How the score and reviews work
Le Bon Pro shows two measures that it never mixes: an administrative score, calculated from public registers, and reviews, written by customers.
Last updated: November 7, 2026
Two separate measures
- The administrative score out of 100 tells whether the company’s paperwork is in order (licence, licence bond, annual fees paid, years in business). We calculate it from public data.
- Reviews tell what customers experienced. They are written by people.
Reviews never go into the score, and the score never goes into reviews. A subscription changes neither one nor the other.
The score out of 100
The score measures a company’s administrative soundness on the day you look at it. It is calculated from what the public registers say, never entered by hand: the same data on the same day always gives the same score, rounded to 5 points.
When the data does not state an item, it earns no points; the profile then says “Not stated” rather than treating it as a defect.
Being in order does not earn 100. The bond earns only half of its points, even above the minimum: the public data shows neither the liability insurance nor whether a higher amount is a choice or a requirement. Years (up to 10 years of licence and of registration) and size (11 employees or more, per the Registraire) raise the other points. A company in order that is younger or smaller scores lower, without that being a defect.
The points, one by one
Each point comes from a specific check. Here are the weights the site applies.
Licence from the Régie du bâtiment du Québec
This score is based on the Régie du bâtiment data only: the points earned out of 50 are scaled to 100, then rounded to 5 points.
| Criterion | Points | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Licence bond | 20 | No points without a licence bond recorded on the licence that reaches the minimum the Régie requires: $20,000 for a specialized licence, $40,000 for a general licence. At the minimum or above: half of the points; nobody gets the other half for now, because the data does not show whether a higher amount is a choice or a requirement. A licence that does not need one (new home warranty) also gets half of the points. |
| Annual fees paid | 10 | The payment of the licence’s annual fees is up to date. Otherwise, or if the date is not stated, no points. |
| No restrictions | 10 | The licence has no restrictions. |
| Age of the licence | 10 | One point for each year since the licence was issued, up to 10 years: all the points at 10 years or more. |
The licence bond weighs the most among these criteria, because it protects customers in case of a claim. In the open data, most licences hold exactly the required minimum.
Levels and groups
The word that goes with the score depends on its level:
- Very solid: 90 and above;
- Solid: from 85 to 89;
- In order: from 75 to 84;
- Acceptable: from 40 to 74;
- Weak on paper: below 40.
In the results, companies are placed in groups, then ranked by score and by distance:
- Top scores near you: score of 75 and above, within the chosen radius (to begin with 25 km);
- Acceptable near you: score from 40 to 74, within the same radius;
- Farther away: score of 40 and above, beyond the radius (up to 250 km) or at an unknown distance;
- To check: score below 40, set apart.
The distance is a straight line between the company’s postal area and the place searched (the first three characters of the postal code): it is not the distance by road.
What the score is not
- It is not the quality of the work: nothing in this data says how a contractor works.
- It is neither a recommendation nor a guarantee.
- It takes into account neither complaints, nor lawsuits, nor price, nor reviews, nor the company’s liability insurance.
- It may be out of date, or wrong, if the source is.
- No company can pay to change it or to move up the list.
Always ask for references, proof of insurance and several quotes.
Where the data comes from
Licences come from the open data of the Régie du bâtiment du Québec, reloaded every day. Distances are based on the coordinates of the postal areas from GeoNames.
The licences for use, the dates and the “unofficial site” notice are detailed in the “Sources and licences” page.
Reviews
- Each review has five ratings from 1 to 5 (quality of the work, price, meeting deadlines, job site cleanliness, communication) and a text.
- The number of published reviews and the average are public. This average is weighted by the trust level of each review and by the age of the work.
- The text of reviews is reserved for subscribers. The company concerned can always read for free the reviews filed about it.
- A review is published 48 hours after the company has been notified of it, with its reply if there is one.
All the rules are in the review policy.
Why two measures? A company can have solid paperwork and do bad work, or the reverse. The two are read together, without being confused.
“Unclaimed profile”
All licensed companies have a profile. When the company has not claimed its profile, the profile says: “This company has not yet claimed its profile”.
This only means that no representative of the company has taken control of the profile. It is neither a reproach nor an advantage: the score does not change. The company is notified of new reviews at the public address of its licence and can read them for free.
To claim a profile, the company receives a code at the email address listed on the public profile of its licence; if there is none, a person on our team reviews the proof it provides. It is free.
The “Verified company” badge
The badge appears on the profile of a company that meets two conditions: it has proven that it really is the one holding its profile (by the code sent to its licence’s email address, or by proof that a person on our team accepted), and it has an active company plan.
It says nothing about the quality of the work: it is neither a score, nor a recommendation, nor a guarantee. It changes neither the administrative score, nor the reviews, nor the company’s place in the results.
The plan is sold to companies, not to customers: the badge is part of that plan, and it disappears when the plan ends or the profile changes holder. A company that claimed its profile without a plan keeps the “Claimed profile” mention.