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Business Onboarding (KYB) From Entity to a Defensible Business File

KYB onboarding establishes the business, its ownership and control, and the evidence behind each KYB decision.

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Identify · Resolve · Verify · Screen · Decide

What You Verify Depends on the Business

Different business structures require different verification paths. Teams need to establish the entity, its legal status, ownership and control, and the evidence needed to support the relationship.

Business Type What You Need to Establish
Company Registration, legal status, directors and ownership
LLP / Partnership Registration, members, partners and control
Sole Trader Business status, individual identity and trading details
Trust Trust structure, trustees and relevant parties
Foreign Entity Applicable registry, jurisdiction and ownership
Branch / Subsidiary Parent entity, relationship and authority to operate
Other Legal Structures Legal identity, ownership and control based on local requirements

Key Principle

A business may be legitimately registered even when public information is incomplete or ownership is difficult to establish. KYB must go beyond the registry to understand the people behind the business.

Five Steps to a Complete Business File

  1. 1. Identify

    Confirm the business exists, establish its legal identity and verify relevant registration details.

  2. 2. Resolve

    Trace the ownership and control structure until the individuals who ultimately own or control the business are understood.

  3. 3. Verify

    Verify the entity and relevant individuals against appropriate authoritative and supporting sources.

  4. 4. Screen

    Screen the business and relevant individuals against applicable sanctions, PEP and adverse-media sources.

  5. 5. Decide

    Accept, escalate or decline the relationship — with the checks, evidence, reasoning and approval recorded.

Business KYB Checklist

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Entity registration details
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Legal status and addresses
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Directors, officers or equivalent
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Ownership and
control
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Beneficial
owners
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Supporting
documents
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Screening
results
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Decision and approval record

When You Can't Identify a Beneficial Owner

Complex ownership structures, layered entities and incomplete information can make beneficial ownership difficult to establish, requiring structured investigation, escalation and documented resolution.

Verified business file on a tablet

The ownership and control structure is sufficiently established to proceed with the standard KYB decision.

Business Identity & Registry Verification

Does Registry Verification Complete Your KYB?

Depending on the jurisdiction and business structure, teams may need to consider:

Compliance analyst reviewing a business file on a laptop
  • Official company or business registry information
  • Directors, officers or equivalent roles
  • Beneficial ownership information
  • Ownership and control records
  • Business addresses and status
  • Supporting corporate documents
  • Foreign or cross-border registration records
  • Relevant beneficial ownership or entity registers

Key Takeaway

A verified business record is an important piece of evidence — not the complete KYB decision. Croftz helps teams bring entity information, ownership, verification, screening and decision evidence together into a more complete business file.

What Business Onboarding Actually Takes

Business onboarding isn't only about registry searches. The real operational challenge is managing the difference between straight-through onboarding and cases that require investigation, manual review or escalation

Review
Time to Onboard

How long does it take to establish and verify a business?

Investigate
Exception Rate

How often does the standard onboarding path require additional investigation?

Escalate
Manual Review

How much time and effort is spent resolving ownership, evidence or verification issues?

Document
Evidence Quality

Does every decision have the information, sources and reasoning needed to support it later?

Better KYB is not simply faster verification. It is the ability to move straightforward businesses through efficiently while giving complex cases the investigation and evidence they require.

Frequently Asked Questions

KYB (Know Your Business) establishes the identity, ownership and control structure of a business. KYC focuses on verifying individuals. KYB may involve KYC checks when verifying directors, beneficial owners or other relevant individuals.

A beneficial owner is an individual who ultimately owns or controls a business. The applicable ownership or control criteria can vary by jurisdiction and legal structure.

Document the steps taken to establish ownership, gather additional evidence where appropriate, assess the remaining risk and follow your applicable regulatory and internal escalation procedures before deciding whether to proceed or decline.

You should trace the ownership and control structure far enough to establish who ultimately owns or controls the business, taking the entity structure, jurisdiction and applicable requirements into account.

Requirements vary by jurisdiction, business structure and risk profile. They may include registration records, ownership information, director or officer details, addresses, corporate documents and evidence supporting the business relationship.
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Bring Us Your Difficult Ones

Bring complex ownership structures, missing registry information and conflicting records together with Croftz to identify, resolve, verify, screen and make defensible KYB decisions.

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In the demo
  • One live case, from application through to an evidenced decision
  • Identify which product fits your operating model
  • See how risk scoring maps to your own policy
  • Review the audit evidence your regulator asks for
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