A rundown of how Arise works is long overdue on this site. I have actually shied away from reviewing them for a long time because this is one of those opportunities where you do have to pay to get started, and I know that’s not an option for everyone. And no, this is not a work at home scam. You should always be cautious if you are ever asked to pay for employment, but Arise is the exception because it’s more of a home business that you’re starting. Once you have completed the sign-up process, you essentially have your own business as a customer service professional, and Arise is the middle man that hooks you up with clients.
Please note that this review is not to be considered as a personal recommendation for Arise, but rather just a jumping off point for you to make your own decision about it. This is definitely not for everyone seeing as how there are costs involved.
What You Do For Arise
Just as with any home customer service job, you are providing customer support and/or sales to various businesses. You are not helping out Arise directly, but rather their clients. There are many, many well-known companies that use Arise for their customer service staffing needs. Instead of bothering to hire people directly, these companies simply contract through Arise and Arise provides the workers as well as handles all of the training.
The work you do will vary depending on the client, but you can expect phone work and possibly even email/chat support. Yes — email and chat support are highly sought after non-phone jobs that are hard to come by, but Arise is one company with many clients that need help with those very things.
Why You Have to Pay
One reason you have to pay is because Arise requires that you incorporate yourself as a business before you can sign up. They have a rule that they only contract with incorporated entities, so you do have to go through the process of creating an independent business first. Doing this will probably cost you around $100. In addition to this, there are other expenses involved in getting started with Arise. They have provided a general breakdown of what it will cost you to start-up (note that they have included the incorporation fee in this:)
National Background Check Fee ($12.95 in most states, $25.95 in CA, CO, MA, NV, VT or SD)
Incorporation (approx. $100)
High-Speed Internet Access ($50/month)
Phone Equipment ($35-100)
Dedicated Phone Line ($18-30/month)
Basic Certification Program CSP101 ($99)
All of the above fees are paid to third parties with the exception of the Basic Certification Program fee, which is paid to Arise. You’ll also notice above that you do have to have a dedicated phone line to use just for working, so using your own home phone line is not an option. You’ll have to pay for a separate line used solely for working.
Additionally, Arise deducts a semi-monthly service fee of $19.75 from all independent business owner employees. This fee will not be deducted until you are actually working and earning money. Why do they charge this fee? Arise states it’s because of the infrastructure they provide to you, which includes accounting services, 24-hour help desk, and their scheduling system.
Getting Around the Fees?
I have also read that it’s occasionally possible to get around some of the fees when signing up with Arise. For example, if you do not want to incorporate yourself, you can sign up under another person’s corporation and work that way. I know some people already have corporations for whatever reason. If you do, there is no need to make a new one. You can just work under your existing corp.
Sometimes there are promo codes you can take advantage of to go toward the basic certification program so that you’re not having to pay for that either. Unfortunately, I do not know how often this is offered, but it might be a good idea to “like” Arise on Facebook to see when/if they offer any special promotions. Chances are good that you already have high-speed internet and phone equipment, although you’ll need to get a headset if you don’t already have one of those.
Earning Potential and Pay
There is potential to earn good money through Arise. They quote between $9 and $19 per hour depending on a variety of different things, including the client you are working for as well as possible performance incentives and bonuses.
Arise pays you twice monthly via direct deposit into a corporate bank account.
The Application Process
So if you want to do this, how do you start? First, you have to look over their contract, go through an assessment so they can verify that your computer and voice proficiency, etc. are on par with what they need and so they can understand your skills, which may help them with matching you to their clients. Then, pay for your background check and wait for the results to come back. If your background check is OK, you can go ahead and enroll in the e-certification program which you’ll have seven days to complete. You will also need to have your incorporated business in place or be signed up under someone else’s so you can begin working. Arise will additionally need to verify that you have all the equipment you need to meet their standards in order to do the job.
Equipment You’ll Need
- High speed internet
- Basic telephone service through a dedicated line
- Headset
- An email account through an ISP (free email accounts are not OK to use)
Scheduling
Arise is known for being pretty flexible. However, they do require that you put in a minimum of 15 hours of work each week. The exact hours available you can grab will of course depend on the client, but there are usually options around the clock and all throughout the week, so you may be able to work things around your desired schedule.
