ACD Direct contracts people to answer incoming calls for donations and fundraising endeavors. They have an Independent Business Owner model (IBO), which means this is actually a business opportunity. They refer to their contractors as an IBO (Independent Business Owner) or CBO (Certified Business Owner). In this review, I will look at their IBO work from home opportunity.
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ACD Direct Requirements
ACD Direct contracts with established Independent Business Owners. They prefer if you have a DBA, LLC, or Corporation, but it isn’t required.
ACD Direct does not contract with residents of the following states: Delaware, Massachusetts, Louisiana, West Virginia, Wyoming, Vermont, and South Dakota. Also, they do not contract with anyone located outside of the continental United States.
IBO’s must meet the basic equipment requirements before submitting a registration form. Registrations won’t be considered for those who don’t meet these basic equipment requirements:
- Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7 (Mac is not compatible)
- 2 GB RAM minimum
- CPU (Intel or AMD) 2GHz processor (or equivalent)
- Resolution of 1,280 x 720 (720p) or greater
- Internet Explorer 7.0 or higher
- Active Antivirus Software
- Active Anti-Spyware Software
- Private, hardwired internet connection
- Private, hardwired phone line
- Wired telephone headset (wireless equipment is not allowed for any peripheral equipment)
- You’ll need a designated phone line with the following requirements:
- Traditional Telephone Service free of all features (caller ID, call waiting, privacy plus, voice mail, etc.) OR Digital telephone service provided through your Internet service provider (Comcast, AT&T, Vonage, etc.)
- Fax machines or answering machines cannot be connected to your work line
- Corded Telephone
- Corded Telephone Noise-Cancelling Headset with Mute Feature
- Hardwired Cable, DSL, or FiOS (Satellite, Dial-Up, WiFi, and wireless connections are not acceptable)
You should have a minimum of 6 months formal telephone experience, preferably in a call center. Here are the other experiences you should have:
- A moderate level of computer knowledge
- Ability to work with minimal supervision
- Should be able to type 40 WPM or better
- Must be self motivated
- You’ll need strong listening skills
- Able to work with accuracy and efficiency
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Previous call center experience is a plus
- Able to handle difficult call situation
- Ability to navigate your computer to support all systems, such as antivirus and troubleshooting computer error messages
ACD Direct has other project work available at times. If your business experience includes customer service, quality assurance, lead generation, data entry, email, transcription services and/or other call center related work, you can start the approval process by completing the Independent Contractor Questionnaire.
ACD Direct Application Process
Just fill out the questionnaire. You’ll receive a follow up email with further instructions. They receive many applications, so if you have questions, they ask that rather than call, you email them at hiring@acddirect.com.
To apply to be an agent, you will register here. Click on Become an Agent. After you register, you will receive an email confirmation with instructions to complete a vocal demonstration. Once you have submitted your vocal demonstration, they will review both your registration and vocal sample.
Start the registration by giving this info:
- name
- phone
- social security number
- have you previously been in contract with ACD Direct?
ACD Direct claims they need your SSN because that is how they will scan their system to make sure you are not a duplicate submission.
Your registration includes a vocal demonstration. If they aren’t offering contracts when you submit your registration, your registration will be viewed at a future date when they are contracting. They will hold your registration for 120 days.
How Much Will My Business Cost?
You will have costs associated with your home-based business, such as phone, computer, and internet expense. But remember, you’re already paying for this, and it’s the same for other work at home opportunities.
ACD Direct charges new IBOs a fee of $45 to offset costs related to your criminal background check and processing your contract and certification. Once you are certified, you can do more training, typically for less than $20 per skill set. At that point, you will already be earning money, so the burden should be minimal.
How Much Does ACD Direct Pay?
ACD Direct pays you for each minute of talk time. ACD Direct starts IBOs at $0.23 cents per minute, with the potential to increase to $0.35 cents per minute. Once you’ve reached 500 minutes in a month, IBOs are eligible to earn incentives.
When Does ACD Direct Pay?
They have 2 pay periods per month.
ACD Direct Schedule
You can work as much as you want. The more you work, the more you get paid. A majority of the work is done in the evening, night, and weekends when people are home.
There is no limit to the number of hours you can work. But they do want you to work a minimum of 10 hours per pay period. Shifts are 30 minutes long and you can schedule yourself for as many as you want based on what is available.
Many IBOs are able to start processing live calls when the next pay period hits. When you have completed the entire certification process, you will be placed on a team within 48-72 hours of the start of the pay period. In most cases, this means that you can be processing calls 7-14 days from the date of your acceptance. You will receive notification of the next team placement date when you receive your acceptance email.
ACD Direct Feedback
There is a good amount of reviews on Glassdoor. Here are the pros and cons.
Pros:
- Room for growth
- Family environment
- Set your own hours
- Good bonuses during peak season
Cons:
- ACD Direct has seasonal peak times, usually 4 times per year
- They micromanage
- Low pay
- Peak season only lasts for about 2 weeks 4 times a year
- Only suitable as part-time because of the seasonal nature
- Make as low as $3-$4 for a 4-hour shift (in off-peak seasons)
- They hire too many people and it dilutes the available work
Startup costs and costs to get new certifications
Is the Work At Home Opportunity with ACD Direct a Scam?
Based on my research, ACD Direct is not a scam. If you have an at home business in place and want to add something to your business that you can do seasonally, this could be a good fit for you. If you want to give it a look, here’s the link to get started. Keep in mind that you’re only paid for the time you spend talking on the phone. It seems that during peak times this job is worth it but call volume is very low during the slow times of the year which affects your earnings!
Working at home for ACD Direct won’t be for everyone, make sure to check out the other companies hiring now!
If you don’t want to do phone work, or just want to take my word for it, check out these helpful links for some other work at home ideas:
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