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Procurement: Vendor Portal

This article walks you through the complete vendor portal setup and workflow—from initial configuration to vendor submission and final approval.

Set up and use the Vendor Portal

The Vendor Portal lets a primary vendor contact submit company information, documents, and surveys through a secure link, without creating a Spendesk account. Information submitted through the portal is first available in the Procurement request for internal review. Depending on the configured workflow, validated information can then be used to create or update the corresponding supplier record in Spendesk Core.

For: Procurement Managers (Admins), Controllers, and Requesters using the Procurement add-on.

Table of Contents

  • Before you start

  • Roles in the Vendor Portal

  • Step 1: Set up the Vendor Portal (Admin)

  • Step 2: Create a request and share the Vendor Portal link (Requester)

  • Step 3: Complete the onboarding task (Vendor)

  • Step 4: Review and validate vendor information (Internal reviewer)

  • Step 5: Find vendor information in Spendesk Core

  • Expected results

  • Troubleshooting

  • FAQs

  • Related articles

Before you start

  • The Vendor Portal is available to companies with the Procurement add-on.

  • You need Procurement Manager (Admin) access to configure the Vendor Portal.

  • A designated internal reviewer must have access to the validation task.

  • You need a Procurement Process already set up for the relevant purchase category.

  • Decide in advance what vendor information you need to collect, such as business details, certificates, banking details, or surveys.

Roles in the Vendor Portal

Role

What they can do

Procurement Manager (Admin)

Configures Procurement Processes and approval workflows

Requester

Creates Procurement Requests, adds vendor contacts, and shares the Vendor Portal link

Primary vendor contact

Accesses the assigned onboarding tasks and submits the requested information

Validation assignee

Reviews and validates the submitted vendor information according to the configured workflow

Step 1: Set up the Vendor Portal (Admin)

  1. Log in to Spendesk Procurement.

  2. Click Processes in the left sidebar.

  3. Select the Procurement Process to which you want to add vendor onboarding, or create a new process.

  4. Open the selected process and click Workflow.

  5. Click + Add Step and select Vendor Onboarding Task.

  6. Enter a name for the task, for example, "IT & Security Review", then click Create.

  7. Open the task and edit its title and description. This information is visible to the primary vendor contact.

  8. Click Add Field to build the form.

  9. Add the required fields, such as text fields, document uploads, dropdowns, or custom surveys.

  10. Mark the relevant fields as Required.

  11. Add a Validate Vendor Information Task as a separate workflow step.

  12. Configure the assignee or team responsible for this validation task. Do not assume that the task is automatically assigned to Controllers unless this is how your workflow is configured.

  13. Arrange the workflow steps in the order you need. A Purchase Order is created only if the process includes a Create Purchase Order step.

  14. Click Publish.

  15. Click Activate if the process is inactive.

📋 Best practice: Create a test request to experience the full workflow before rolling it out to your team.

Step 2: Create a request and share the Vendor Portal link (Requester)

  1. Log in to Spendesk Procurement.

  2. Click + New Request.

  3. Select the relevant Procurement Process.

  4. Enter the vendor name, amount, and description of the purchase.

  5. Select a budget, if applicable, and add any relevant quotes or proposals.

  6. In the Vendor section, click Add Primary Contact.

  7. Enter the contact's first name, last name, and email address. Add a phone number if required.

  8. Save the contact and complete the remaining required fields.

  9. Review the request and submit it.

  10. When the Vendor Onboarding task is ready, open the request and select Share Vendor Portal.

  11. Use the modal to send the portal link by email or copy the URL and share it through another channel.

Important: Adding a primary vendor contact does not send the portal invitation by itself. The requester must use Share Vendor Portal to send or copy the link.

Step 3: Complete the onboarding task (Primary vendor contact)

  1. Open the email containing the Vendor Portal link.

  2. Click the secure link.

  3. Confirm your identity through the email verification step.

  4. View the assigned tasks on the Vendor Portal.

  5. Open the active task and complete each required field, including document uploads and surveys.

  6. Review your entries carefully.

  7. Click Submit.

Once submitted, the form is final. The primary vendor contact cannot reopen or edit the submission, and cannot resubmit the form. The submitted information remains available in the Procurement request for internal review.

Step 4: Review and validate vendor information (Internal reviewer)

  1. Open the validation task when it becomes active.

  2. Open the related Procurement Request.

  3. Review the submitted information, including business information, documents, survey responses, and banking details.

  4. Download and check the validity of certificates or signed documents, where applicable.

  5. Select Approve if the information is correct, or Reject and add a comment if it cannot be approved.

  6. Submit the validation task.

There is no Request Changes action for this workflow. Once the vendor has submitted the form, the vendor cannot reopen or edit it. If corrections are needed, an authorized internal user must update the information directly in the Procurement request before validation.

Step 5: Find vendor information in Spendesk Core

When the configured workflow reaches the relevant supplier-creation or supplier-update step, the validated vendor information can be used to create or update the corresponding supplier record in Spendesk Core.

  1. Open the supplier record from the relevant Spendesk Core supplier area, if one has been created.

  2. Search for the supplier and open the supplier profile.

  3. Review the supplier information, banking details, and documents.

  4. In Procurement, open the vendor profile to review the vendor's documents, contracts, requests, and linked Purchase Orders, where applicable.

Expected results

  • The vendor's submitted information is available in the Procurement request after submission.

  • An authorized internal reviewer can validate or reject the information.

  • If the configured workflow includes supplier creation or a Create Purchase Order step, the validated information can be used in the resulting supplier or Purchase Order workflow.

  • Submissions, validations, and updates are recorded in the audit trail with the user's name and timestamp.

Troubleshooting

Symptom: The vendor did not receive the portal invitation.
​Resolution:

  1. Check that the primary vendor contact's email address is correct.

  2. Ask the contact to check their spam or junk folder.

  3. Open the Procurement Request and select Share Vendor Portal.

  4. Resend the email or copy the portal URL from the sharing modal and send it through another channel.

Symptom: A vendor made a mistake in the submitted form.
​Resolution: The vendor cannot reopen, edit, or resubmit a submitted form. An authorized internal user must update the information directly in the Procurement request before validation.

Symptom: The Procurement Request is stuck and cannot move to the next step.
​Resolution: Check whether the Vendor Onboarding task has been submitted. If the task must be completed internally, an authorized user with access to the task may complete it on the vendor's behalf. The audit trail records the user who completed it.

Symptom: The requester forgot to add the vendor contact.
​Resolution: Add and save the primary vendor contact in the request, then select Share Vendor Portal when the onboarding task is ready. Adding the contact alone does not send the invitation.

FAQs

Can internal team members complete vendor tasks instead of the vendor?
An authorized internal user with access to the task may complete a Vendor Onboarding task on the vendor's behalf. The audit trail records who entered the information.

Can I collect different information for different vendor types?
Yes. Create separate Procurement Processes or workflow conditions with customized Vendor Onboarding forms for different purchase categories.

Where can I see the information collected through the portal?
The submitted information is first available in the Procurement Request. Depending on the configured workflow, validated information can also be available in the relevant vendor or supplier record in Spendesk Core.

Does every Vendor Portal workflow create a Purchase Order?
No. A Purchase Order is created only when the configured Procurement Process includes a Create Purchase Order step.

Related articles

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