Who it is for
Owners and operators of Upstate companies, roughly $1M to $5M in revenue, who need to hire a firm and would rather not spend a week figuring out who is actually local and what each one does.
How a firm gets on the list
We start from public sources: search results, chamber and association directories, and the lists other people have published. Then we open every firm's own website and check it ourselves. A firm goes in only if its site shows an office in the Upstate or plainly states that it serves the area.
What we record
- Services, taken from the firm's own service pages.
- Who they say they work with, paraphrased from their own claims about company size or industry.
- Founded, certifications, address, phone, only when the firm's site states them. If it does not, the field stays empty. A thin true listing beats a full guessed one.
- The source page and the date we checked it, on every listing.
- A short read in our own words, describing what the firm's site shows them focusing on.
What "Checked" means
Every listing shows a date and a link to the page we read, for example "Checked October 24, 2026". The date is the day we last opened the firm's own site and compared it with the listing. It changes only when someone checks again, never because the site was rebuilt.
What "Not published" means
Every firm in a category gets the same fields, so you can compare them side by side. When a firm's site does not state something, such as a founding year or a street address, the field says "Not published". It means we looked and did not find it there, not that the firm lacks it.
How often we re-check
We aim to re-check every listing at least every 90 days, and sooner when a firm sends a correction. A listing with very little published on the firm's own site stays on its category page, but we ask search engines not to index it until we can confirm more.
Tools we use
We use software, including AI tools, to find firms and to read and summarize their sites. Every fact on a listing comes from a page on the firm's own site, and that page is linked on the listing so you can check it yourself.
What we never publish
- Star ratings, rankings or "best of" claims. We have not hired these firms, so we do not grade them.
- Reviews or testimonials copied from anywhere.
- Prices, unless a firm publishes them itself.
- Photos taken from a firm's site. Listings use initials instead.
Order and money
Lists are alphabetical. Basic listings are free and always will be. If we ever offer paid featured placement, it will be labeled as such on the page, and it will never change what a listing says.
What we leave out on purpose
Marketing, web design and AI agencies are not listed. That is a deliberate editorial choice, not an oversight.
Corrections
If you run a firm on this list and something is wrong or out of date, tell us. We check the change against your site, update the date, and aim to have it live within 5 business days. If you would rather not be listed, say so and we will take you off.
Who runs it
Upstate Business Guide is an independent guide based in Greenville, South Carolina. You can reach us at hello@upstatebusinessguide.com. The person behind the guide also runs Handled, an AI and web consulting business that works with companies like the ones listed here. That is one reason agencies are left out. No firm pays to be listed, and no listing depends on doing business with Handled.