What you'll get
- 3 copy-ready blocks
- Spreadsheet-ready
- 2 tables
- 7 min read
- Approved vendor tracking sheet (tab-separated, paste into a sheet)
- Questions for your champion
- Message to your champion
How to use it
- Step 1: Read the 12 items in Part 1 and mark each as ready, partly ready or missing.
- Step 2: Fill the gaps, starting with the items that need other people, such as insurance or legal.
- Step 3: Ask your champion the five questions in Part 3 before the proposal goes in.
- Step 4: Track what each account asks for in the sheet in Part 2, so the second enterprise deal is quicker than the first.
- Step 5: Review the pack every six months, or after any change to your company.
Small vendors rarely lose an enterprise deal because the buyer disliked the product. They lose weeks, and sometimes the deal, to the vendor onboarding step. The buyer's team says yes, and then a form arrives that nobody prepared for. This checklist helps you build one pack in advance. Every enterprise company has its own process, so treat the list as a starting point and ask your champion what theirs asks for.
Part 1: The 12 item pack
Not every account asks for all of these. Having them ready costs one afternoon. Missing them can cost a month.
| # | Item | Why a buyer asks | Who in your company owns it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Company details: legal name, registered address, registration number, year started | To create you as a supplier in their system | Founder or finance |
| 2 | Tax registration documents for each country you invoice from | To set up payment | Finance |
| 3 | Bank details on company letterhead, signed | To pay you. Often checked by a call back | Finance |
| 4 | Authorised signatory and a board or director confirmation | To know who can sign a contract | Founder |
| 5 | Insurance certificates | To cover the risk of something going wrong | Founder or broker |
| 6 | Your standard terms and a redlined version you will accept | To speed up legal review | Founder or counsel |
| 7 | Data protection statement: what you hold, where, who can see it | To pass their privacy review | Whoever runs delivery |
| 8 | Security overview: a short document, plus answers to a standard questionnaire | To pass their security review | Technical lead |
| 9 | Two or three references from similar companies, each with permission | To lower the risk of a small supplier | Account owner |
| 10 | A one page company profile: what you do, team size, who you serve | For the person who has to defend the choice | Founder |
| 11 | Subcontractors and where your people sit | Because many enterprises ask who touches the work | Delivery lead |
| 12 | Business continuity note: what happens if a key person leaves | Because a small supplier is a concentration risk | Founder |
Item 9 needs a name and a yes from each reference. Do not list a client without their permission.
Part 2: The tracking sheet
One row per enterprise account. Paste the header into a spreadsheet.
Approved vendor tracking sheet (tab-separated, paste into a sheet)
Account Procurement contact Who runs vendor onboarding Items asked for (numbers from Part 1) Extra items asked for Date asked Date sent Status Notes for next timeThe "Extra items asked for" column is the one to read after the second deal. Items that appear twice belong in your standard pack.
Part 3: Five questions for your champion
Ask these early, before the proposal, in your champion's words. They are not a favour. They help your champion plan the approval.
Questions for your champion
1. How do new vendors get approved at your company, and who runs it?
2. Is there a form or a portal, and can we see it before we are chosen?
3. What do you usually need from a small vendor that you do not need from a large one?
4. Does the approval run at the same time as the proposal, or after it?
5. Who should we speak to in procurement, and would you introduce us?Question 4 sets your timetable. If approval runs after the proposal, ask whether you can start it earlier.
Part 4: A first message to your champion
Keep it short and send it when the proposal is agreed in principle.
Message to your champion
Hi [First name],
Before we send the proposal, I would like to start the vendor approval so it does not slow you down. We have our company documents, insurance and a standard security overview ready.
Could you tell me who runs vendor approval at [Company], and whether there is a form or portal we can start on? I can send everything in one go.
[Your name]If the champion shares a form, answer it fully the same week. A slow reply from a small vendor reads as a sign of how the work would go.
Part 5: Keeping the pack current
A pack goes stale in a quiet way. An insurance certificate runs out. The address changes. A reference moves job.
- Set a date. Put a review in the diary every six months and after any change to your company.
- One owner. One person holds the folder, even though others supply the items.
- One folder. Keep the current version in one place, with the date on each file.
- Record expiry. Note the end date of each certificate next to the item.
Worked example (illustrative, not a real company)
Pennine Systems is invented. It is a 40 person software firm in the middle of its first enterprise deal. Its champion at the buyer, a head of operations, says the proposal is agreed. Anita Desai, the founder, marks the pack.
| Item | State |
|---|---|
| 1 to 4 (company, tax, bank, signatory) | Ready |
| 5 Insurance | Partly ready: a certificate that expires next month |
| 6 Terms | Missing a redlined version |
| 8 Security overview | Missing: only a questionnaire from an old deal |
| 9 References | One of three agreed |
She asks her champion the five questions. Approval runs after the proposal and takes time, so she asks to start it now. She renews the insurance, asks her lawyer for the redline and writes a two page security overview from the old questionnaire. She asks two more clients for permission to be named.
When procurement's form arrives, nine items are ready and three are done within a week. She logs everything in the sheet, including two extra items procurement asked for. They go into the standard pack.
Five mistakes to avoid
- Waiting for the form. The pack takes weeks to build, and the form takes days to arrive.
- Naming a reference without asking. One surprised reference costs you the other two.
- Sending a long security document. A short overview and the answers to the questionnaire are easier to approve.
- Treating procurement as an enemy. They have a process and a date. Learn both.
- Leaving expiry dates unwatched. An expired certificate sent in good faith looks careless.
Why this works on named accounts
Common questions
What is an approved vendor list?
It is a list of suppliers a company has checked and set up to buy from. Being on the list usually means procurement has your details, your bank account and your terms. Many enterprises need a supplier to be on it before the first invoice can be paid.
Can a small vendor get onto an enterprise vendor list?
Yes. Small suppliers are approved all the time, particularly when the buying team asks for them. A complete pack, a named champion and early contact with procurement all help.
When should you start vendor approval?
As early as your champion allows. Ask in the first serious conversation how approval works, and start it alongside the proposal rather than after it.
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