The steps, one by one
- Request. Someone inside the company asks to add a vendor, with the reason, the category and the expected spend.
- Self-registration. The vendor fills in their own details and uploads documents through a secure link, instead of emailing attachments back and forth.
- Document check. Legal name, registration and tax documents, and bank details are checked against what was uploaded.
- Bank verification. The bank account is confirmed independently, for example with a cancelled cheque and a call-back to a known number.
- Risk review. Larger or sensitive vendors get a closer look: references, financial standing, data access, any conflict of interest.
- Approval. The approver your matrix names for that category and expected spend signs off.
- Activation. The vendor is added to the vendor master and can be used on purchase orders.
A practical checklist
Adapt it to your business and your own policy. A common starting point in India:
- Legal name, registered address and primary contacts.
- PAN and GSTIN, with the certificate copies.
- Bank details with a cancelled cheque or bank letter, in the vendor’s legal name.
- Udyam (MSME) registration, if the vendor has one, so payment terms can be set correctly.
- Signed agreement or terms, and any category-specific licences.
- A named internal owner for the relationship.
Who approves a new vendor
Route by category and expected spend, the same way you route purchase orders. A low-risk, low-spend vendor may need only the procurement manager; a high-spend or data-sensitive one adds finance and risk. Write the rules into your approval matrix so every request follows the same path.
Keep one rule whatever the size: the person who requested the vendor should not be the only one who approves it, and nobody should be able to change a vendor’s bank details without a second person checking. See how maker-checker works.
Where it usually breaks
- The same supplier added twice under slightly different names, so spend and payments are split.
- Documents collected by email and never checked against the vendor master.
- Bank details taken from an email or invoice without independent confirmation.
- No record of who approved the vendor, or on what basis.
- Vendors never reviewed again after onboarding, even when their details change.
What to automate first
- A secure self-registration link, so the vendor enters and uploads their own details.
- A duplicate check on PAN, GSTIN and bank account before a new vendor is created.
- Routing by category and spend from your approval matrix, with reminders when a step waits too long.
- A second-person check on every bank-detail change.
- An audit trail of who requested, checked and approved each vendor.
- A reminder to re-check documents that expire.
How this looks on Averoic
On Averoic, vendor onboarding is built and tested end to end: an internal request starts it, the vendor registers through a secure magic link without needing an account, review steps check the documents, approvals route to the right people, and an approved vendor becomes a record your purchasing workflows use. Every step lands in a complete, time-stamped audit trail, configured without code.
This guide is general information, not legal, tax or audit advice. The documents you collect and who approves a vendor must come from your own policies.
Works with alternative lenders, AIFs, NBFCs and insurers in India on approvals, maker-checker controls and audit readiness.
See how your own process would run on Averoic — configured, not coded, with maker-checker controls and a complete, time-stamped audit trail built in.
Frequently asked questions
What is vendor onboarding?
The process of collecting a new supplier’s details and documents, verifying them, approving the supplier and adding them to your vendor master so they can be used on purchase orders and paid.
What are the steps in vendor onboarding?
Request, vendor self-registration, document check, independent bank verification, risk review for larger vendors, approval by the right person, and activation in the vendor master.
What documents are needed to onboard a vendor in India?
Commonly the legal name and address, PAN, GSTIN, bank details with a cancelled cheque or bank letter, the signed agreement, and Udyam registration if the vendor has one. Your own policy decides the final list.
Who should approve a new vendor?
The person your approval matrix names for that category and expected spend, usually procurement for low-risk vendors, with finance and risk added for high-spend or data-sensitive ones. The requester should not be the only approver.
How do you prevent duplicate vendors?
Check PAN, GSTIN and bank account against your existing vendor master before creating a new vendor, and give one team ownership of the vendor master.
How long should vendor onboarding take?
For a standard vendor with complete documents, a few days is common. Most delay comes from chasing documents by email, which a self-registration link removes.