Questions, Answered
Everything about plans, review invitations, verification and how we keep ratings honest.
Is the Free plan really free?
Yes. You can list your business and collect reviews at no cost, forever. We believe every business deserves a chance to build trust, regardless of budget.
Can I cancel anytime?
Absolutely. There are no long-term contracts or cancellation fees. Cancel your plan anytime and your business listing stays active on the Free plan.
How does annual billing work?
Choose annual billing and you pay for 10 months and get 12 — that's 2 months free on Starter, Growth and Pro. You're billed once a year and can switch back to monthly at your next renewal.
How many review invitations do I get?
Free includes 25 review invitations, Starter 50, Growth 250 and Pro 500. Invitations reset each month, and your shareable review link and QR code are always unlimited on every plan.
How does the rating system work?
We use a 5-point rating scale with a unique colour progression: red (1), orange (2), champagne (3), light gold (4), and gold (5). This makes it easy for customers to quickly understand a business's reputation at a glance.
Do you verify businesses?
Yes. Businesses on the Growth plan and above receive a verified badge after we confirm their business details. This helps customers know they're dealing with a legitimate, established business.
What if I get a negative review?
Every plan — including Free — lets you respond publicly to any review. We encourage open dialogue — responding professionally to negative feedback often builds more trust than having only perfect reviews.
What widgets are included in the Starter plan?
Starter includes the TrustStanding widget kit: embeddable rating widgets for your website, a compact rating badge for email signatures, auto-generated review graphics sized for Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn, and invoice & quote trust badges. Growth adds the full website widget collection, advanced social graphics and Shopify-ready CSV export. All widgets update automatically as new reviews come in.
What happens to the evidence we submit for an assessment or verification?
Your assessment evidence — financial documents, HR attestations, supplier and payment evidence and identity documentation — is confidential and is never published. Only the score, band, section breakdown, certificate serial and dates are public. Access is limited to named assessment staff and our hosting provider as a technical processor; files sit in private, encrypted storage (in transit and at rest) reachable only through short-lived signed links. We use automated assistance to summarise and cross-check evidence against the published rubric, but every decision is made and signed off by a human assessor, and your evidence is never used to train third-party AI models. We keep raw documents only while the certification is valid — the 12-month period plus any appeal or surveillance window — then delete them, retaining only the scores, serial and decision record needed to evidence and enforce the certificate. Any international processing is covered by the UK IDTA, EU standard contractual clauses or an adequacy decision. You can request deletion at any time; see our Privacy Notice for the full detail.
How long is a certificate valid for?
All three TrustStanding certificates — Business Standing, Customer Service Excellence and Digital & AI Readiness — are issued for a three-year cycle. Year 1 covers the full assessment and certification. Years 2 and 3 each carry an annual maintenance fee, and at the end of year 3 the business re-certifies in full with a fresh assessment.
What does the three-year fee structure look like?
Fees are set by size tier. The assessment is $495 (micro & small), $895 (medium) or $1,750 (large); certification is a further $250, $400 or $750 — so the one-time upfront total is $745, $1,295 or $2,500. Years 2 and 3 then carry an annual maintenance fee of $395, $695 or $1,250. There are no discounts, and prices are charged in £ in the UK and € in the eurozone.
What are “limited evidence updates” in years 2 and 3?
Instead of repeating the whole assessment, we ask on a case-by-case basis for a short list of items — for example current statutory filings, an insurance renewal, a change of director, updated complaints or claims data, or confirmation that a policy still stands. The request appears in your dashboard with a due date, you upload the documents there, and a named reviewer accepts it or comes back for more. Everything that is requested, uploaded and decided is recorded in an audit trail you can see.
When will I be reminded about recertification and the annual fee?
We email the certificate contact 45 days and again 14 days before each annual fee falls due, and again before the three-year certificate expires. Your dashboard shows the same countdown, the cycle year you are in, and any open evidence request. You can also switch on auto-renew so the fee is taken automatically.
How is my evidence handled during years 2 and 3?
Exactly as in year 1: evidence is confidential and never published. Only the score, band, section breakdown, serial and dates are public. Files sit in private, encrypted storage reachable only through short-lived signed links, access is limited to named assessment staff, and raw documents are kept only while the certification is valid and enforceable — the three-year cycle plus any appeal or surveillance window — then deleted. You can request deletion at any time; withdrawing evidence needed to maintain a live certificate may mean the certificate is suspended.
What are Guided Reviews?
Available from the Growth plan, Guided Reviews break a single rating into specific dimensions — speed, quality, and delivery — each scored on the same 5-point scale. Customers also answer whether they'd use the business again and whether they'd recommend it. This gives future customers far more useful detail and helps businesses pinpoint exactly what to improve.
Still have questions?
Our team is happy to help — or compare the plans side by side.