Blog

Vendor compliance, demystified

Practical guidance for operations, compliance, and finance teams managing third-party risk.

ComplianceApril 9, 2026·4 min read

How to Prepare Your Vendor Program for a SOC 2 Audit

What SOC 2 auditors actually look for in your vendor management program — and how to make sure you can answer their questions.

Best PracticesMarch 8, 2026·4 min read

Vendor Eligibility Tracking: Building a Can-Work, Can-Pay System

How to build a real-time vendor eligibility system that tells you instantly which vendors are cleared to work and cleared to receive payment — and why.

IndustryMarch 8, 2026·4 min read

Why Your Next Security Audit Will Include Vendor Compliance

Enterprise customers and security auditors increasingly review your vendor management program. Here is what they look for and how to be ready.

ComplianceMarch 8, 2026·4 min read

The Finance Team's Guide to Vendor Payment Compliance

What finance teams need to know about W-9s, backup withholding, 1099 filing, and the compliance gates that should exist before any vendor payment.

Best PracticesMarch 8, 2026·5 min read

How to Handle Non-Compliant Vendors Without Damaging the Relationship

A practical playbook for managing vendor compliance issues — escalation steps, communication templates, and when to enforce work holds.

ComplianceMarch 8, 2026·4 min read

Subcontractor Compliance Requirements: A Guide for General Contractors

How general contractors should structure subcontractor compliance programs — what documents to require, how to verify them, and how to manage the ongoing compliance obligation.

ComplianceMarch 8, 2026·4 min read

How Long Should You Retain Vendor Compliance Documents?

Retention requirements for W-9s, COIs, contracts, ACH authorizations, and other vendor documents — by document type and legal framework.

ComplianceMarch 8, 2026·4 min read

Tax Exemption Certificates: When to Collect Them and What to Verify

A practical guide to collecting, verifying, and storing tax exemption certificates from vendors — including the consequences of accepting invalid certificates.

Best PracticesMarch 8, 2026·5 min read

Vendor Due Diligence Checklist: Everything You Need Before Onboarding

A comprehensive pre-onboarding due diligence checklist covering legal, financial, compliance, and security verification.

Best PracticesMarch 8, 2026·5 min read

What to Do When a Vendor's Compliance Document Expires

A step-by-step process for handling vendor document expirations — from first notice through renewal collection to work authorization decisions.

Risk ManagementMarch 8, 2026·4 min read

Certificate of Insurance Requirements by Industry

Minimum COI requirements are not universal. Here is how to set appropriate coverage requirements for vendors in different industries.

ComplianceMarch 8, 2026·4 min read

Vendor Onboarding for 1099 Contractors: What You Need to Know

The specific compliance requirements for 1099 independent contractors — and how they differ from full-service vendor onboarding.

ComplianceMarch 8, 2026·4 min read

Professional License Verification: A Guide for Operations Teams

Which industries require professional licenses, what to verify, and how to build a system that tracks license expirations automatically.

ComplianceMarch 8, 2026·4 min read

ACH Authorization: What You Need to Collect from Every Vendor

A practical guide to collecting, validating, and storing ACH authorization from vendors — including what the authorization must legally contain.

IndustryMarch 8, 2026·4 min read

The Real Cost of Managing Vendor Compliance in Spreadsheets

The spreadsheet approach to vendor compliance looks free. Here is what it actually costs — in time, errors, and audit exposure.

Best PracticesMarch 8, 2026·4 min read

How to Build a Vendor Compliance Program from Scratch

A practical step-by-step guide for operations and compliance teams building their first structured vendor compliance program.

Risk ManagementMarch 8, 2026·4 min read

What Is Third-Party Risk Management? A Practical Guide

TPRM explained plainly — what it covers, why it matters, and how mid-market companies can build a program without enterprise-level complexity.

ComplianceMarch 8, 2026·4 min read

W-9 Collection: A Complete Guide for Operations and Finance Teams

When to collect a W-9, what to verify on every form, how to store them correctly, and what happens if you skip this step.

ComplianceMarch 8, 2026·4 min read

How to Collect and Track Certificates of Insurance from Vendors

Everything operations teams need to know about COI collection — what to check, how to validate coverage, and how to track renewals without a spreadsheet.

Best PracticesMarch 8, 2026·4 min read

The Complete Vendor Onboarding Checklist for 2026

A step-by-step checklist covering every document, approval, and system setup you need before a vendor starts work.