We’re excited to announce another FastBound update! This release brings powerful new features and improvements that make firearms compliance faster, smarter, and more reliable than ever. Let’s dive into what’s new.
NICS Direct Integration
NICS Direct integration is live in FastBound. That means you can now communicate directly with NICS without leaving the FastBound platform or switching tools. From initiating background checks to receiving results, it’s all streamlined within your workflow: less friction, faster processing. FastBound streamlines all technical aspects (certificates, static IP addresses, etc.) of integrating with NICS. We’ve also added more intelligence around NICS data. For example:
- Transaction Purpose IDs are now supported and tailored by FFL type.
- The final NICS status (like “Proceed” or “Denied”) will update Section Q27.e when the item comes in, even if it has already been transferred.
- We’ve added better contact details to NICS transmissions, ensuring clarity if NICS needs to get in touch.
Smarter 4473s: Cleaner, More Accurate, Fully Validated
Form 4473 just got a serious polish. We’ve revamped several sections to ensure better accuracy and compliance:
- Validated Fields: We now validate that Q20 (Alien ID numbers) includes well-formed AR#, USCIS#, or I94# entries. Likewise, the UPIN/AMD ID in Q17 now undergoes validation to prevent errors.
- NICS-Based Dropdowns: To reduce typos and inconsistencies, several fields, like Foreign Country of Citizenship, Place of Birth, and State of Residence, use the official NICS list.
- Better Formatting: We’ve tightened the formatting for name fields (first, middle, last) and SSNs, matching NICS’s expectations.
- City/State/ZIP Now Split: Fields like Q25 (Gun Show Location) are now stored and displayed as three distinct entries. The same goes for the applicant’s name—suffixes are now separate from the last name and included wherever appropriate (like on state forms).
- Mexico Blocked in County Field: To prevent confusion, we now block “Mexico” from being mistakenly entered into the County/Parish/Borough field.
Contact Improvements: Cleaner Sorting, Better Suffix Support
Managing contacts in FastBound just got easier:
- Contacts now sort more logically by name and address.
- You can now add suffixes (Jr, Sr, III) to contact records, ensuring consistent display across documents and reports.
Other Notable Enhancements
- Centralized Age Calculations: We’ve unified all age-related logic across the platform, making eligibility checks more consistent.
- External 4473 Enhancements: Validation now ensures name and SSN formats match NICS standards, reducing delays.
- PIN Entry Pages: These now support customizable background images, giving you more control over the look and feel of the customer-facing experience.
- Excel Export Speed: Large data exports? No problem. Excel file generation is now significantly faster.
- NY Driver’s Licenses: We will correct non-standard heights in New York IDs with non-compliant barcodes.
Campaigns & Buyer Data Collection
We’ve laid the groundwork for more customer engagement with support for Campaigns and the ability to collect buyer information. This gives you new ways to connect with your customers while staying compliant.
Wrapping Up
We’re reinforcing FastBound’s position as the most comprehensive, compliant, and user-friendly solution in the firearms industry. Whether you’re streamlining your 4473s, tapping into NICS Direct, or speeding up your daily processes, this update has something for everyone.
Ready to give it a spin? Log in to your FastBound account and experience the improvements firsthand.