Independent Contractor or Employee?
You are considered an Independent Contractor through Arise, so taxes are all your responsibility.
What locations are eligible?
You can get work through Arise if you are in the U.S. with the exception of California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, New York, and Oregon. If you are from Canada or the United Kingdom, you can go here to register with their sister company.
Feedback
Feedback is always very important. It’s good to get a general idea what experiences others have had before signing up, so I’m going to provide you with some more reading material below. I would suggest reading through the following (on the forums, note the date of each thread because some may provide outdated info):
- WAHM.com has countless threads about Arise
- So does Work Place Like Home as well as an entire folder dedicated to Arise, which is broken down into sub-sections by client
- Lots of employee reviews at GlassDoor
- Some more valuable info at IM Report Card
- There’s a lot on Arise at the Complaints Board site (bad reports as well as Arise defenders chiming in)
Bottom Line
Arise makes it very, very clear that they offer a business opportunity and not employment. As a customer service professional, you can use Arise to get clients. As with any home business, there are costs involved in getting started. This is the difference in a work at home job and a home business that you form yourself.
Obviously, not everyone is going to be able to afford to do this. I would certainly not recommend it unless you have some faith that it will work out as well as the money to invest in everything or at the very least you find that it’s possible at any given time to work around most or some of the fees.
I have been researching legit work at home opportunities for several years now and what I am seeing over and over is that, fees or no fees, lots of people are successfully working at home thanks to this company. This is why I decided to go ahead and do a write up here to provide info about it as well as some other resources for further information so you can look everything over and decide whether or not this is for you. Once again, I am not recommending Arise, but rather just providing info about it as a jumping off point for you to make your own decision.
In addition to the links above, you can find plenty of detailed information at the Arise website.
If you have experience with Arise, good or bad, I would love your feedback in the comments on this opportunity!
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Arise was one of the first places I worked when I started working from home. I only worked for them for a couple of months as their scheduling wasn’t my cup of tea. (In addition to those weekly hour requirements, there are often other scheduling requirements – usually a certain number of weekend hours or a minimum hour requirement during the client’s peak hours.) When you get two or three clients that can really become a challenge.
That being said, I wouldn’t say my experience was bad in any way. I do consider them the main reason I started recruiting private clients. I knew then it was possible to make good money from home, and I knew that there had to be better options out there for me…and I did have that business entity formed anyway. I may as well use it.
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Thanks for the info, Angie! Good to know there may be other hourly requirements apart from the flat 15 a week depending on the client. That’s definitely something to think about if having a certain schedule is really important.
Excellent post. But I did want to make one clarification with a statement. It was
Independent Contractor or Employee?
You are considered an Independent Contractor through Arise, so taxes are all your responsibility.
This is partly true. But you are not an independent contractor. You are considered a corporation, whether its an LLC, S-Corp, Corp etc. So taxes are not done quite the same as a standard independent contractor who is a self proprietorship. But yes taxes are your responsibilty.
Also I wanted to further explain due to people having to be incorporated, Arise is not allowed due to Federal IRS Law to provide any training, equipment etc to anyone. If they did, they would have to consider people employees etc. LiveOps went through this (even though they dont require incorporation) a while back with a huge class action law suit. There is a thin line between employee and ind. contractor/incorporated entity. But Arise does not take chances and treats everyone like an actual company doing business with another company. I know so many people think its crap to have to pay to work but that is not what you are doing. its no diff then if you were to open a pizza restaurant/delivery business. You would have to buy on your own all the equipment, pay for training on how to run and possibly make the pizza’s, pay your payroll and taxes. And if you got a contract with lets say a hotel that wanted your pizza delivery for room service, they would not pay for teaching you how to deliver to the hotel. That would be your responsibilty. This is no different. But so many cannot grasp that concept for some reason. I think its due to so many scams out there and everyone getting drilled in their heads “never pay to work” Well you are not paying to work. Most of the fees are for your corporation. And then monthly fee is like rent to use their phone and computer infastructure otherwise you would have to build and create your own based on the clients needs. And the training fees actually are determined by the end client. Because the end clients charge Arise when they have to train their employees, so therefore we all have to get charged also. They waive training fees at times when they really need to increase cus serv reps for a certain client quickly and just eat that. But due to fed law they cannot due that more then a few times a year.
