The Reference Company

What The Reference Company does

The Reference Company is a privately held, FCRA-credentialed Consumer Reporting Agency founded in 1993 and headquartered in Rochester Hills, Michigan, that provides pre-employment background screening and healthcare credentialing services to corporations and healthcare organizations nationwide. Its core technology is the proprietary i-Trims Reference Information Management System, a secure 24/7 online workflow platform that manages background screening and credentialing requests from initiation to completion, and which integrates two SaaS products: i-Refs (online narrative reference collection) and i-Evaluations (competency-based reference scoring with applicant comparison and self-evaluation features). The service portfolio is built around this platform and spans identification verification, criminal/civil searches, qualifications verification, sanctions screening, motor vehicle reports, drug screening (delivered through a partnership with Quest Diagnostics), and a dedicated Credentialing Verification Office (CVO) practice that handles initial credentialing, reappointment, expiration monitoring, and graduate medical education verification in compliance with Joint Commission, HFAP, and NCQA standards.

The business operates on a sales-led, direct enterprise model, with a small parallel self-serve channel for i-Refs and i-Evaluations subscriptions; pricing is not publicly disclosed and is configured per client via customized screening packages. Revenue is generated through recurring managed-service subscriptions for screening and CVO work, SaaS subscriptions for the i-Refs and i-Evaluations software, and professional services for credentialing consulting and education classes. The firm has 11-50 employees, no disclosed institutional funding or parent company, and serves customers that include multi-hospital systems and large industrial corporations across healthcare, industrial, commercial, legal, and search/placement sectors.

Name

The Reference Company

Legal name

The Reference Company

Website

https://referencecompany.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Reference Company is a Michigan-based, FCRA-credentialed Consumer Reporting Agency founded in 1993 that provides pre-employment background screening, reference management, and healthcare credentialing services to corporations and healthcare organizations nationwide through its proprietary i-Trims platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pre-Employment Background Screening and Credentialing Services

NAICS

Investigation and Personal Background Check Services (561611), Credit Bureaus (561450)

SIC

Services-Consumer Credit Reporting, Collection Agencies (7320)

akta.pro primary industry

Credential, Education & Professional License Verification (BPAKAEAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Education & Credential Verification (Degrees, Licenses, Certifications) (BPACALAC), Employee Verification & Background Check Coordination (BPAAAIAG), Continuous Monitoring & Post-Hire Screening (BPACALAJ)

Keywords

• Pre-employment screening
• Background verification
• Credentialing services
• Reference checking
• Consumer reporting agency

Headquarters

HQ city

Rochester Hills

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Pre-employment Background Screening Services: Core revenue stream providing comprehensive background screening services including identification verification, criminal/civil searches, qualification verification, sanctions screening, and reference checks. Services are customized into packages to meet specific client needs.
2. Credentialing Verification Services (CVO): Full-service credentialing verification office providing primary source verifications and background screenings for healthcare organizations. Includes initial credentialing, reappointment services, expiration monitoring, and graduate medical education verification.
3. i-Evaluations Software Subscription: SaaS subscription for online reference evaluation gathering. Recruiters pay to access the platform which links with i-Trims for additional background checking services. Reduces time and cost compared to phone references.
4. i-Refs Software Subscription: Online reference gathering software solution available by subscription. Clients can subscribe to use the software independently to obtain references on their own. Provides cost savings compared to phone-based reference collection.
5. Credentialing Consulting Services: Expert consulting to assess credentialing methods and ensure policies and procedures meet national compliant standards. Includes basic and advanced training classes on physician and allied health practitioner credentialing.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Reference Company provides pre-employment background screening packages (identification verification, criminal/civil searches, qualifications verification, sanctions screening, and reference checks) and full-service Credentialing Verification Office (CVO) services for healthcare organizations, delivered through its proprietary i-Trims management platform with 24/7 secure online client access. The company also licenses standalone software products i-Refs and i-Evaluations that enable organizations to gather narrative and competency-based references online, paired with consulting and credentialing education classes.

Product overview

The Reference Company provides a technology-driven portfolio of pre-employment screening and credentialing services to major corporations and healthcare organizations nationwide. The offering consists of a platform-plus-modules architecture centered on the i-Trims secure background checking system, supported by two primary software products: i-Evaluations for competency-based reference evaluations and i-Refs for narrative reference gathering. These software tools integrate with the company's core service offerings including background screening (identification, criminal/civil searches, qualifications verification, sanctions, references), CVO/credentialing services, consulting, and education classes. The company also provides specialized services such as drug screening and motor vehicle reports. All services operate in compliance with FCRA regulations for Consumer Reporting Agencies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• i-Refs: Online software solution for obtaining narrative references from supervisors and peers regarding applicant characteristics and work habits.
• i-Evaluations
• i-TRIMS

