---
id: KB-CF-006
url: https://app.codecontract.io/help/use-cases-by-capability/onboarding-a-new-supplier
idioma: en
categoria: casos-por-funcionalidad
audiencia: usuario
nivel: intermedio
actualizado: 2026-08-13
tambienEn: [es]
relacionados: [KB-TL-001, KB-CF-005]
citadoPor: [KB-IN-006, KB-CF-009, KB-CF-015, KB-CF-016, KB-CR-010]
---

# Onboarding a new supplier

_From "we picked them" to "they can invoice" without twenty emails in between._

**Responde a:** supplier onboarding process · what documents to ask a new supplier for · supplier approval · new supplier checklist

Supplier onboarding is always the same five or six things, asked of the same kind of person. It is the case where having a process shows most: two weeks of emails become four days with nobody chasing anybody.

## What gets asked for, nearly always

| Document | Blocks? | Expires |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Tax details and bank account | Yes | No |
| Tax clearance certificate | Yes | 3 months |
| Public liability insurance | Yes | 1 year |
| Quality or sector certificates | Depends | Varies |
| Invoicing contact | No | No |

## The order that works

1. **First what blocks you** — Without tax details you cannot even create them in your own system. First phase, on its own.
2. **Then what protects you** — Insurance and tax clearance. Second phase.
3. **Specifics last** — Sector certificates, which take longest because they depend on third parties.

> [!IMPORTANT]
> Bank details are fraud's favourite target: if an email arrives changing a known supplier's account, confirm it by phone on a number you already had, not the one in that email.

> [!NOTE]
> Saving the onboarding as a template the first time turns the second supplier into two minutes of work. It is the case where a template pays for itself fastest.

**What if the supplier worked with us years ago?**

Review what is still current: tax details probably are, insurance probably is not.

**Can I let them invoice while something is missing?**

You can, by marking it non-blocking. That is your call, and it is recorded.

**Can I ask for everything at once?**

You can, but delivery drops noticeably. Splitting is what most raises response.

## Ejemplos

**A manufacturer onboards twelve suppliers a quarter, each taking two weeks.**

- Builds onboarding as a three-phase process
- Marks insurance and tax clearance as expiring

→ Onboarding drops to four days on average and renewals request themselves the following year.

**A new supplier is created in purchasing and their documentation is requested three weeks later.**

- Launches onboarding when the supplier record is created
- Requests first the two documents that block the order
- Adds the rest in a second phase

→ The first order does not wait for a complete file, and the file does not stay half done.

**Each buyer asks the same supplier for a different list.**

- Shares a single onboarding template

→ The supplier receives a coherent request and delivers once.

**The supplier does not understand what each item is for.**

- Adds a line of context per document

→ They reply without a preceding call.

**Onboarding is approved and nobody records the expiries.**

- Records validity when approving each document

→ The file is still true six months later.

**Purchases go to a supplier who never completed onboarding.**

- Checks the status before issuing the order

→ No order leaves for a supplier with no file.