Search restrictions in green ID Business allow customers to control the extent of automated register searches performed when creating the business structure, and the costs associated with doing so.

Why customers use this feature

The primary reason for customers to use search restrictions is to control costs. 

Search restrictions limit the volume of searches automatically performed against a business register when creating a verification, and thereby the number of sub-businesses created. For customers charged either per register search or per business created, limiting the searches therefore limits their spend.

Prior to the availability of search restrictions, the entire business structure was always explored which sometimes resulted in significant, unexpected cost to the customer. 

If cost is not an issue (e.g. for NZ businesses), customers may still choose to use search restrictions to make searches for large businesses quicker. This may be of interest if they don't usually require the full business structure.

What you need to know:

• Search strategies do not enable a customer to limit their spend to a specific dollar amount. Customers charged per search or per business created may still incur varied costs for a verification based on the size and structure of the business. 
• Search restrictions enable the customer to focus their spend based on what is important for their business processes. 

What this feature does

Search Restrictions enable a customer to restrict the automated searches performed against a particular business register based on a) how deep within a structure a business is found, b) ownership percentage, or c) both depth at which the business is found AND ownership percentage. (See 'How this feature works' for further details on each of these options.)

This is achieved by defining 'search restriction' settings within a configuration file for the customer's account. Search Restriction settings can be defined on a 'per register' basis, so they can choose to apply different restrictions to ASIC searches vs NZBN searches. Customers can also opt for their searches of a particular register to be 'full searches' (i.e. no search restrictions applied)

When search restrictions are applied when creating a business, any sub-businesses which are not searched for due to the restrictions will be created as 'search restricted'. Only the business's name will be available for these.

A customer can then choose to manually run a search for these 'search restricted' sub-businesses.

What you need to know:

• Search restrictions may make it more onerous for a customer to identify the beneficial owners
• The search restrictions defined for the customer's account will be applied to all businesses created via a register search - they cannot override the restrictions or apply different restrictions on a 'per business lookup' basis.

How this feature works

1. Search Restrictions Configured for the account

Every customer account needs to be configured with their chosen 'search restriction strategy' (and the relevant 'search restriction thresholds') for each business register they wish to use. Different search restriction settings can be configured for each register (e.g. ASIC, NZBN). 

Search restrictions need to be configured for an account by Engineering Support (they are not available via VVCL) and a release is required for them to take effect. (Also see 'Helping Customers Use this Feature' for how to request this).

There are 4 'search restriction strategies' available to choose from:

1. Restrict by Level - this restricts the search to a maximum number of 'levels' deep. It controls how deep into the structure we drill. 
   A 'maximum search depth threshold' must be specified. A setting of 1 means only the business number entered by the user will be searched for (i.e. level 1 = the number entered), a setting of 2 means the number entered and its direct sub-businesses will be searched etc
2. Restrict by Ownership Percentage - this restricts the search based on the ownership percentage of the relationship in which the business occurs (e.g. the shareholding percentage). An 'ownership percentage threshold' must be specified. This can be a decimal value. 
3. Restrict by Level and Ownership Percentage - this restricts the search based on BOTH the ownership percentage and maximum number of 'levels'. A 'maximum search depth threshold'  AND an 'ownership percentage threshold' must be specified. 
4. Always Search - with this option, no search restrictions are applied and searches of the entire structure are performed.

What you need to know:

• There is no 'default' strategy. Each customer's account must be configured with their required strategy for each business register that they use
• It is possible to define a different strategy, and different 'thresholds' for the strategy for each business register (e.g. NZBN may be 'Always Search, but ASIC may be 'Restrict by Level and Ownership Percentage)
• Customer accounts setup prior to the availability of search restrictions will be set to 'Always Search'. A request can be submitted to change this.

2. Customer Performs a Search 

When a customer creates a new business, the screens presented include relevant information about any 'search restrictions' in place. Tooltips provide guidance based on the  customer's settings.

The below screenshots are an example of a customer with a 'Restrict by ownership percentage' strategy for ASIC searches, so only information relevant to this strategy is presented. (If they had a combined strategy, information on ownership percentage and max search depth thresholds would be included):

What you need to know:

• There is no 'override' facility available for the user to change the thresholds for a particular search only. The strategy configured for their account is always applied.
• Search restrictions will be applied to all businesses created via a search i.e. creation of a top level business, creation of a related business (e.g. when manually adding a business shareholder), and when submitting a search for a related business marked as 'in error' (this is a rare scenario)

3. Business is Created with search restrictions applied

When a customer creates a business via a search, related businesses (also known as sub businesses) within the structure will only be searched for if they meet the criteria to be searched as dictated by the  'search restriction strategy' in effect for the business register.

The criteria to be searched is as follows for each strategy: 

Restrict by Level - A sub-business must be found at a depth equal to or less than the 'maximum search depth threshold' configured. 

• The business the user submits a search for is always treated as 'level 1' for the purposes of applying the 'maximum search depth' threshold, regardless of where within the structure the business is being added from. Example: Within a sub-business found 3 levels deep within a business, the user adds a shareholder via a search. The shareholder business being searched for is treated as 'level 1' and the maximum depth threshold is applied from that point.

