How we calculate the Cost & Service Index. Transparent scoring you can trust.
The Cost & Service Index (CSI) is a composite score from 0 to 100 assigned to every business listing on TrueLegalCost. It measures how well a business performs across multiple dimensions that matter to consumers: cost transparency, service quality, customer satisfaction, and verification status.
The CSI is currently applied to 0+ listings across 7 categories. Scores are recalculated periodically as new data becomes available.
Our primary source for business locations, addresses, and categorization. Overture Maps is an open geospatial data project backed by Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and TomTom, providing high-quality business point-of-interest data.
Key fields: Business name, address, coordinates, category, source IDs
We incorporate publicly available Google Maps data to supplement our listings with customer ratings and review volume, which are key inputs to the CSI quality dimension.
Key fields: Google rating, review count, business hours
State licensing boards, contractor registries, NPPES (National Plan and Provider Enumeration System) for healthcare, and other regulatory databases provide verification data.
Key fields: License status, credential verification, registration dates
Verified business owners who claim their listing contribute first-party data including actual pricing, service descriptions, photos, and hours. This data carries the highest weight in our transparency score.
Key fields: Pricing ranges, service details, verified contact info, photos
The Transparency Score is the foundation of the CSI. It measures how much information a business makes publicly available. Businesses that publish pricing, maintain complete profiles, and claim their listings score higher.
| Signal | Weight | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Published Pricing | 30% | Business has published price ranges or actual pricing for their services. |
| Profile Completeness | 20% | Percentage of profile fields filled out (phone, website, hours, description, photos). |
| Claimed & Verified | 20% | Business owner has claimed and verified the listing. |
| Review Presence | 15% | Business has customer reviews (minimum 3 required for full credit). |
| License Verification | 15% | Professional license or credential verified through government registry (where applicable). |
The final CSI score is a weighted composite of four dimensions. Each dimension is scored independently on a 0-100 scale, then combined into the overall CSI.
How much pricing information the business makes available. Businesses that publish clear pricing, offer free estimates, or provide cost calculators score highest.
Customer satisfaction based on review ratings and volume. Higher ratings and more reviews contribute to a higher score.
How actively the business engages with customers. Businesses that respond to reviews and maintain updated profiles score higher.
Third-party verification of credentials, licenses, and business standing. Verified businesses earn consumer trust.
CSI scores are recalculated periodically as new data becomes available. Major triggers for recalculation include: new reviews submitted, a business claiming its listing, pricing information being published, and license status changes. We do not accept payment to influence CSI scores.
Listings without sufficient data to calculate a meaningful CSI score will display "Not Yet Rated." This typically applies to new listings with no reviews and minimal profile information. As data accumulates, a CSI score will be assigned automatically.
CSI scores cannot be purchased or artificially boosted. Paid features (when available) may enhance listing visibility but do not affect the CSI score calculation.
The same scoring algorithm is applied uniformly to all businesses within a category. No manual overrides or exceptions are made.
We rely on multiple independent data sources to reduce bias. No single source can disproportionately influence a score.
Business owners who believe their score is inaccurate can contact us with supporting documentation. We will review the data and correct any errors.
If you have questions about our methodology, want to report a data error, or need clarification on how your business is scored, we are here to help.
Contact [email protected]