We are pleased to announce the recent deployment of several significant updates to our platform with our latest release. These enhancements are designed to optimize your experience and improve the clarity of our services.

Automated Refunds Processing

We have implemented an automated refund process to ensure we deliver the best service to you. For any Report that, at the end of our 10-day commitment to service your Check Request, is still unfulfilled, we will return the Report cost to you in credits.

While Smile Checks endeavors to fulfill every Report request from us, sometimes things can take longer than expected. We get it, and we don't think it's fair for you to wait indefinitely. That's why if any Report isn't ready after 10 days, our system will now kick in and process a credit refund for that particular Report, without you lifting a finger.

This automated process means peace of mind for you. You can rest easy knowing that if a Report can't be completed on time, you won't be charged for it. It's all about transparency and fairness – you'll only pay for what you get. This feature ensures that your credits are managed efficiently, and you maintain a balance that reflects the services rendered.

All past Check Requests have been retroactively processed and refunds will be issued as soon as you log into the Checks Portal, which will kickstart the refund process. You should shortly see your credits wallet with the updated credit amount shortly after logging in (you may need to do a quick refresh!)

Check Clarity Improvements

We have updated the label of the column previously known as "Additional Checks Requested" to "Reports Expected", and added all expected reports to the list, including the Identity + Employment Check. This was initially included in all checks, but our recent changes to increase your flexibility in picking and choosing the only the Checks you need, we have streamlined the view to include this check explicitly only when you need it. This addition has been applied retroactively to all past requests that meet the criteria, ensuring historical consistency.

The Reports Expected tally has also been refined to count each Reference Check as three individual reports, providing a more precise account of pending checks. We continue to ensure that at least two Reference Checks are provided when requested.

The TIN Validation Check process has been upgraded to an automated ID & TIN Verification Check, offering a more robust and efficient verification process. This will allow you to verify not only the Candidate's Tax Identification Number but also their Social Security Number and Pag-IBIG Membership ID Number.

Lastly, we are continuing to improve the clarity of our report and we have released a more streamlined Employment History table if your Candidate has shared their My.SSS data with you through the Identity + Employment Check. For Gig Platforms Check, the Candidate's Transactions and Ratings are also now included in the report for your review.

Bug Fixes and System Improvements

We have also addressed various issues in the recent release:

• Fixed issue where Gig Platform Check is sometimes not populated in the Reports Expected list
• Fixed issue where Phone Call followups were not added to Check Requests Updates Log
• Fixed issue where ID & TIN Verification, Digitized Payslip, Gig, Academic History, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG ID Checks are not accurately checked against missing reports
• Fixed issue where My Check Requests > Detailed Logs show the Check Request creation date instead of the date of the update log
• Improved security on our Onboarding form

We trust these updates will significantly contribute to a more streamlined and effective experience on our platform. Should you have any questions or require further information, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.

We have released the following bugfixes:

• Fixed a bug where Reference Check is displayed as one report when it may be 2-3 reports from different Reference persons.
• Fixed issues where initial count of expected reports is incorrect when a new check request is created.

We have one known issue where update logs for email tracking feature is currently triggering too often. We are aware of this issue and will be rectifying this as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience.

We have released the Email Tracking feature, which will allow you to note when Candidates or References have opened the invitation or followup email sent to them. Only invitations and followup emails sent this week onwards will have this feature enabled.

To see this information, view the details of any Check Request in your My Check Requests page, and scroll down to the Detailed Update Logs section. You will soon see email opening logs included in the detailed log.

Please note this feature is in alpha and we will continue to refine it moving forward.

We have also released the following:

• Fixed bug where users cannot continue on to submitting business information upon signup
• Sample reports can now be downloaded for select Checks under Checks & Bundles section

We have made a couple of under-the-hood improvements over the past week to streamline processes.

In keeping with our 10-day SLA for servicing check requests, all requests that have pending items after the 10th day since candidate invitation will be marked as Closed. Requesters and candidates will be notified of this and you may then reply to the notification email if you still require special handling beyond this point.

We have also made some changes with candidate reminders and notifications, notably:

• Invitation emails and reminder emails will no longer mention SSS and NBI Clearance if the selected checks do not include these reports
• Link to the onboarding form will not be sent via reminder emails if the candidate has finished accomplishing the form
• Requesters may now opt not to be added to the CC list of candidate reminders (global setting.

In addition, we have improved the Check Request Form to include a list of the selected checks and inclusions directly below the check selection area. This will help you keep track of not only the checks included in your selection but also the services that are included in every check request, such as included followup emails and SMS.

Lastly, we have made the following minor changes:

• The Check Products price list will not show the product code anymore.
• Pending credit orders and pending a la carte check requests will now be checked daily (up to five days) if payment settlement is delayed.
• Fixed issue where reference-only checks do not have reports generated.
• New Smile Checks Portal users are logged in upon initial login to improve the KYB process.
• Pending credits are now removed once a check is completed or closed.
• This Updates Log is now linked on the Smile Checks Portal, under Help! section.

We've added a new feature to help you quickly see the status of your check requests: Progress Display.

For each check request in the My Check Requests screen, you will now be able to see the progress of the reports coming in for your candidate:

This will help you quickly glance through your list of check requests and have a better grasp on the status of each request. We have also made a few smaller changes to the way the check requests are displayed to increase ease of viewing your check request details.

We have also made the following fixes:

• Fixed issue where Gig Platforms Check, PhilHealth Validation, and Pag-IBIG Validation are not automatically checked for completion when onboarding forms are processed.
• Fixed issue where Gig Platforms Check are not displayed in the Reports Expected when selected.
• Reminders are now based on the invited time, instead of added time.
• For check requests paid with credits, the Payment Status field will now show "Credits Applied" instead of "Paid".
• Manual followups will now also send an SMS message to the candidate.
• Followups for reference contacts will now also show up in the Followup Log.
• Fixed issues where credit orders are not connected to the purchaser.
• Added notifications for all payment orders made through the Smile Checks Portal.
• Fixed issue where the Credit Order payment status is not updated to "Paid" after credit has been applied to the purchaser.