> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.charted.com/ap-automation/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.charted.com/ap-automation/charted-features/advanced-vendor-onboarding.md).
# Advanced Vendor Onboarding
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This feature is included within Charted's [AP Automation](https://squareworks.com/automate-ap-automation-suite/) Suite.
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### Requesting New Vendors
You can create a new Vendor via Charted or create a new Vendor through native Netsuite. To create a new Vendor through Charted, go to Lists > Advanced Vendor Onboarding > New Vendor
When creating a new Vendor, you will be asked to supply a limited set of information, allowing the Vendor to supply their own information. At a minimum you will be required to supply the following information when creating a new Vendor. However, this can be customized by an Administrator:
* Type (required)
* Company Name (Required)
* Email Address (Recommended)
* Subsidiary[^1] (Required)
After the required information has been entered, press **Save** to complete the request for a new Vendor.
### Starting the Onboarding Process
One or more Employees or Roles in NetSuite can be assigned to act as an Onboarding Manager. The Onboarding Manager is responsible for reviewing all requested Vendors and managing their onboarding process.
To see all Vendors requested or currently in progress, open the Vendor Onboarding Queue. The Vendor Onboarding Queue can be accessed via Lists > Advanced Vendor Onboarding > Vendor Onboarding Queue.
The Vendor Onboarding Queue will show all Vendors currently requested or in progress of being onboarded. The queue contains the following information:
* **Vendor Name:** The Vendor name, which is captured at the time the Vendor is requested
* **Date Created**: The date the vendor was requested
* **Primary Subsidiary:** The Vendor’s primary subsidiary, which is captured at the time the Vendor is requested.
* **Email**: The Vendor’s primary email address
* **Onboarding Status**: The status of the onboarding process. By default this queue will only show Requested and In Progress statuses, however, the filter can be modified using the filters above the queue.
* **Vendor Requestor**: The name of the employee who created the Vendor
* **Forms Sent:** The number of forms that have been emailed to the Vendor
* **Form Responses To Review:** The number of responses you have received that require review
* **Form Responses Applied:** The number of responses that have been applied to the Vendor and require no further review
Press **View** next to any Vendor that has been requested. On the Vendor’s screen, press **Start Onboarding** to begin the onboarding process. This changes the Onboarding Status from Requested to In Progress:
### Emailing Vendor Forms
Once onboarding has started for a Vendor, the Vendor can be emailed online forms to complete. To send a form via email, open the Vendor’s screen and press **Send Form:**
On the Send Form screen, enter the Vendor’s email addresses (defaults to the Vendor’s primary email address) and choose the form to send. The email addresses specified will receive a link via email to complete the selected form. If additional forms are needed, they can be setup by an Administrator. Press **Send** to email the form to the Vendor:
The Vendor will receive an email to complete the selected form. This email can be customized by an Administrator and can include your own logo, company information and messaging:
When the Vendor presses the **Vendor Onboarding Form** button in the email, they will be directed to your selected Vendor form. Below is an example of an onboarding form. This can be customized by an Administrator:
Once the Vendor completes the form and presses **Submit** at the bottom of the page, they will be directed to a confirmation screen. This screen can also be customized by an Administrator:
### Sending Reminders to Vendors
If a vendor hasn’t responded to a form, you can manually resend the form using the **Send Form** button on the Vendor, or by clicking the **Follow Up** link by navigating to the Forms > Forms Published menu on the Vendor.
In addition to manual reminders, your forms can be configured by an administrator to send follow up emails automatically if the vendor has not responded. The messaging in the follow up email (sent manually or automatically) may contain special messaging in the email. Below is an example of a follow up email and can be configured by an administrator, including the subject line.
### Receiving Vendor Forms
When a Vendor submits a form, their supplied information is stored securely within your NetSuite account. The Vendor Onboarding Queue screen can be used to see that a response to a form has been received and requires review:
Press the **View** link to open the Vendor’s screen to review the form response.
