Supplier support and reporting

A supplier question can reference its source invoice or payment along with the buyer relationship. Preserve that context when assigning the case to AP Specialist. An invoice number in free text is helpful description, but the explicit source identity is what prevents staff from answering about the wrong supplier or legal entity.

The case distinguishes invoice review, payment status, discounts, document questions and access issues. Its owner and next response date make the next action visible. A question about a scheduled payment can then be investigated without incorrectly treating it as a missing settled receipt.

Supplier-visible replies and internal notes have separate visibility. The supplier sees the explanation and requested evidence relevant to their account. Internal review material, protected payment references and another vendor’s information remain outside that conversation, including in search results and exports.

Posted messages retain their author and timestamp. If sensitive content requires redaction, record an authorised redaction event and reason rather than silently rewriting the conversation. An attachment has an owning case, visibility and completed file checks before anyone can download it.

A notification references the authorised invoice, payment, offer or case. Before sending, recheck the recipient’s active vendor membership and the context’s current visibility. A withdrawn offer or revoked contact must not receive an old actionable notice simply because it was queued earlier.

Pending, sent, failed and skipped describe delivery work. Sending a message does not approve an invoice, reserve a discount or confirm a bank settlement. A failed notice retains its provider receipt and retry identity. The underlying financial observation remains visible independently of whether the email arrived.

Invoice status reports show the latest reconciled source revision and observation date. Payment reports separate schedules, submitted instructions, settled outcomes and reversals. Discount reports distinguish published offers, buyer-confirmed acceptances and observed realised amounts. A combined total should not imply these are the same financial event.

Keep buyer, supplier and currency scope explicit. A report that combines currencies needs a separately configured approved conversion basis; the portal does not invent one. Historical questions should retain the earlier snapshots so staff can explain why the supplier saw a different balance or date last week.

Resolve the case after providing the supported explanation or completing the agreed follow-up. A resolved support case is not a paid invoice unless the owning source separately confirms that result. Preserve the linked source revision and the vendor-visible response.

For rollout, review a complete invoice handoff, a rejected document, a payment reversal, an expired discount offer and a verified payee change. Test saved document links after membership revocation and supplier access to internal notes. Those scenarios show whether the configured portal can answer suppliers consistently while preserving the buyer’s authority.

• My Supplier Cases — Review the work and supporting records for this module.