Vendor Setup

AppFolio only requires a first and last name to save a vendor. That creates the record and nothing else. The vendor is not usable until the portal is activated, and activation is not something we can do for them.

Sending the invitation is not activation

The vendor has to click the link and sign in. Until they do, there is no payment method on file, they cannot upload compliance documents, and they cannot see their work orders. This is the step that gets missed. See Invite the Vendor to Activate the Vendor Portal.

Before You Create

Often, vendors are created after their first invoice arrives, so the details may come off the invoice rather than first soliciting the vendor.

Search for the vendor first. There are hundreds of vendors in the database and duplicates cause split payment history and misrouted bills. Type the company name or the contact name into the search bar before creating anything.

Collect at a minimum from the vendor or from an invoice received on AppFolio’s Smart Bill Entry page:

• Contact name and company name
• Billing email address
• US mobile number (AppFolio cannot text a landline or a non-US number)
• Remittance address

Ideally, a W-9 and a Certificate of Insurance (COI) with the proper endorsements should be acquired before the vendor is selected and begins work.

COI Requirements

The vendor’s COI should include the following:

• General liability with no less than $1m per occurrence and an annual aggregate of no less than $2m
• Auto with no less than $1m combined single limit
• Workers compensation per statute
• The property entity (owner) and BBT Asset Management, Inc dba Megtech are named as additional insured
• The additional insured shall have these protections, all of which are supported by endorsements:
  • For general liability — (1) primary and non-contributory, (2) ongoing and completed operations, and (3) waiver of subrogation
  • For auto — waiver of subrogation
  • For workers compensation — waiver of subrogation

Depending on project risk or property value, these limits may be adjusted. When a request for compliance documents is made from the AppFolio vendor page (see Request Information via Vendor Portal), the vendor needs to be sent the COI requirements also.

Create the Vendor

Go to People > Vendors, then click New Vendor in the Tasks menu on the right.

Vendor Information and Contact

Fill these fields:

#	Field	What to enter
1	Company Name	Required. Enter the company name. Information about an individual contact is often not available.
2	Vendor Type	See the table below. This one is hard to fix later.
3	Phone Number	Mobile preferred, though not always available. Set the type to mobile or texting will not work.
4	Email	The billing email address.
5	Address	The billing address.

Check Use company name as display name for companies so the vendor sorts and searches by company. Once it is checked, the required-field stars move off First Name and Last Name and onto Company Name.

All emails on the record receive work order links. The first email listed is what AppFolio uses for portal activation and eCheck receipts, so put the billing contact first.

Vendor Type	Use for	Effect
General (default)	Maintenance and service vendors	Standard vendor behavior
Utility	Gas, electric, water, trash, telecom	Bills become utility bills with service dates and an account number. See Utility Vendors
External Management Company	Outside management companies	Used in the End Management flow when a property transfers out
In-house Maintenance	Companies that Megtech has contracted to perform maintenance only	Can generate a PDF invoice when billing from a work order

External Management Company and In-house Maintenance are not currently used.

Request Information via Vendor Portal

Check the following:

Check all six every time: payment information, W-9 documentation, Liability Insurance, Worker’s Comp., Auto Insurance, and State License. REA takes vendor details off an invoice and will not know which conditions apply to a given vendor, so none of the six are treated as conditional.

Leave EPA Certification and Contract unchecked.

Worker's comp exemptions

A sole proprietor with no employees may not carry worker’s comp. Do not skip the request. Get the exemption in writing, attach it to the vendor page, and confirm with Anna or Rachana before the vendor is assigned work.

Click Save. A portal invitation letter goes to the vendor along with the requests for ACH info, a W-9, and the four compliance documents.

Full field reference

Vendor Information

Field	What to enter
First Name / Last Name	Required. The contact at the company. If there is no named contact, put the company name here so the record saves.
Company Name	The billing entity. Prints on checks and the 1099.
Website	Optional.
Vendor Trade	The type of work they do. Drives Vendor Suggestions on new work orders.
Tags	Optional grouping. Use an existing tag before creating a new one.
Do Not Use Vendor for Work Orders	Check for vendors that never get assigned work: utilities, insurance, professional services.

