Scoring is set up per application template. Each template can have its own criteria, so a template for one property type can score differently from another.
Before you start
Credit, Criminal, and Eviction scoring use the reports from your CRS screening package. The credit report is provided by Equifax.
Identity and Income scoring use Plaid. Plaid Income Verification has to be turned on for the template before you can score income. If it’s off, the Income section shows “Plaid is not enabled” with an Edit Template button.
Rental History scoring uses the addresses the applicant lists and the rental verification forms you send to their past landlords.
Open the Scoring tab
Go to Settings.
Under Screening, click Application Templates.
Find the template you want to score. Click the three dots on its row, then click Builder.
Click the Scoring tab at the top of the page.
The sections you can score are listed down the left side: Identity, Income, Credit, Eviction, Criminal, and Rental History. Click a section name to jump to it.
From here, you can select the "Enable" toggle next to the criteria that you would like to set up for your applicants.
How the rules work
Each section has an Enable switch. Turn it on to score that section. Inside each section are individual rules, and each rule has an Applied switch so you can leave out any rule you don’t use.
Every rule has three settings:
Fail shows as red.
Review shows as yellow.
Pass shows as green.
For number-based rules like credit score and rent-to-income, you type the cutoffs. The colored bar above the boxes updates as you go, so you can see where each range starts and stops.
For count-based rules like bankruptcies, collections, or criminal records, you only enter the Fail and Pass numbers. The Review range fills in on its own based on those two numbers.
For rules with a drop-down, pick the result that should land in each color. If you never want a rule to show red or yellow, check Don’t display anything as red or Don’t display anything as yellow.
What you can score in each section
Section | Rules you can set |
Identity | Completed Plaid Identity Verification: score by verification status, such as Completed, Skipped (or manually uploaded documents), or Resent. Plaid Verification Results: score by what Plaid found when it checked the biometric selfie, full name, date of birth, country, and document expiration. |
Income | Plaid Income Verification: score by verification status. Monthly Rent-to-Income Ratio (per applicant): set the income-to-rent multiple that fails, needs review, or passes; for example, under 2.0x fails and 3.0x or more passes. |
Credit | Lookback Period for the whole section. Credit Score cutoffs. Bankruptcy, Late Payment, Collections, and Charge-offs counts. For late payments, you can choose which account statuses to include. |
Eviction | Lookback Period for the section. Eviction Records: the number of eviction records that fail, need review, or pass. |
Criminal | Lookback Period for the section. Criminal Records: the number of records that fail or pass. |
Rental History | Reported Address History: scores whether the applicant’s past addresses can be verified. An address can be verified when it has both a valid address and a manager email. Rental Verifications Sent v. Received: scores how many of the verification forms you sent came back. Rental Verification Form: pick which landlord answers count against the applicant, and whether an “N/A” answer counts as positive or negative. |
Lookback period
Credit, Eviction, and Criminal each have a Lookback Period. Choose All available data, 6 months, 12 months, 18 months or 24 months. Scoring only looks at records inside that window, counted back from the day the application was submitted or the reports were run.
Save your criteria
Click Save at the top of the page when you’re done. Click Cancel to leave without saving changes.
See scores on an application
From the Dashboard, click Screening, then Applications.
Open an application.
Scroll to Applicants. Each applicant has a tile for each screening section.
Tiles for scored sections show green, yellow, or red based on your criteria, along with a label such as Review. Sections that haven’t been run yet show Not Run. Click on the specific applicant to see the full reports behind the tiles.
Tips
Start with the rules your team already uses on its spreadsheet scorecard, then add others once you’re comfortable.
If you have more than one application template, set up scoring on each one. Criteria don’t copy between templates.
Want help getting set up? Reach out to our Support team, and we’ll walk through your criteria with you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Custom Scoring approve or deny applicants for me?
No. Scoring shows how each section measures up against your criteria. You still make the decision and send any required notices to the applicant.
Is scoring set for my whole company or per template?
Per template. Open each template’s Builder to set its criteria.
Why is a section not showing a color?
The section may be turned off on the Scoring tab, the rule may not be applied, or the report hasn’t been run for that applicant yet.
Can I score pets?
Yes, PetScreening also has Custom Scoring Criteria.
Troubleshooting
The Income section says “Plaid is not enabled”
Click Edit Template in that section, or go to the Template tab, and turn on Plaid Income Verification for the template. Then return to the Scoring tab.
I changed my criteria, but an application still looks the same
Make sure you clicked Save on the Scoring tab and that the application uses the template you edited.