Supplier onboarding delaying payment? Find the missing step

Find out which record is blocked

Start with the customer's exact message. “You are not on the system” might mean no supplier record exists, a submitted form is awaiting review, or a duplicate record needs resolving. It does not tell you whether the invoice itself is missing or rejected. Ask the known accounts contact to name the record and current status.

Ask what they need from you and what must happen inside their organisation. Repeatedly resending a completed form will not resolve a customer-side approval. Equally, waiting for accounts will not resolve a form you have never submitted. Keep the supplier setup question separate from a missing job purchase order.

Ask for a specific onboarding status

Subject: Supplier setup status — [your business] / invoice [number]

Hi [known accounts contact],

You mentioned that supplier setup is holding up processing of invoice [number] for [amount].

Could you confirm:
• whether our supplier record exists and its current status;
• the exact information or customer-side approval still missing;
• who owns that next step and when you expect an update; and
• whether invoice [number] is already recorded, or needs submitting once setup is complete?

We submitted [specific item] on [date] through [confirmed route]. Please identify any remaining item rather than requesting the full pack again.

If information is needed from us, please confirm the customer's approved route for providing it.

Thanks,
[name / business]

Delete the submitted-item sentence if nothing has been sent. Do not attach identity, banking or other sensitive records merely because a new email requests them. Verify the request through an established customer contact and use the agreed route for the specific information needed.

Give each blocker a different next action

The following are fictional possibilities, not standard statuses shared by all customers. Replace them with the terms and responsibilities the customer confirms.

Fictional example: setup completed, invoice still missing

Ellis asks about INV-409 for £560. Accounts says the supplier form is awaiting review. Ellis records that Priya in customer setup owns the review and agrees to check back on 6 November. On that date, Priya confirms the supplier record is active but says INV-409 has not been entered.

Ellis follows the confirmed invoice route and saves its receipt. He does not mark the invoice approved or paid merely because setup is complete. He also records the original issue and due dates; an onboarding delay does not, by itself, establish new agreed terms.

If the next answer is that an approver must review the work, switch to the invoice approval delay email. If accounts proposes a different payment date, record the proposal and resolve any disagreement explicitly instead of silently changing your reminder record.