Overview

Sterling Volunteers is the background check provider built into Vome. Vome does not run the check itself. Its job is to place the order, carry the person's details across so nothing is typed twice, and then track the status that comes back so your records stay current.

One constraint is worth knowing before you plan around it. A Sterling background check on Vome exists only as a step inside a sequence. This article covers that constraint, the two statuses Vome keeps on the step, how information flows in each direction, and what the person sees and does on their end.

What you need: an active Sterling Volunteers account, your Sterling API credentials, and a sequence to put the step in. Vome charges nothing extra for the integration. Sterling bills for the checks themselves.

1. Can I order a Sterling background check outside a sequence?

No. The Background Check step type exists only inside the Sequences module, and a Sterling order can only be raised from that step. There is no button on a profile, an opportunity, a form, a shift or a report that orders a check.

What that means in practice:

• Someone who is not on a sequence containing a Background Check step cannot be screened through Vome.

• To screen someone who is already in your database, put them on a sequence that contains the step. A short sequence holding nothing but the background check is a normal way to handle renewals and requalification.

• Checks you order directly in Sterling's own portal, outside Vome, stay outside Vome. They do not appear on the profile and no status flows back.

If your screening happens anywhere other than a Vome sequence, plan to track it with a Custom step instead. See question 7.

2. What is Vome actually tracking?

Two statuses, and they answer different questions. Both sit on the same background check step.

The Sterling Volunteers status

This is Sterling's own verdict on the check. It arrives from Sterling, and nobody in Vome sets it or edits it. It appears as a coloured pill labelled Sterling Volunteers status, and hovering over it confirms that the status is powered by Sterling Volunteers. The values are:

• Cleared: Clear and Eligible.

• Still moving: Pending, In progress, Consider and On Hold.

• Stopped: Ineligible and Cancelled.

The Vome step status

This is the ordinary sequence step status, pending or complete, exactly as on any other step. It is the one that governs whether the person moves forward in the sequence, and an administrator can set it.

Alongside those two, Vome stores the date the step was completed and, when Sterling supplies one, an expiration date on the check itself. The expiration date is what lets you spot checks that are about to lapse and start a renewal before they do.

A Clear result does not close the Vome step by itself. The two statuses are deliberately independent, so a Consider or an On Hold result can never quietly advance someone. Decide who in your organization is responsible for reviewing the result and marking the step complete.

3. Does the status sync in both directions?

Yes. Information moves both ways, but each direction carries something different.

Vome to Sterling, once, at the start

When the check is started, Vome sends Sterling the Package ID configured on that step, plus the person's details from their Vome profile: their name, email address, date of birth and full address including city, state or province, postal code and country. Nothing has to be re-entered on Sterling's side.

Sterling to Vome, continuously

Sterling sends the result back to Vome and then keeps sending. The Sterling Volunteers status on the step changes on its own as the check progresses. There is nothing to import, nothing to refresh, and no administrator action involved.

Sterling also runs monthly follow-up checks for 12 months after a check is purchased. If something changes on the person's record inside that window, the updated status arrives in Vome the same way the original result did. A profile that read Clear in March can therefore show something different later without anybody in your organization touching it, which is the main reason to look at the Sterling status rather than only the step status.

4. What does the person see and do on their end?

They start it from inside Vome, and they never have to create a Sterling account or go looking for Sterling themselves.

When their sequence reaches the background check step, the step shows a Start Background Check button. Clicking it opens a two-part window inside Vome:

1. Step 1, complete profile info. Vome asks them to confirm the details Sterling needs, prefilled from their profile wherever it already holds them. Date of birth and address are both required, and city, country, state or province, and ZIP or postal code sit underneath the address. The Next button stays disabled until every one of them is filled in, so an incomplete profile is caught here rather than failing later.

2. Step 2, consent to share info. A plain notice explaining that Sterling Volunteers conducts the check as an independent third party, that Vome does not control the verification steps, the fees, the payment details or the result, and that Vome's role is limited to tracking completion for your organization's records. It lists the fields being shared. They tick a box confirming they have read and understood it and consent, then continue.

Only after that consent does Vome place the order. Sterling's own candidate page then opens in a new browser tab, already signed in for them, so there is no separate account to register for and nothing to re-type. Their Vome sequence stays open in the tab behind it, and they carry on with their remaining steps from there.

Two things happen on Sterling's side rather than Vome's: payment, if your package puts the cost on the individual, and any identity verification Sterling requires. Questions about cost, results or the process itself go to Sterling or to you, not to Vome support, and the consent notice says so explicitly.

An administrator can also start the check on someone's behalf from the sequence, filling in the same details for them. This is the usual route when the person cannot complete it themselves.

5. Where do I see the status as an administrator?

On the sequence. Open the sequence, then open the person sitting on the background check step. You will see the Sterling Volunteers status pill, the Vome step status of pending or complete, and the date the step was completed. The same step detail opens from the profile as well, so you do not have to go back to the sequence to check on somebody.

You are notified when a background check step is completed.

6. Can I use more than one Sterling package?

Yes. Each background check step carries a single Package ID, which Sterling gives you directly. Create a separate background check entry for each package and use whichever one suits the sequence. Different packages for different roles is a common setup.

When you enter a Package ID, use Validate package before saving. Vome checks the ID against Sterling and confirms it, which is much the cheapest moment to catch a typo. A saved entry can be reused across as many sequences as you like, and editing one affects every sequence using it, so Vome asks you to confirm that before saving.

7. What if we use a different screening provider?

Track it with a Custom step. Vome's Background Check step is wired specifically to Sterling Volunteers, so it cannot place an order with anybody else. A Custom step gives you a status, notes, a completion date and a file attachment, which is enough to record a check you ran elsewhere. You lose the automatic sync, and nothing else.

Vome also has a separate partnership with Verified First, which works differently and is started from the profile rather than from a sequence step. If you screen with a provider we have not integrated, tell us in a support ticket.

Summary

• A Sterling background check exists only as a step inside a sequence. Nothing outside a sequence can order one.

• The step carries two independent statuses: Sterling's verdict, which Vome receives and never edits, and the Vome step status, which decides whether the person moves forward.

• Sterling's statuses are Clear, Eligible, Pending, In progress, Consider, On Hold, Ineligible and Cancelled. Vome also stores the completion date and, where Sterling supplies one, an expiration date.

• Vome sends the profile details and the Package ID to Sterling once, at the start. Sterling sends status updates back continuously, including monthly follow-up checks for 12 months.

• The person clicks Start Background Check, confirms their details and gives consent inside Vome. Sterling's page then opens in a new tab, already signed in, with their Vome sequence still open behind it.

• A Clear result does not close the Vome step on its own. Somebody has to mark it complete.

• Validate every Package ID before saving, and use a Custom step for any provider Vome does not integrate.

Related reading: How does the Sterling Volunteers integration work on Vome? for the setup path and credentials, How do Sequences work on Vome? for the module the step lives in, What are the different step categories when adding steps in a sequence? for the Custom step alternative, and How does Verified First's background screening solution work on Vome? for the other screening partnership.