REQUESTS FOR VENDOR INFORMATION
Revised May 2015
Objective:
To ensure prompt and accurate set up of new vendors and resident
referrals as well as providing answers to your requests timely
and
efficiently.
Section B - Contents
Completion of a Request for Taxpayer Identification Number form.............2
Setting up a New Vendor in Onesite..............................................................5
Certificate of Insurance Requirements...........................................................6
Vendor IDs’ for Resident Referrals ...............................................................7
Vendor Payments ...........................................................................................8
Security Deposit Refunds ..............................................................................10
Blank Vendor Information Request Form .....................................................11
Sample Vendor Information Request Form ...................................................12
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REQUESTS FOR VENDOR INFORMATION
Completion of a Request for Taxpayer Identification Number form
Objective:
Completion of a Request for Taxpayer Identification Number form to ensure
accurate compliance with the IRS.
Effective Date: May 2015
Procedure:
The first step to having any new vendor (i.e., painter, plumber, roofer, etc.)
created in our system is to supply the vendor with a Request for Taxpayer
Identification Number form (Our version of a W-9 form; see page 4 of this
section or it can found on the Intranet). The vendor must complete and sign this
form or a comparable W-9. No work may be performed by the vendor until
this form is received by the Accounts Payable department, the tax ID
number is checked for validity and a vendor ID has been created.
You can check with your Accounts Payable Representative to see if a national
vendor (vendor not just local to your area) has already been set up in the system
prior to obtaining the required tax information. If so your Accounts Payable
Representative can set up the vendor from the existing information already in
the system. You may still be asked to obtain the tax information if it is not
current.
Upon receipt of the completed form from the vendor, the next step is to email
your Accounts Payable Representative both the Request for Taxpayer
Identification Number form and the Vendor Information Request form. See
Page 5 of this section for instructions on how to complete the “New Vendor ID
Needed” area of the Vendor Information Request form.
Note: The validity of the vendors’ tax ID number must be checked by your
Accounts Payable Representative using a website provided by the IRS. We can
no longer assume that the tax ID or reporting status provided by the vendor is
correct.
If the vendor’s tax information is rejected by the IRS you will need to get a
corrected Request for Taxpayer Identification Number form from the vendor.
Resubmit the form to accounts payable to be rechecked with the IRS before the
Vendor ID is set up and before any work can be performed by the vendor.
Your Accounts Payable Representative will notify you by email when the
vendor has been set up.
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The following are exceptions to this rule:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Employees
Petty cash reimbursement care of manager or other
Resident referrals
Federal or State agencies
Once a vendor has been created, please notify your Accounts Payable
Representative of any changes affecting that vendor. For example if a vendor’s
name changes then you need to treat this vendor as a new vendor and get a
completed and signed Request for Taxpayer Identification Number Form.
Email the form along with the Vendor Information Request form to Accounts
Payable. If other vendor information changes, for example, the remittance
address, account number, etc. then email Accounts Payable with those changes.
Do not make these changes in Onesite Purchasing. The information does
not flow back to Onesite Accounting.
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REQUESTS FOR VENDOR INFORMATION
Setting up a New Vendor in Onesite
Objective:
New Vendor ID’s must be set up at the corporate level and they will
download into Onesite Purchasing on a daily basis or on demand as
needed.
Effective date: May 2015
Procedure:
In order for a new Vendor ID to be set up in Onesite Purchasing certain
information must be provided to your Accounts Payable Representative. The
Vendor Information Request form can be located in the Intranet under
Accounting/Accounting Forms. See the blank copy of this form on page 11 and
a sample form is also located on page 12 of this section. Please fill out the
following information when requesting a new vendor to be set up:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Full vendor name (who the checks are payable to)
Full vendor remittance address
Phone number
Fax number
E-mail address
Our account number supplied by the vendor
Vendor Insurance Certificate (if applicable)
Email this form to your Accounts Payable Representative along with a completed
and signed Request for Taxpayer Identification Number form completed by the
vendor (e-mail these together, not in separate e-mails). Accounts payable will
verify the vendor with the IRS, set up the vendor in Accounting and run a Site
Data Exchange. The vendor will be available for selection in Onesite Purchasing
later that day or early the following day. NOTE: It is acceptable to send this
information in a regular email and not on the Vendor Information Request form.
We just ask that you include all the information above so accounts payable does
not have to go back and forth requesting additional information. If you were
notified that a vendor has been set up and you are unable to pull up that vendor
then contact Accounts Payable. The vendor may have been marked as inactive by
the system and it is a simple matter to fix by Accounts Payable.
