Vendor Onboarding: Prequalification to First PO

This tutorial follows a new supplier from first record in Waqti through prequalification, approval, first purchase order, and ongoing performance tracking.

Prerequisites

Item	Detail
Role	Typically vendor manager, buyer, or admin for setup; approver on vendor or prequalification workflows.
Configuration	Vendor prequalification enabled and questionnaires/templates prepared by your admin.
Policies	Your organization may block POs to vendors in draft or pending qualification status—confirm with procurement policy.

Start in Vendors

Use Vendors in the main navigation as the hub. Prequalification and performance are linked from the vendor record in most layouts.

1. Add the vendor

1. Open Vendors → Add vendor (or New).
2. Complete company tab: legal name, trading name, VAT number (critical for Saudi AP and ZATCA), country, and address.
3. Add primary contact (name, email, phone) and optional AP contact.
4. Set payment terms and default currency; add bank details only if your process collects them at onboarding.
5. Save as draft if you must finish prequalification before activation, or set active if your policy allows buying immediately.

See Vendor management for all fields and related modules (contracts, certifications).

2. Start prequalification

1. Open the vendor detail page.
2. Choose Start prequalification (or New prequalification / Send questionnaire—wording varies).
3. Select the questionnaire template your admin published (e.g. HSE, financial stability, IT security).
4. Assign internal owner (buyer or category manager) and due dates for the vendor if the UI exposes them.

Feature gate

If you do not see prequalification actions, the module may be off or plan-limited. Your admin can confirm under Settings and subscription tier.

3. Fill questionnaire and upload documents

1. Vendor-facing step: share the portal link or email invitation so the vendor completes questions (if your deployment uses external access); or enter answers on behalf of the vendor for low-touch suppliers.
2. For each section, answer yes/no, numeric, and free-text items honestly—approvers rely on this for risk scoring.
3. Upload evidence: commercial registration, ISO certificates, insurance, bank letter, NDA, etc.
4. Save progress; submit when complete.

Version control

Re-submissions may create a new version—check the history panel so approvers see the latest package only.

4. Submit for internal review

1. As the coordinator, verify all required questions and mandatory attachments show as complete.
2. Click Submit for review (or send to procurement committee queue).
3. Notify approvers via your standard channel if email notifications are disabled in your tenant.

5. Review and approve

1. Approvers open Approvals or the prequalification inbox.
2. Review answers, documents, and any risk flags from scoring rules.
3. Approve, approve with conditions, or reject with comments.
4. On approval, ensure the vendor status moves to qualified / active per your workflow.

Rejected vendors should have a clear remediation path (updated documents, corrected data) before re-submitting.

6. Create the first PO with the vendor

1. Open Purchase Orders → New.
2. Select the vendor you just qualified; the picker should show active suppliers only.
3. Enter ship-to, bill-to, line items, and tax codes.
4. Route the PO through approval if required.
5. Send to vendor from the PO screen and confirm they received it.

Contracts

If you negotiated an MSA or rate card, attach it on the PO or link a vendor contract record for auditability.

7. Track performance

1. After one or more orders, open the vendor record.
2. Review on-time delivery, quality issues (from GRNs or tickets), and invoice accuracy if your tenant aggregates KPIs.
3. Use scorecards or ratings where enabled; schedule annual requalification if policy requires.

Ongoing governance keeps the approved vendor list trustworthy for compliance and audits.

Quick reference

Phase	Where in Waqti
Master data	Vendors
Risk / compliance	Vendor prequalification
Commitment	Purchase orders
Receipt	Goods receipts
Insight	Vendor performance / reports

For a full buy-side cycle including invoice and payment, continue with Complete procurement cycle.