Products and services

• i-Trims (Reference Information Management System) i-Trims is The Reference Company's proprietary secure core background checking system that manages screening requests from initiation through completion, providing 24/7 secure online access for clients to monitor practitioner file and credentialing status in real time.
• i-Evaluations i-Evaluations is a pre-screening software solution that gathers online reference evaluations from applicants' prior supervisors and peer references and compares competency ratings across applicants applying for the same position. Features include competency-based evaluations, anonymous gathering, applicant self-evaluations, applicant comparisons, and average-rating-by-position calculations for recruiters.
• i-Refs i-Refs is an online software solution for obtaining narrative references from supervisors, peers, professionals, or executives who have observed the applicant at work, allowing recruiters to manage all applicants' references through a streamlined online process with competency-based reference forms.
• Background Screening Services Pre-employment screening packages including identification, criminal/civil searches, qualifications verification, sanctions screening, and reference checks, customized into packages to meet specific client needs and delivered as a managed service.
• CVO Services (Credentialing Verification Office) Full-service credentialing verification for healthcare organizations, including initial credentialing, reappointment services, expiration monitoring, and graduate medical education (GME) verification, compliant with JC, HFAP, and NCQA standards.
• Credentialing Consulting Services Expert consulting that assesses credentialing methods and ensures client policies and procedures meet national compliant standards, delivered by certified credentialing specialists.
• Credentialing Education Classes Basic and advanced training classes on physician and allied health practitioner credentialing, including Basic Credentialing, Advanced Credentialing, and Orientation for Peer Review Committees.
• Reference Services Supervisory, peer/professional, and executive reference checks that evaluate past job performance as an indicator of future performance, delivered as a managed service.
• Qualifications Verification Primary source verification of employment, academics, licensure, registration, certification, and E-Verify work status as part of pre-employment screening.
• Sanctions Screening Sanctions identification through OIG, EPLS, Office of Foreign Assets, NPDB, Michigan Department of Corrections, and Sexual Offender Registry searches.
• Criminal/Civil Searches Criminal and civil searches at County, State, and Federal levels, including motor vehicle records, bankruptcy, and international criminal searches.
• Identification Verification Identity validation through ID verification, Social Security Number trace, and address history search.
• Drug Screening Services Drug testing services delivered in partnership with Quest Diagnostics, providing client access to a large network of collection sites.
• Motor Vehicle Reports Motor vehicle driving record reports obtained from the state that issued the driver's license, including misdemeanor offenses and moving violations.

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Quest DiagnosticsminorOthersThe Reference Company partners with Quest Diagnostics, one of the leading drug test providers, to offer drug screening services. Quest Diagnostics provides access to a large network of collection sites for client drug testing needs.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• HireRight: Global provider of background screening, drug testing, and credentialing services with a technology-led platform serving enterprise and SMB customers. Offers directly overlapping services to The Reference Company including pre-employment background checks, CVO, and integrated ATS/HRIS workflows.
• Checkr: Tech-forward background screening platform focused on API-first delivery, primarily serving gig economy and enterprise customers. Competes with The Reference Company in the same screening category but differentiates through modern developer tooling and high-volume automation.
• IntelliCorp (a Veradigm/Merative business): Provider of pre-employment background screening and credentialing verification services to healthcare organizations and other employers. Closely comparable in healthcare CVO focus and FCRA-compliant CRA operations.
• Cisive: Mid-sized background screening and compliance solutions provider serving healthcare, financial services, and other regulated industries. Comparable to The Reference Company in CVO and pre-employment screening scope, particularly for healthcare verticals.
• Accurate Background: US-based background screening provider offering employment background checks, drug testing, and credentialing solutions to employers of all sizes. Direct competitor with similar service mix including CVO capabilities for healthcare customers.
• Universal Background Screening: Background screening company offering employment screening services, drug testing, and occupational health solutions to employers. Comparable mid-market competitor with overlapping product set in pre-employment screening and credential verification.
• Sterling (Sterling Backcheck): One of the largest US background screening providers offering pre-employment background checks, credentialing, and identity services to enterprise and mid-market employers across industries including healthcare. Directly comparable to The Reference Company on core background check and credentialing offerings, though significantly larger in scale.

Emerging players

• GoodHire: Tech-enabled, SMB-focused background screening platform owned by Checkr. Competes with The Reference Company's lower-end SMB and mid-market accounts through a self-serve SaaS model rather than a managed-service-heavy approach.

Broad incumbents

• HealthStream (CredentialStream): Healthcare workforce solutions company offering credentialing, learning, and provider data management through its CredentialStream platform. Competes with The Reference Company in healthcare credentialing, primarily at enterprise health system scale with a software-led model.
• symplr (CVO/credentialing software): Healthcare workforce and credentialing management platform offering provider credentialing, privileging, and compliance solutions to hospital systems. Overlaps with The Reference Company's CVO offering but operates as a broader software suite rather than a CRA-focused service bureau.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/pages/The-Reference-Company/375352569328873
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-reference-company

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 The Reference Company