Restrict by Ownership Percentage - the ownership percentage of the relationship in which the sub-business it is found must be equal to or greater than the 'ownership percentage threshold' configured. 

• When applying the 'ownership percentage threshold', for Australian businesses this will be applied to the 'percentage of class' owned. There is no 'percentage of class' for NZ businesses.
• If a business is found in a relationship which has no 'ownership percentage' (e.g. ultimate holding company or 'other party of interest) then it will be treated as having an ownership percentage of 0%.

Restrict by Level and Ownership Percentage - sub-business must be found at a depth equal to or less than the 'maximum search depth threshold' configured AND the ownership percentage of the relationship in which it is found must be equal to or greater than the 'ownership percentage threshold' configured. 
(In other words, it will search all sub-businesses to the level specified which also have at least the minimum ownership percentage. E.g.: If the 'maximum search depth threshold' is 2 and the 'ownership percentage threshold'  is 25%, it will search the business number entered (level1) plus 1 level of sub-businesses (level 2) which have 25% ownership or more. If a sub-business is found at level 2, but only has 10% ownership then it will not be searched.)

• Details provided above for 'Restrict by Level' and ' Restrict by Ownership Percentage' also apply for this strategy.

Always Search - no search restrictions are applied and searches of the entire structure are performed.

If a business occurs in multiple locations within the business structure, then it will be searched for if it meets the search criteria in ANY of those locations. (Example - 'Restrict by levels' search strategy is in place with a 'maximum search depth' threshold of 2 levels. If Business A is found at both level 2 and at level 3 then it will be searched and the results displayed in both locations) 

If a sub-business does not meet the criteria to be searched anywhere in the business structure, then it is created as 'search restricted'. There will be no information available for it, apart from its name.

(For examples of the how these search strategies impact on the structure of a business, please see Search Restrictions - Worked Examples)

Identifying Search Restricted sub-businesses:

The location of any search restricted businesses is clearly indicated throughout the business structure with the aid of a 'search restricted' icon. If any of these need to be verified, a warning banner is displayed at the top of the verification.

The below screenshots indicate how 'search restrictions' are highlighted:

What you need to know:

• Search restrictions do not impact sub-businesses with no business number to search.
• The search restrictions warning banner will only display if search restricted sub-businesses require verification. 
• The audit logs record the search restriction thresholds applied to a search, and reflect if a related business was created as 'search restricted' 
• A business can be 'verified' if it contains 'search restricted' sub-businesses in its structure, providing they do not require verification

4. Customer searches for a  'search restricted' sub-business

If a related business has been 'search restricted', then the customer will have the option of manually submitting a search for that business by using the 'perform search' button provided. When this search is submitted, only that specific business is searched for. Any related businesses within it will be 'search restricted'. This provides a greater level of control of the search spend incurred.

What you need to know:

• Using the search button immediately submits the search - there is no data entry or confirmation required by the user

5. Customer is Billed

The billing of customers is determined outside of the greenID Business system. The system produces defined types of 'billing events'. These events are used to generate a 'billing report' which is used by Finance to bill customers, and to reconcile invoices received from business register data providers. For more information on greenID Business Billing Events and the greenID Business Billing Report, please refer to the greenID Business - Billing Events page.

This section outlines when key billing events will be created if search restrictions are applied. How these impact the cost to the customer will depend on the billing model applied to their account (e.g. whether charged per search, per related business, or a fixed fee per verification).

Creation of 'register search' and 'related business created' billing events 

When 'search restricted': If a related business has been 'search restricted', there will be no 'register search' billing event and no 'add related verification' billing event created for it. This means that the customer will not incur any cost for these sub-businesses.

Search for a 'search restricted' sub-business: If a customer submits a search for a search restricted business, then at that point both the relevant  'register search' billing event and an 'add related verification' billing event will be created. (If the customer is charged based on either of these billing events, then they will now incur a cost)

Sub-business with no business number: If a related business does not have a business number to search for, then it will be created as an empty sub business ready for manual population. An 'add related verification' billing event WILL be created for it (as per pre-existing functionality). If the customer is charged based on these billing events, then they will incur a cost for these businesses. 

Example:

A customer's account is configured as 'restrict by level' for ASIC searches, with a 'maximum search depth threshold' = 1. They submit an ACN search for Business A (this is level 1). Business A has 2 shareholders (these are at level 2) - Business B which has an ACN, and Business C which is a foreign company and therefore has no ACN.

• Business B will be search restricted (since its level is > 1) and no billing events will be created for it.
• Business  C will be created as an empty business ready for manual population and an 'add related verification' billing event will be created.
• If the user then searches for Business B, both a 'CW register search' billing event and an 'add related verification' billing event will be created. 

What you need to know:

• The exact costs incurred by the customer are dependent on the billing model in place for the customer. Different billing models are currently used for AU vs NZ customers, for example.
• Please refer to greenID Business - Billing Events page for an explanation of the different types of billing events referred to above.