Contact

Field	What to enter
Phone Numbers	A US-based mobile, typed as mobile. Office, dispatch, and fax numbers go in as additional numbers with a label in Additional Details.
Emails	At least one. First in the list is the one AppFolio uses for portal activation and eCheck receipts.
Addresses	The remittance address, meaning where a check would be mailed.
1099 Address	Leave Use vendor address as 1099 address checked unless the vendor gives a different one.

Federal Tax

Field	What to enter
Taxpayer Name	From the W-9. Check Use company name as taxpayer name when they match.
Taxpayer ID	The EIN or SSN from the W-9. Required if we file a 1099.
Send 1099?	Check only if we file a 1099 for them.
Balance Forward For 1099	Amounts already paid this tax year outside AppFolio. Leave at 0.00 for a new vendor.

Accounting Information

Field	What to set
Consolidate Checks	Leave on All bills on single check unless the vendor asks for one payment per bill.
Check Stub Breakdown	Leave on List each bill detail line item so the vendor can match the payment to their invoices.
Hold Payments	Check only to stop payments. Bills can still be created, they just will not appear in Pay Bills.
Email eCheck Receipt	Leave checked. The receipt goes to the first email listed in Contact.
Payment Terms	Set if the vendor has standard terms. Bills then set the due date automatically.
Default Check Memo	Optional. Use for an account number the vendor wants on every check.
Default GL Account	Optional but recommended. Pre-fills the GL on every bill and work order for this vendor.
Work Order Adjustment	Required. Enter 0.0 unless there is a negotiated markup or discount.
Adjustment Type	Markup or Discount. Only applies if the adjustment is not zero.

Payment Type

Leave this alone. The vendor picks their own payment method in the portal. Only users with Full Access to the Owner/Vendor PII permission can view or edit bank account information.

Invite the Vendor to Activate the Vendor Portal

The invitation goes out automatically when you click Save on the new vendor. There is no separate step to send it.

Once activated, the vendor returns at vendor.appfolio.com with their own username and password. They set up two-step verification, choose a payment method (Instant Pay, direct deposit, or mailed check), upload their compliance documents, and see their work orders. We cannot see inside a vendor’s portal.

First ACH payment is slow

New or updated bank accounts settle in 3 to 5 business days for the first 30 days. Do not promise a vendor a fast first payment.

Send the Invoice Instructions Letter

Go to Communication > Letters, then the Vendor section.

1. Click Invoice Instructions.

2. Specify the vendor name.

3. Click the Email icon.

4. BCC Alex Ondar, Assistant Property Manager, at [email protected].

5. Click Send.

Compliance Documents

Compliance controls are currently off.

W-9 and compliance document information has to be entered on the vendor record by hand, taken from the documents the vendor uploads to their portal. This step can only happen after the vendor has uploaded them.

Utility Vendors

Set Vendor Type to Utility for gas, electric, water, trash, and telecom during initial setup. See Vendor Information and Contact.

Utility bills have statements, not invoice numbers

A regular vendor invoice carries an invoice number, which becomes the Reference Number on the bill. Utility bills do not. They have an account number and a statement period. Smart Bill Entry only pulls the account number and statement service dates for vendors typed as Utility. Typed as General, those fields come back empty and every bill has to be corrected by hand.

REA pulls utility statements from vendor portals on the 1st and 15th rather than waiting for the vendor to email them. See AP Processing Workflow.

Setup Checklist

	Item
☐	Searched first, no duplicate record exists
☐	Vendor Type correct (Utility for utilities)
☐	Billing email entered first in the Emails list
☐	US mobile entered and typed as mobile (if available)
☐	Remittance address entered
☐	W-9, ACH info, and compliance documents requested
☐	Portal invitation sent (automatic on Save)
☐	Invoice Instructions letter sent

Quick Reference

AP Processing Workflow How invoices flow from receipt through Smart Bill Entry to payment.

Work Orders Assigning vendors and how vendor bills close work orders.

AP Schedule Weekly approval and payment schedule.