Since releasing Smile Checks v2, we've been heads-down building — hardening workflows, fixing edge cases, and rolling out features that make the verification process smoother for your team and your candidates. Here's a full rundown of everything we've shipped.
Add More References When You Need Them
One of the most-requested improvements is now live: you can add references beyond the initial three submitted by an applicant.
Previously, if a reference was unresponsive, declined, or returned an inconclusive result, your only option was to start over. Now, Owners, Admins, and Managers can add additional references directly from the check request page — choosing the reference type (Professional, Character, or HR), entering the referee's details, and letting the system handle the rest. Each additional reference costs 1 credit, deducted automatically from your balance. You can also edit or delete references you've added if something needs correcting.
Three references don't always tell the full story. This change means you can keep moving forward without creating a new request or asking the applicant to resubmit.
Reopen Closed or Cancelled Checks
Mistakes happen. A check gets closed too early, or a candidate re-engages after cancellation. You no longer need to create a brand-new request from scratch.
Checks that haven't been fully completed can now be reopened. The original request is restored with a fresh 10-day deadline, inactive references are reactivated, and the appropriate credits are re-deducted automatically. Everything picks up right where it left off.
Clearer, More Actionable ID Verification Feedback
When an applicant's ID verification fails, they used to see a generic "Verification Failed" message — frustrating and unhelpful. Now they get a precise breakdown of exactly what went wrong: a name mismatch, an expired document, missing birth date or address, or image quality issues like blur or glare.
Clear failure reasons translate directly to higher completion rates. When applicants know exactly what to fix, they retry — instead of abandoning the process.
We also added a photo upload fallback for applicants whose device camera isn't cooperating. The live camera remains the default (and preferred) path for security, but applicants on older devices or with restrictive browser permissions are no longer left stuck.
Smarter Email Deliverability
The platform now tracks whether candidate and reference email addresses are actually deliverable. Hard and soft bounces are detected automatically, those addresses are flagged as undeliverable, and the system stops retrying sends to them — falling back to SMS where available.
Alongside this, User Management now lets Owners and Administrators revoke pending invitations and re-invite users without waiting for an old invite to expire. Emails sent to candidates and references also now include the Check Request ID or Reference ID in the recipient name field, making it much easier to trace which check a message belongs to.
Process Type Classification Fixed
When a check request contains a mix of Manual and Automated checks, it's now correctly classified as Manual rather than Hybrid. The priority order — Manual > Hybrid > Automated — is now consistently reflected across the portal.
This matters because requests requiring any manual review should be clearly labeled so your team can set accurate turnaround expectations.
Under the Hood: v2 Foundation Work
The v2 release shipped a significant amount of infrastructure that underpins everything above. A few highlights worth knowing about:
Credit system: Deductions are now atomic with automatic rollback if downstream allocation fails. Refunds on cancel or close are weighted against undelivered check types only — no over-refunding. Package and referral discounts now stack correctly, and low-credit alerts fire when your balance drops to 10 or below.
Workflows: The system now distinguishes between cancelling a request (no work done) and closing it (partially completed), routing refunds accordingly. Check requests that pass their deadline are automatically closed by a scheduled job. CSV imports now enforce a hard row limit with a clear error instead of silently truncating.
Integrations: A new webhook endpoint (/webhook-check-update) lets third-party systems receive real-time check status updates. The integration API now enforces per-key rate limits.
Timezone support: All dates across the portal now respect the user's detected or selected timezone, with automatic detection on first login.
Bug Fixes
Across all these releases, we've resolved a range of issues:
- Duplicate report entries on upload — fixed
- Process Type filter returning incomplete results for Manual and Hybrid — fixed
- Automated billing status updates and invoice expiration handling — now reliable
- Display issues with legacy check request records — fixed
- CSV-imported checks not reliably sending candidate invitation emails and SMS — fixed
What's Next
We're continuing to build based on what our users tell us. The features above came directly from feedback we received — and we want more of it.
Tell us what you think. What's working well? What's still frustrating? What would make Smile Checks an indispensable part of your hiring workflow?
→ Fill out our feedback survey
It takes just a few minutes and directly shapes what we build next. We read every response.
Questions in the meantime? Reach our support team at support@getsmilechecks.com.