SiteCapture's Vendor Management feature connects two separate SiteCapture accounts so one company can assign work directly to another or give them permission to create work from their templates. See Vendor Management: Overview to learn more about SiteCapture's vendor connection model.
With a vendor account, your sub-contractor gets their own free SiteCapture account where they can:
- See the work you assign them
- Create work from your templates, if you enable that permission
- Add their own field users to sub-assign work
If the sub-contractor is already a SiteCapture customer, you can connect their existing account as a vendor instead of creating a new one.
Video: Adding and Connecting Vendors
Adding and Connecting Vendors
Who Can Add and Connect Vendors?
Only Portal Admins can add and connect vendors.
If you'd like to send a customized invitation email, set that up first using this guide before adding a vendor. If you enter customized text, save it, then log out and back in before following the steps below.
Search for Existing Vendors
1. Go to the gear icon, then under "Team," select Vendors. This opens the Vendor Management page.
2. Click Find And Add a Vendor at the top of the page.
3. Search for the vendor's existing account. Enter the Company Name, a contact's name, and a contact's e-mail address or domain, then click Search. A list of companies with matching information will appear.
4. Review the results. Scroll through the list to find the company you want to connect with. If you see it, click Add next to the company. You may see multiple companies under the same name. If so, confirm with the company directly to make sure you're connecting to the correct account before sending an invitation.
If you are able to find the correct company, click Add and move onto Connect a Vendor.
Add a New Vendor
If you can't find the vendor you are looking for, they might not yet have an existing SiteCapture vendor account. In this case, you will need to create a new account for them.
1. Select "I don't see the vendor I'm looking for, so I need to add a new one" at the bottom of the list.
2. Enter the vendor's information, including the Company Name, Contact Name, and E-mail. Address and phone number are optional. Once filled out, click Add Vendor.
Connect a Vendor
Once you've added an existing vendor or created a new one, you are ready to invite them to connect. You will automatically be brought to the vendor's page after adding or connecting; otherwise you can locate the vendor's profile in the vendor list and click on their name to open their profile page.
1. Click Connect to Vendor on the vendor's profile page. You'll be brought to the vendor's profile after adding them. You need to connect the vendor whether the account is new or one you found through search.
2. Enter the invitation e-mail and review the vendor's username. The vendor needs a contact e-mail on file to receive the invitation. We recommend using an e-mail address as the vendor's username. Usernames can't be duplicated across all of SiteCapture, so if that e-mail is already in use, add a unique identifier (like the company name or initials).
A view is automatically generated for new vendors showing all non-archived work assigned by your company. Vendors have the ability to create new views in their portal as well (see: Advanced Search: Creating, Deleting, & Refreshing Views). If you would like to copy the custom views from an existing vendor to a new one, you can input the existing company's vendor key under Copy views from vendor with vendor key of: when connecting. To locate the vendor key, see: Editing Vendors
3. Click Send to invite the company to connect. An e-mail is sent to the vendor's contact to connect on SiteCapture. A contact at your vendor company accepts by logging into SiteCapture using the link provided.
If you are attempting to connect to an existing company, or if the connection fails, the vendor will have to manually accept your invitation in their company settings. See: Manually Accept a Vendor Invitation
4. Once connected, the vendor appears in your project assignment drop-down. They'll appear alongside your regular users, marked with an icon that distinguishes them as a vendor.
Manually Accept a Vendor Invitation
If a vendor is unable to connect by logging in via the invitation e-mail, they can manually connect instead:
- Log into SiteCapture, click the gear icon, and select Company Info.
- Under Clients, find the company you wish to connect with and click Connect.
Best Practices
- Search broadly before adding a new vendor. A vendor's company name may be entered differently in your account than in theirs. Searching by a contact's e-mail address or domain, not just the company name, is more likely to surface an existing account. Connecting to that existing account rather than creating a duplicate keeps the vendor's history and views in one place.
- You can add a vendor before you're ready to invite them. No e-mail goes out until you click Connect to Vendor, so you can pre-load a subcontractor's information ahead of time and phase your invitations to match a rollout schedule instead of sending them all at once.
- Review your connected vendors periodically. If a vendor is marked active, they will count against your user total, even if they are not being assigned work. It's worth checking which vendors are still active from time to time, and pausing or marking inactive if needed.
FAQ
Who can add and connect vendors?
Only Portal Admins can add and connect vendors.
What can my sub-contractor do once I connect them as a vendor?
They get their own SiteCapture account where they can see the work you've assigned them, create work from your templates if you've enabled that permission, and add their own field users to sub-assign work.
My vendor already has a SiteCapture account. Do I still need to connect them?
Yes. Whether the vendor's account is new or already exists, you need to click Connect to Vendor to send the invitation.
I see multiple companies with the same name in my search results. Which one do I connect?
Reach out to the company directly to confirm which SiteCapture account is theirs before sending an invitation.
Can I customize the invitation e-mail my vendors receive?
Yes. Set this up under Notifications: Email & Dashboard Message before adding your vendor, then log out and back in for it to take effect.
What if my vendor can't accept the invitation e-mail?
They can connect manually instead. See Manually Accept a Vendor Invitation above.
See also: Editing Vendors and Vendor Management: Overview.
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