Getting started
What your suppliers will ask you
The five questions that arrive with your first notice, with their answers.
The first time you send a request, people reply with questions rather than documents. It is always the same five, and having the answers ready stops the process stalling right at the start.
1. "Is this legitimate?"
It is the right question and worth welcoming. The honest answer: have them check the notice comes from you and, if unsure, phone you on the number they already had — not the one in the email. That same caution protects them from the people who genuinely will try to deceive them.
2. "Do I have to register?"
No. They open the link and upload their files. No account, no password, nothing to install. It is the most reassuring point, and worth saying in the email before they ask.
3. "Will it cost me anything?"
Never. Neither delivering nor signing. The cost sits with you, who are doing the asking.
4. "Who will see my documents?"
Only you. Not other suppliers, not even those on the same case. If you work with two who compete, this is the first thing you need to be able to say.
5. "Does this hold up legally?"
Yes, and with more evidence behind it than paper: when it was opened, how identity was checked and the exact moment of signing are all recorded. On a hand-signed sheet, nobody notes the time.
Worth knowing
Link them the glossary article explaining the words in the notice. It is in six languages and settles the conversation without you having to have it.
Watch out
If someone replies to the email instead of using the link, it is not distrust: they did not see there was something to click. Two lines from you unblocks it.
›Can I warn them in advance?
Yes, and it lifts response a lot: a message from you saying "this is coming" prevents half the questions.
›What if they refuse to use it?
It is nearly always unfamiliarity. One phone call achieves more than three emails.
›Does it work if they only have a phone?
Yes. Most people open it on a phone.
A real case
The situation
A company sends its first batch and gets eight emails asking whether it is safe.
What you do
- Replies with the five answers
- Includes them upfront in later sends and links the glossary
What you get
The questions disappear and delivery rises from the second send onward.
The situation
A small supplier asks whether they have to register for anything.
What you do
- Explains it is uploaded from the link, with no account or password
What you get
The supplier delivers the same day instead of waiting to phone and ask.
The situation
A supplier cannot tell which of the requested documents they already sent last year.
What you do
- Shows them exactly what is missing and what is already in
What you get
They send only what is missing and stop resending what you had.
The situation
Somebody asks who inside the company will see their data.
What you do
- Answers what is shared and with whom, and puts it in the notice
What you get
The doubt is settled once and does not return with every round.
The situation
A supplier says the link has expired.
What you do
- Resends the request from the same file
What you get
Nothing has to be rebuilt or re-explained.
The situation
The same five questions arrive with every send.
What you do
- Includes the answers in the notice itself and links the glossary
What you get
The second send generates half the emails of the first.
This article answers
- the supplier asks whether this is safe
- what do i tell a client who distrusts the link
- do my suppliers have to register
- how do i explain electronic signature to a supplier