## Vendor Portal Integration
PAI provides a dedicated vendor portal that connects vendors directly to your organization. You can invite vendors to connect to your organization to submit invoices or timecards directly against budget expense lines.
### Vendor Onboarding Process
![[vendor-portal-connection-graphic.png]]
1. **Invitation**: Send an invitation to the vendor from an expense line or the Crew Module
2. **Registration**: Vendor creates an account by confirming their email and setting a password
3. **Profile Completion**: Vendor completes their profile with:
- Personal details (name, address, phone number)
- Financial classification (individual or business)
- Tax jurisdiction information
- Optional DEI information
4. **Connection Establishment**: Vendor establishes a connection to your organization
- PAI allows vendors to connect with multiple organizations using a single profile
- Existing vendors simply approve the new connection request
5. **Review and Activation**: Your organization must:
- Review vendor information
- Assign a vendor classification
- Activate the vendor to grant access to their billing dashboard
> [!tip] Vendor privacy
> Vendors are never shared between organizations. All vendor information (personal details, billing information, history) remains private to your organization.
### Vendor Portal Features
Once activated, vendors gain access to a dedicated portal where they can:
- **For 1099 and Foreign Individual Vendors**:
- View posted expenses assigned to them
- Create and submit invoices against those expenses
- Upload supporting documentation when required
- Access their complete invoice history
- **For W2 Vendors**:
- View posted expenses designated for timecard billing
- Enter hours worked against posted day rates
- System calculates overtime based on the selected calculation method
- Access their timecard history
- **For All Portal Users**:
- Update their contact information
- View payment status for submitted invoices/timecards
- Download copies of submitted documents
## Reimbursable Expenses
The portal provides special handling for reimbursable expenses:
- Reimbursable expenses appear as $0 with a maximum allowance cap
- Example: A meal expense might show as "$0/$25" (zero dollars with a $25 maximum reimbursement)
- Vendors must upload receipts for all reimbursable expenses
- The system prevents vendors from invoicing for more than the maximum allowance
## Invoice Review and Payment
After submission, vendors can track their document's progress:
1. **Submitted**: The document has been submitted and awaits approval
2. **Approved**: The document has been approved but not yet scheduled for payment
3. **Payment Scheduled**: A payment date has been set and communicated
4. **Paid**: The payment has been completed
If issues arise, vendors may see these additional statuses:
- **Rejected**: The document has been rejected and requires revision
> [!info] Automated notifications
> Vendors receive email notifications for all significant status changes, including:
> - New expenses posted for billing
> - Invoice/timecard approval
> - Invoice/timecard rejection (with reasons)
> - Payment scheduling
> - Payment completion
## Vendor Portal Configuration
As an organization administrator, you can configure how your vendors experience the portal:
### Vendor Instructions
- Access [[Organization Settings]] > Vendor Portal to customize vendor instructions. These instructions appear on the vendor dashboard after they connect to your organization. Some items to consider including:
- Provide clear guidance for vendors using *your* invoice portal
- Document your specific requirements for invoicing and documentation
- Document steps required to complete payment
- Specify payment terms and processing timelines
- Include any special requirements for international vendors
## Related Topics
- [[Budgets|Budgets]]
- [[Vendor CRM & Crew Finder]]
- [[Accounts Payable]]
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