Your business listings are the backbone of your app. They power your directory, and every deal, event, loyalty scheme and competition is linked back to one of them. This guide covers how to add a business profile, and how to make it a good one.

Check the business isn't already there. Search the Businesses list first, including any shortened or alternative names the business might have been added under.

Duplicates are the most common problem in a directory. When a business exists twice, content can accidentally get split between the records, so neither profile shows the full picture, and your app users see the same business listed twice. Merging duplicates afterwards is fiddly, so thirty seconds of searching now saves the cleanup later.

Gather the details before you open the form. You will need the trading name, full address and postcode, opening hours, phone, email, website, social links and an image. The business's own website is the best source. If you are missing something, it is better to add the profile with what you have and come back, than to guess.

Go to dashboard.getvicinity.com and sign in.

Click Businesses in the top menu. You will see everything currently in your directory.

The Create button is in the top right. This opens the Business Details form.

Fields marked with a red asterisk are required before you can save.

Use the name above the door, not the registered company name. "The Corner Cafe" rather than "Corner Cafe Holdings Ltd".

This matters more than it looks. The trading name is one of the fields your dashboard searches on, and it is also searched when you or your users look for deals and events. Get it right and everything attached to that business is easy to find. Get it wrong and the business effectively disappears from search.

Key takeaway: Write the name the way someone would say it out loud.

Be as specific as your users need. "Second floor, entrance at the rear" is genuinely helpful for a business that is easy to walk past.

Both the address and the postcode are searchable in your dashboard, so filling them in properly makes the business easier for your own team to find later.

Keep it to 200 characters. That is a hard limit, and the form will not let you save anything longer, so it is worth drafting the wording before you start typing.

A good description says what makes this business worth visiting, in one or two sentences. Lead with what is distinctive: how long they have been there, what they are known for, what they do that nobody else nearby does.

Do not use the description for opening hours, phone numbers or addresses. Those have their own fields, and repeating them wastes characters you need.

You can borrow wording from the business's own website or social media, or use AI to help tighten it up. Just read it back and check it still sounds like your place rather than a press release.

Toggle each day on or off, then click the time or the clock icon to set the hours.

Set every day deliberately, including the closed ones. When you have finished, run back through the week and check each day still reads the way you set it before you save.

Optional, but worth doing. If a business is active on Instagram, that link is often the most current thing about them, and it gives your users a reason to keep engaging after they have left the app.

Use public contact details only. Whatever you enter here is displayed in the app, so never add a personal mobile number or someone's direct email. If in doubt, use the general enquiries details published on their website.

Choose a clear logo or a good photo of the frontage.

Business images appear at different sizes and crops depending on where they show up, including as a small square thumbnail on deal and loyalty cards, so keep the important part of the image centred. Our Image Upload Guidelines cover sizes and formats in full.

Once uploaded, the image joins your library and can be selected again at any time from the dropdown.

Click Add a location, then search the address or drag the pin. Advanced lets you enter coordinates directly, and Clear location starts you over.

Always check the pin before you save. The location is what drives distance and "near me" behaviour in the app, so a pin in the wrong place sends your users to the wrong street. Zoom in far enough to see the actual building.

Select from the dropdown. It is required, though it does not currently change how the business appears in the app.

Click Save or Save and Close.

Then reload your Businesses list, reopen the profile you have just created, and read through it once. It takes a few seconds and it is the difference between a directory you trust and one you do not.

If you get stuck, contact us at support@getvicinity.com and we will be happy to help.

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