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Build a vendor record the owner can review
Vendor onboarding begins with an authorized request and a clear business contact. The assistant collects the required information, organizes the supporting documents and prepares questions. The business owner or designated reviewer approves the vendor and any sensitive changes under the organization's process.
Confirm the entity, supplier name, purpose of the relationship and approved intake channel. Ask which documents and approvals are required for this type of vendor. Do not assume that a previous supplier's checklist applies unchanged to a new relationship.
Keep identity, documents and approval connected
Use a dated register containing the request source, supplier reference, documents received, missing items and reviewer. Store sensitive records in the approved restricted location. The summary can link to those records without duplicating private information in a broadly shared spreadsheet.
Check whether the supplier may already exist under a different name. Preserve the candidate records and ask the reviewer how to proceed. A similar name is a reason to investigate, not sufficient evidence to merge records or attach new details to an existing profile.
Example: an onboarding email includes changed payment details
A supplier provides information that differs from the details already held by the business. The assistant records the difference and routes it through the established verification process. They do not treat the incoming email itself as approval to change payment instructions.
The authorized reviewer determines the verification and approval steps. The assistant tracks the request and records the outcome once supplied. Until then, the sensitive change remains pending. The payment-method change log provides a related handoff pattern.
Complete the record with a clear status
Before handoff, identify which requirements are satisfied, which are missing and which decisions are outstanding. Confirm the reviewer and follow-up date for each open item. A complete document folder is not the same as approval to transact with the vendor.
After approval, preserve the instruction and any authorized record-creation confirmation. When details change later, retain the earlier evidence and link the new request. Discuss the collection and preparation scope with payables support, including what the assistant may enter and what must return to the owner.
Related resources
Compare the service fit on the QuickBooks VA services page, then use the free consultation form to map the first handoff. For platform context, review QuickBooks Online.