This page takes you from a blank account to a working supplier hub. Most organisations finish the essentials in under an hour: your organisation details, how your team works, what you buy, the people who do the checks, and your supplier list. You can change every choice later.
1. Create your account
- Go to Create an account. Enter Your name, Work email and a Password of at least 8 characters, tick I agree to the terms and privacy notice and click Create account.
- If you see Check your email, open the confirmation link we sent. Open it on the same device and browser you signed up on, otherwise it won't finish signing you in.
- You're then asked to set up your organisation.
2. Create your organisation
The organisation is the company whose suppliers you'll manage. Everything (suppliers, tasks, files, history and your team) belongs to it.
- Enter the Organisation name (up to 200 characters).
- Decide whether to tick Start with example suppliers so I can explore. Example data fills the hub with made-up suppliers, sourcing events, people and invoices so you can see how everything fits together. You can remove it all with one click later. See Demo and example data.
- Click Create organisation. You become its Admin.
A new organisation starts on a free trial for its first month (30 days) with everything included, up to 300 suppliers and 100 AI assistant questions. See Plans and billing for what happens next.
3. Run the setup guide
The setup guide walks you through seven short steps. Open it from Settings (Run the setup guide), or from a step on the Dashboard's Get set up checklist › Run the setup guide. The heading shows "Setup guide · step N of 7". Click Save and continue to move on, Back to go back, or click any step name to jump to it.
| Step | What you do | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Your organisation | Add your logo, brand colour, registered address, Organisation name and Accounts payable email. | These appear on the supplier portal and on every form, letter, template and report. |
| 2. How your team works | Pick the operating model closest to yours: Supplier management + procurement, Supplier management office, Finance-led onboarding or Third-party risk office. | Switches modules on or off to match. You can fine-tune single modules later in Modules and forms. |
| 3. Supplier areas | Untick the standard areas you don't need (Technology, Facilities, People & HR, Marketing) and add your own. "Other" is always there. | Areas group suppliers, power the Area filter and category plans, and (on Professional and above) let you give each team only its own suppliers. See Teams. |
| 4. What you buy | Answer 12 Yes / No / Not sure questions. | Your answers switch on the compliance packs and record sections UK law and good practice expect, and hide what you don't need. See Answer what you buy. |
| 5. Your team | Add the people who approve or carry out checks: Name, Team, Email (for reminders) and Role, then Add person. | Checklist tasks are routed to the first person in each team. These are stakeholder records, not sign-ins: invite people to sign in separately. |
| 6. Your suppliers | Download the template, fill it in and upload it as CSV. | Brings your existing suppliers in at once. See Add and import suppliers. |
| 7. All set | Choose Go to the Dashboard or Review my forms. | You're ready to start. |
4. Work through the Get set up checklist
The Dashboard shows a Get set up · n of 6 done checklist with a progress bar: add your organisation's details, import or add your suppliers, invite a colleague, choose your forms, send your first supplier portal request (Professional plan and above) and create your calendar link. Each step has one button that takes you there, and ticks itself off when it's done. Admins can also Start from a set-up for your sector: schools and multi-academy trusts, charities, housing associations, technology companies, FCA-regulated firms or general business. You see exactly what it will change first, and nothing is deleted.
5. Invite your colleagues
Open the account button (top right) › Team › Invite a colleague. Choose their role (Admin, Editor or View only), click Invite, and we email them an invitation. They join by signing in with Microsoft or Google, or creating a password, using the email you invited. Full details in Invite your team.
6. Recommended first week
- Check your settings. In Settings, set the reporting currency, check the exchange rates if Finance uses its own monthly or budget rates (otherwise daily rates are used automatically) and how many days before a deadline renewal reviews should start (90 by default).
- Review your forms. In Modules & forms, check which onboarding forms apply, which go to suppliers, and which block go-live.
- Fill in contracts for your important suppliers. Add start and end dates and notice periods so renewal and notice deadlines appear. The contract reader can fill these in from a PDF for you to check.
- Tier your suppliers. Make sure each supplier has the right tier (T1 to T4). The tier decides the checks, reviews and approvals. See Supplier tiers.
- Turn on two-step sign-in. Account › You › Set up two-step sign-in. Admins can then require it for everyone. See Account and security.
- Add the calendar feed. Account › You › Create my calendar link puts notice deadlines and your tasks in Outlook, Google or Apple Calendar.
- Open the Dashboard each morning. "Do these first" lists the five most urgent things. See The Dashboard.
Good to know
- Nothing in the setup is locked in. You can rerun the setup guide and the "What you buy" questions at any time.
- You can sign in with Microsoft, Google, or an email and password, with an optional authenticator-app code. Organisations on Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace can make company sign-in the only way in. See Sign in with Microsoft or Google.
- Prices exclude VAT. SupplierVault isn't VAT registered yet, so none is charged at the moment.
Related
- How SupplierVault works
- Add and import suppliers
- Invite your team
- Answer what you buy
- Plans and billing
- The Get set up checklist and sector set-ups