Background screening firm offering criminal records, employment verification, and other pre-employment searches. Closely comparable mid-sized competitor in the same screening services category.
- backgroundchecks.com (Accurate): Online background check provider focused on SMBs with self-service ordering and ATS integrations. Comparable in offering broad screening services, with a more self-serve go-to-market than Barada's white-glove model.
Emerging players
- Pinkerton (corporate screening): Global security and investigations firm offering pre-employment and executive background screening services. Comparable in high-profile and media-search screenings; broader security services portfolio makes it a partial peer.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Barada Associates social profiles
Digital presenceBarada Associates financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Barada Associates leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Barada Associates subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Barada Associates funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Barada Associates M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Barada Associates
What does Barada Associates do?
Barada Associates provides full-service employment background screening and reference checking for employers, covering criminal history, employment and academic verification, drug/alcohol testing, and skills assessments. Services are delivered with human review of results and FCRA compliance support, accessed via secure online client portals.
Is Barada Associates a public or private company?
Barada Associates is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was Barada Associates founded?
Barada Associates was founded in 1979. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Barada Associates based?
Barada Associates is headquartered in Indianapolis, United States, in the North America region.
How does Barada Associates make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Employment Background Screening Services are the primary driver. The others are reference Checking Services.
Who are Barada Associates's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are HireRight, Sterling Talent Solutions and First Advantage. Direct peers are Accurate Background, A-Check Global, Checkr, Certiphi Screening, Intellicorp (Accurate Records) and backgroundchecks.com (Accurate). Pinkerton (corporate screening) is listed as an emerging player.
Does Barada Associates have an API?
No public API is recorded for Barada Associates.
What industry is Barada Associates in?
Barada Associates's product category is Employment Background Screening Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAKAEAA, Pre-Employment Background Checks & Screening. Its NAICS code is 561611 and its SIC code is 7320.