No i dont work/contract for Arise and I never have. But I am very familiar with this process because I used to contract for Intuit doing taxes and this was a huge issue each year. But incorporating when working from home is a smart idea. The benefits out number the costs. And research each state. you can incorporate in any state you want. Doesnt have to be in the one where you live. And some states are way cheaper then others. Like Colorado. The total costs are only about $35. Where other states it can be up to $600 or more. And there are advantages and disadvantages for each state so do your research.
But again excellent post and explanation of the Arise process. Oh also for those hesistant about incorporationg, there are several SuperVirtualCorps under arise that will hire you as an employee or ind contractor therefore you wont have to pay a dime to work. Why would they pay all your fees? because they take out a small portion of your pay(not much at all) to cover those oosts and to make their profits etc. But for those not wanting to deal with the incorporation ordeal its a great option to test out working with Arise. And if you decide you like it you can always resign and then apply directly if you incorporate yourself.
I really appreciate the clarification! It does sound as though signing up with an SVC would be an excellent way to try it out without investing too much money if you were hesitant to do that. I have heard before, as you said, that as far as taxes are concerned, incorporating yourself is not such a bad idea anyway for those thinking about doing it.
I am so glad you covered Arise! I have attempted to do it myself multiple times on my site but I get so lost in all the different processes and steps!! This is so helpful!!
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Haha, I know what you mean. I have started/stopped the process of reviewing Arise several times myself. I could not think of anything else to review so I just did the research and went for it
I’m glad to finally have it covered here.
I have work with Arise since 2007, yes it has its up and downs. But it has provided my family with steady income. It is sometimes hard to find hours on certain clients and some always have hours available. If you are looking into arise I would say do your research. I am under a SuperVirtualCorps because I didn’t want to deal with becoming incorporated. I am still an independent contractor and I can leave anytime and start my own if I wish. Honestly, the only thing is the training cost which is high, but some Super Virutal Corls will pay for your training, give you an discount voucher, or reimburse you after a certain amount of time. I also research in some forums about certain clients just to read the pros and cons and make my decision after that. Hope this helps
Thanks for chiming in, Shanika! It is good to get an idea of other’s experiences.
This is absolutely wonderful! Arise was one of the 1st companies I came across when I started looking for work at home opportunities, but could never wrap my head around the initial costs. Now that I’ve been freelancing, I see how it all works. This is definitely something I may start looking into for future work … it’s just the phone line has me going the other way simply because it’s an expense that my household can’t afford at the moment.
I really appreciate the detailed review as I’ve always been confused about the process, but I feel like I understand Arise so much better now. I’m thinking perhaps around tax time next year, I may have the extra funds to look further into this business opportunity!
Thanks, Katie! Another great thing about Arise is that they have a lot of clients who need people solely for chat/email work
So even better!
I have been working for Arise from home for over 3 years now and love it. I am incorporated and hire agents to work under me. Most corporations charge 10% of your pay. But I only charge $15. I’m not trying to get rich…just help people.
I love that I can choose my own hours and there is only a 15 hour weekly commitment. I really have nothing bad to say about a company that will allow you to work from home in your pjs. : )
A friend of mine has been working for them for the past 5 years. If not the best, one of the most reputable in the business. I completed the entire process and and just could not afford the high cost certification and other fees.
Yes, those fees are costly. Some people avoid them by working for VSC/subcontractors for Arise.
I was just wondering how you would go about finding VSC/subcontractors that are willing to hire people so that you can avoid being incorporated with arise?
Mary, you can Google “Arise Super VSC” or something along those lines. If you belong to any WAHM forums, you can do a search there too. I would also search YouTube. There a lot of people on there talking about their experiences with Arise and VSCs.