SupplierVault vs spreadsheets and SharePoint
An honest look at what changes when you move your supplier list out of a spreadsheet, and when a spreadsheet is still the right answer.
Most teams start with a supplier spreadsheet, often in SharePoint, with a folder of contracts and certificates next to it. That works for a while. This page sets out what changes when you move to SupplierVault, and when a spreadsheet is still the right answer.
When a spreadsheet is still fine
Keep the spreadsheet if most of these are true:
- you have a handful of suppliers (say under 20 to 25) and one person looks after them
- few contracts auto-renew, or the notice periods are long and easy to remember
- nobody outside the team needs proof of who checked what and when
- supplier bank details rarely change, and finance already has a call-back process it trusts
- you aren't asked for audit, ISO 27001, Cyber Essentials or customer due-diligence evidence about your suppliers
If that's you, a well-kept spreadsheet with a calendar reminder for each notice date is a sensible, free choice.
What changes with SupplierVault
Deadlines worked out for you
Spreadsheet: someone has to scan the "notice date" column, or set separate calendar reminders and keep them in step when a contract changes.
SupplierVault: you enter the contract end date and notice period once, and the notice deadline, any deadline to change volumes or prices, and the date to start the renewal review are worked out for you. Each person can get an email on mornings when something needs them, such as a notice deadline or certificate expiry on a supplier they manage, and a summary of the week ahead on Mondays. They choose daily, weekly or off. Each person can also subscribe to a private calendar feed in Outlook, Google or Apple Calendar with notice deadlines, contract end dates, when to start each renewal review, contract obligations and their own tasks. It updates itself.
Evidence and sign-offs in one place
Spreadsheet: "approved" is a cell anyone can type in, and the evidence is somewhere in a shared folder.
SupplierVault: onboarding forms record who approved them and when, against the supplier, and go-live is signed off by a named person. Purchase requests follow your own sign-off limits, and one person can't sign two steps of the same request. Certificates, policies and security answers sit on the supplier record. On the Professional plan and above, suppliers fill in forms, upload documents and sign through a secure portal link, and each signature is recorded with who signed, what, and when.
Bank detail change checks, recorded
Spreadsheet: a changed sort code is just an edit. Whether anyone rang the supplier back depends on the person.
SupplierVault: a change of bank details is logged as a change request, and the supplier's invoices go on hold in SupplierVault. Before a second person can release them, SupplierVault needs a confirmed call-back to a number you already hold, a Confirmation of Payee result that isn't "no match" and a passed penny test to be recorded. The person who recorded the change can't make the call-back, and the person who made the call-back can't release. You can name who is allowed to release. Every request, accepted or rejected, stays in the bank detail change history.
An audit trail you can rely on
Spreadsheet or SharePoint: version history shows that a file changed, but not easily which supplier, which field, or why, and anyone with edit rights can tidy it up.
SupplierVault: every change is logged against the person who made it. Entries can only be added, never edited or deleted. Each entry carries a fingerprint linked to the one before, so you can check nothing in the history has been altered. You can give an auditor read-only access that ends on a set date, and an access log shows who opened documents and downloaded packs. Closed suppliers' records are kept for your retention period (6 years by default), and you can put a supplier under legal hold.
Work that reaches the right person
Spreadsheet: reminders go to whoever owns the file.
SupplierVault: each automatic task goes to the right team, and reminders cover only the suppliers each person can see. When someone is away, a colleague can give their sign-offs for set dates, so approvals don't stall.
Spend from your accounts, without retyping
SupplierVault can connect, read only, to Xero, QuickBooks Online, Sage Accounting, Sage 200 or Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. It reads supplier bills, credit notes and payments each morning and adds them to the matching suppliers. It never writes to your accounts, never reads bank details and never moves money. Connections are switched on for you on request.
Checks without copy and paste (Professional plan and above)
One-click Companies House look-up, UK Sanctions List screening and a Modern Slavery statement registry check, with the result saved on the supplier as evidence. Live suppliers are then re-checked automatically: Companies House weekly and the UK Sanctions List monthly, with a task raised for anything new.
Only the parts you need
SupplierVault is modular. The Dashboard, onboarding, tasks and stakeholders are always on, and an admin can switch other modules, such as Procurement & sourcing or Spend & consumption, on and off. See the modules.
Moving over
- Import your existing supplier list from a spreadsheet using the CSV template. An admin can export everything, including a spreadsheet for each type of record, at any time.
- Every plan has unlimited users, so finance, procurement and IT can all work in the same place.
- The first month is free with everything included. If you don't carry on, your data is kept read-only and you can still view and download it.
Plans start at £149 a month (excluding VAT) for up to 50 suppliers. See pricing.