eProcureAI / Platform / Keep supplier records current

Use case

Nobody should have a job
called chasing certificates

Supplier paperwork never ends. An insurance certificate expires, a tax form goes stale, banking details change. Moving that work to the supplier and the calendar removes it from your week entirely.

Two touches from your team. Send the invitation, review what comes back.

Supplier onboardingInvitation
The situation

The work is not hard, it simply never stops

Ask a procurement coordinator what fills their week and supplier paperwork is usually near the top. Not because any single task is difficult, but because there is always another one.

A certificate expires in three weeks and somebody has to notice. A supplier changes their bank details and tells one person by email. A tax form from two years ago is still on file and nobody has checked whether it is current. The noticing is the job, and it is invisible until it fails.

When it does fail, the consequences are disproportionate. An uninsured contractor on site. A payment to a bank account that changed without verification. A supplier who cannot be paid because their details were never completed properly.

Two better places for the work

The supplier holds the documents, so they should enter them. The calendar knows when something expires, so it should do the chasing. Between those two, almost none of this needs to sit with your team.

What is left is a review when a supplier first joins, and an occasional exception when somebody does not respond. That is a genuinely small amount of work compared with maintaining a list.

Where the time goes

Four recurring tasks, all of them avoidable

Task 1

Collecting the paperwork

Chasing a new supplier for documents they already have, by email, several times.

Better done byThe supplier
1
Task 2

Checking what is missing

Working out which of eleven required items has not arrived, usually from an inbox.

Better done byThe form
2
Task 3

Noticing expiry

Remembering that an insurance certificate lapses next month, across every supplier at once.

Better done byThe calendar
3
Task 4

Verifying bank changes

The one that genuinely matters, and the one most likely to be skipped when somebody is busy.

Must be doneEvery time
4
What changes

Three shifts in where the work sits

The supplier enters their own details

You send an invitation with the right form attached. They provide company details, tax forms, insurance and banking. The form will not accept an incomplete submission.

  • Different forms for different supplier types
  • Incomplete submissions are not possible
  • They hold the documents, so they upload them
  • Your team types nothing
OnboardingLive
InvitedOne email
Completed byThe supplier
Incomplete acceptedNo
Your typingNone
Two daysInvitation to purchasable

The calendar does the chasing

Every document carries an expiry date. Reminders go to the supplier before it lapses and escalate if they stay quiet. No human maintains a list of who owes what.

  • Expiry tracked on every document type
  • Supplier reminded before, not after
  • Escalation when there is no response
  • New orders blocked if critical cover lapses
Expiry watchLive
Insurance18 days remaining
CertificationValid to December
RemindersAutomatic
EscalationAt seven days
Chased by dateNot by a person

Banking changes are verified every time

The most common route into an accounts payable fraud is a bank detail change that nobody checked. Verification happens before payment can be released, without exception.

  • Changes verified before any payment
  • Screened against known fraud patterns
  • A second person involved by design
  • The change is never silent
Bank changeLive
Requested byThe supplier
VerifiedBefore payment
Second personRequired
Silent changeNot possible
The obvious attackClosed deliberately
What gets watched

Five things with dates attached to them

Anything with an expiry can be tracked. These are the ones that cause problems when they lapse.

ItemWhy it mattersWhat happens as it nears expiry
Insurance certificateAn uninsured supplier on site is your exposure, not theirsSupplier reminded, escalated, then new orders blocked
Tax formsPayment and reporting obligations depend on them being currentSupplier reminded ahead of the deadline
CertificationsIndustry or contractual requirements that lapse quietlyReminded, with the specific document named
Compliance validityApproval for a period rather than forever, so review is scheduledAppears on the review list before it ends
Banking detailsChanges are the most common fraud route into accounts payableVerified before payment, every time

Existing commitments continue when something lapses. Only new orders are stopped, so a delivery already in transit is not punished.

When something lapses

Six situations and what actually happens

Reminder

It is approaching expiry

The supplier is told before the date rather than after, which is usually all it takes.

TimingBefore, not after
Silence

They have not responded

Escalation on your schedule, still to the supplier rather than to your team.

EscalationAutomatic
Lapsed

The date has passed

New orders are blocked while existing commitments continue untouched.

Existing ordersUnaffected
Partial

One document missing

You can request that single item rather than restarting the whole onboarding form.

ScopeOne document
Review

Validity period ending

The supplier appears on a review list, so an annual review is a filter rather than a project.

ReviewA filtered list
Change

Bank details updated

Verified before payment, with a second person involved by design.

VerifiedEvery time
Who does what

The short version of everyone's job

The work does not disappear. It moves to the two places better suited to doing it.

What your team does

Send an invitation and review what comes back. Two touches per supplier.

The human partLive
Send the invitationName, email, which form
Review onceWhen it arrives
Set category and validityAt approval
Handle exceptionsMonthly, not weekly
Two touchesThen nothing

What eProcureAI does

Collects, verifies, scores, then watches the calendar indefinitely.

The automatic partLive
Collect the formFrom the supplier
Verify bankingBefore payment
Track expiryEvery document
Chase and escalateWithout being asked
Block new ordersOnly if critical cover lapses
Runs for yearsWithout a list
0from your team per supplier
0from invitation to purchasable
0tracked to its expiry date
0blocked when cover lapses
FAQ

Questions people actually ask

Do suppliers pay to use the portal?
No. Access is free, which is exactly why supplier maintained data stays current. Nobody keeps a record up to date that they are charged to reach.
Can we use different forms for different suppliers?
Yes. A standard form covers most, and heavier forms are used where obligations demand more. You choose which goes out with the invitation.
What happens when a certificate expires?
The supplier is reminded before the date and escalated if they do not respond. If it lapses, new orders can be blocked while existing commitments continue.
How are bank detail changes handled?
Verified before any payment can be released, with a second person involved. It is the most common fraud route into accounts payable and worth a deliberate check every time.
Can we ask for one missing document?
Yes, without restarting the whole onboarding form, which suppliers appreciate more than you might expect.
What is an EP Score?
A single figure carried by each onboarded supplier so your team can scan the directory and know where to look, rather than opening every document on every record.
How does the annual review work?
Suppliers carry a validity period rather than being approved indefinitely, so a review is a filtered list to work through rather than an exercise to organise.
What happens to our existing supplier list?
It is imported and de-duplicated during onboarding. Most teams find several duplicate records worth consolidating in the first fortnight.

Send a real onboarding invitation on the call

Bring a supplier you are about to onboard and we will send the form live, then walk through what comes back.

Book your free demo

Related: All solutions and Vendor Hub