Vendor Onboarding and P2P Vendor Relations: The Value of Getting It Right the First Time
Like many other business processes, vendor onboarding is subject to an organization’s internal controls, compliance with regulations imposed by various government agencies, demands for productivity and expectations of minimum levels of customer service.
Well thought-out and effectively managed vendor onboarding programs deliver high quality in each of these areas.
Vendor onboarding is key to every successful vendor management program. But it can be complex, tedious, and labor intensive, with medium- and large-size companies managing thousands of vendors and the very largest managing tens and even hundreds of thousands.
Onboarding includes processes for obtaining correct, complete and verified vendor information and for entering that information into systems for accounting and purchasing. The onboarding processes can be both manual and automated.
Internal Controls
Subject to the organization’s internal controls, accounts payable is the last control point before cash leaves the company. Depending on your industry, 30%-70% of all the cash that comes into a company goes back out through accounts payable. Appropriate and effective controls for onboarding include segregation of duties to help protect against vendor fraud, payment fraud and employee fraud.
Internal control policies for onboarding also help insure vendor, invoice and pricing legitimacy as well as payment accuracy and contract compliance. Payment accuracy protects against paying overcharges and duplicates. Controls also help to identify and manage vendor credits.
Compliance
Vendor onboarding compliance includes IRS and state Information reporting which covers W-9’s and 1099’s, W-8’s and 1042-S, FATCA and verification against various lists of companies considered undesirable to do business with, such as OFAC/SDN.
Productivity
Onboarding can be a paper-intensive process. In addition, sometimes the onboarding information provided is incomplete and incorrect. Paper and multiple contacts with providers of information to obtain or correct information increase touches and create opportunities for errors to happen. Automated onboarding processes can eliminate touches and increase productivity.
Customer Service
Accounts payable touches everyone — vendors, employees, management and most levels of government. Onboarding is the first stone in the foundation of the relationship with each of these stakeholders. If onboarding is done efficiently, effectively and completely, it will result in not only stronger, more productive relationships, but in lower vendor management cost as well.
To see how VendorInfo onboarding solutions can benefit your operations and your company click here to request more information or call (678) 335-5735.
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Financial Operations Networks (FON) is a financial operations company whose products help accounts payable teams prevent payment fraud: VendorInfo, a vendor portal; InvoiceInfo, a supplier portal; DisbursementControls.com, a membership resource for disbursement controls; and VIMCOE, which provides accounts payable certification. FON is a Nacha Preferred Partner.
FON strengthens front-line control points across vendor onboarding, supplier maintenance, and payments — verifying vendor information, validating bank account ownership, running compliance checks, and reducing exposure to business email compromise (BEC) before payments are made.
VendorInfo is a vendor portal for onboarding: it verifies tax IDs, screens OFAC and validates bank account ownership before a vendor is paid. InvoiceInfo is a supplier portal for after the invoice: suppliers look up invoice status, payment dates and remittance advice themselves instead of emailing AP. Both sit on top of the same ERP and are often used together.
Yes. FON offers specialized programs including the AP Payment Fraud Prevention Certification and the Accredited Vendor Information Professional (AVIP) Certification to help finance professionals strengthen expertise and advance their careers.
Request a demo and our team will walk you through how FON can strengthen your controls, reduce fraud exposure, and improve AP efficiency based on your organization’s goals.
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