### Reviewing Vendor Forms
When viewing a Vendor’s screen, open the Form tab to see the responses that have been received:
To view the responses, click on the response’s name. A split screen view will open to show you the responses:
 
On the left hand side you will see all responses provided by the Vendor. In the example above, the Vendor only provided an updated Vendor name. However, there may be multiple responses to capture information such as phone number, addresses, contacts or even bank details.
{% hint style="info" %}
If a form is misconfigured, you will see one of two error messages in the 'Current Value' field:
* 'This field has been removed from the form': indiciates that the field was deleted from the form between sending the invite and reviewing the submission.
* Resolution: delete the field in Advanced Form Builder ([guide](https://docs.charted.com/ap-automation/charted-configuration/advanced-vendor-onboarding/setting-up-onboarding-forms))
* '\ does not exist': indicates the 'Apply To Field ID' field in the form is incorrect or can't be found.
* Resolution: correct the 'Apply to Field ID' in the form, ensure the variable name is correctly inputted and exactly matches NetSuite's field name, including underscores ([guide](https://docs.charted.com/ap-automation/charted-configuration/advanced-vendor-onboarding/setting-up-onboarding-forms))
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**Note**: By default, all responses that can be added to the Vendor’s record without overwriting existing information will be applied automatically (e.g. adding new bank details, contacts, addresses, populating fields that are currently empty). Only when a change would occur will you be requested to review the changes as shown above.
### Applying Vendor Forms
If the response from the Vendor is something that you want to apply to your Vendor record, leave the field(s) selected and press **Apply & Review**:
Your screen will automatically redirect to the Vendor’s edit screen. The selected responses will be automatically updated on the right hand of the screen. All fields updated will be highlighted in yellow. If you don’t want to continue with the changes, press **Cancel**. Otherwise, press **Save** to save the updated Vendor.
Once saved, the form response will be marked as fully applied:
**Tips**:
* If there are multiple form responses, they can all be opened and applied to the Vendor while in edit mode.
* If you’re capturing information that normally gets entered on a different screen (e.g. bank details, contacts, addresses), you will be able to enter this information directly onto the Vendor’s screen. Any changes or additions will be automatically reflected on the related records (e.g. bank details are updated) once the Vendor is saved.
* To mark a response as applied that has no responses you want to apply, uncheck all check boxes and press Apply & Review and then save the Vendor.
### Requesting Additional Information
If you would like to request additional information from a vendor based on their form response, press **Request More Info** while viewing the form response in split screen view. The split screen view will update, allowing you to select the field(s) to request more information.
Select the fields to request more information. At least one field must be selected. Optionally, provide additional context by supplying your own help information for each field requested. This will override standard help information that’s shown under the field. In addition to help information, you can optionally override the alert that is shown in the email and form.
If you would like to change who receives the request for more information, use the Send To Email(s) tab to adjust the email addresses.
Press **Send Form** to send the request to the vendor. The vendor will receive an email automatically. When opening the form, they will only be asked to complete the fields selected above.
### Completing the Onboarding Process
Once all information has been collected and captured in your Vendor record, press **Complete Onboarding** to complete the onboarding process. This will cause the Vendor to be removed from the Vendor Onboarding Queue and the Onboarding Status to be updated to Complete.
Once onboarding is complete, the Vendor (optionally) can be routed for approval before it can be used in NetSuite. Press the **Submit for Approval** button to start the approval process. Refer to [Submitting Records for Approval](/ap-automation/charted-features/approval-automation.md#ref114230642) for additional details on approval routing.
### Sending Additional Vendor Forms
At any time in the future, you can use the **Send Form** button on the Vendor screen to send additional forms. If responses are received after a Vendor has been fully onboarded, the Vendor will appear in the Vendor Update Queue. This can be accessed via Lists > Advanced Vendor Onboarding > Vendor Update Queue.
Similar to the Vendor Onboarding Queue, the Vendor Update Queue will give insight into responses from Vendors that require further review.
[^1]:
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