The Request for Vendor Information AND the signed Request for Taxpayer
Identification Number forms MUST BOTH be received by your Accounts
Payable Representative before any vendor information can be checked with the
IRS and created in the system. The vendor cannot perform any work until you
have been notified by your Accounts Payable Representative that the vendor has
been set up. For those vendors that work on property, a certificate of insurance
must be provided before those vendors can be set up in the system. See page 6 for
more details on insurance certificates.
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REQUESTS FOR VENDOR INFORMATION
Certificate of Insurance Requirements
Objective:
Vendors must have adequate insurance to safeguard their people, our
people and our assets.
Effective date: May 2015
Procedure:
Before any work begins on the Community, a vendor or contractor must
provide the following proof of insurance:


General Liability – With limits of liability to $1,000,000 for each
occurrence with a $2,000,000 aggregate.
Workers Compensation – With limits of liability not less than
$100,000 for each accident, $100,000 for each employee and a
$500,000 disease limit.
If the vendor does not have the minimum requirements listed above on the
certificate of insurance, the Regional Manager or National Maintenance
Supervisor must approve the vendor prior to any work being completed.
The legal name of the community as well as Benchmark Management of
(State) Inc. should be listed on all insurance certificates as Primary
Additional Insured, on a non-contributing basis. (Our insurance agent
highly recommends this language be used under the Description of Operations
section on the certificate.)
Copies of insurance certificates should be provided to your Accounts Payable
Representative at the Corporate Office. The original can be kept in
alphabetical order on site in a binder. Accounts Payable will review the
certificates before entering the insurance expiration dates in Onesite
Accounting, along with other pertinent information. This information will
download into Onesite Purchasing. If the vendor’s insurance has expired, you
will not be able to enter a purchase order until a new certificate has been
received and updated in the system by Accounts Payable.
At the beginning of each month Accounts Payable will email each Regional
Manager and Community Manager a copy of the Vendor Insurance Report.
This report is run out of Onesite Accounting.
The report will contain
insurance certificates that will expire within the next couple of months as well
as vendors whose certificates have already expired. This will help the
Community Manager to be proactive in obtaining the certificates prior to
expiration, so as not to hold up any work that needs to be completed
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REQUESTS FOR VENDOR INFORMATION
Vendor IDs’ for Resident Referrals
Objective:
Vendor ID’s for resident referrals must be set up at the corporate level
and they will download into Onesite Purchasing on a daily basis.
Effective date: May 2015
Procedure:
In order for a Vendor ID to be set up in Onesite for a resident referral, certain
information must be provided to your Accounts Payable Representative. In the
forms workbook (excel) provided by Corporate or on the Intranet, you will find a
form labeled Vendor Information Request. Blank form & sample on page 11 &
12. Please fill out the following information when requesting a new vendor to be
set up for a resident referral:
1. Full name of Resident - as they file on their tax return
2. Complete Address
3. Social Security Number - A tax form is not required because the validity of
the social security number has been checked during the application process.
Email this form to your Accounts Payable Representative. They will set up the
vendor in accounting and run a Site Data Exchange. The vendor will be available
for selection in Onesite Purchasing later that day or early the following day.
NOTE: It is also acceptable to send this information in a regular email and not on
the form. We just ask that you include all the information above, so accounts
payable does not have to back and forth requesting additional information.
If you were notified that a resident referral Vendor ID has been set up and you are
unable to pull up that Vendor ID, then contact your Accounts Payable
Representative. That Vendor ID may have been marked as inactive by the system
and it is a simple matter to fix by accounts payable.
Please see Section C, page 11 of this manual for more on resident referrals.
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REQUESTS FOR VENDOR INFORMATION
Vendor Payments
Objective:
A Vendor Information Request form must be filled out for any vendor
payment questions if the information can not be located in Onesite
Purchasing.
Effective date: May 2015
Procedure:
Before contacting the Accounts Payable Department, regarding payment to a
vendor, check the Payments Tab in Onesite Purchasing. This tab is updated
every evening with payments made that day and it will provide you with the
following information: vendor name, dollar amount, check date and check
number. If you click on the view button next to each payment, the invoice
number will also be displayed.
Check Registers are also emailed to each Community Manager at the beginning
of the month for the prior month’s activity. The check register not only shows
payments to vendors but provides additional information needed for you to
complete your Replacement Reserve report.
The status of an invoice shows as “Transmitted” in Onesite Purchasing until the
invoice is paid. At that time the status will change to “Paid”. There may be some
invoices that never change to a “Paid” status. This is because one of three
possible changes has occurred in Onesite Accounting: Invoices are changed due
to incorrect vendor ID, incorrect invoice number or incorrect dollar amount. We
try to keep changes to a minimum to ensure as much information as possible
flows back to Onesite Purchasing. Those invoice payments can still be located
on your monthly check registers.
At this point if you still cannot locate a specific payment, please fill out the
information below on the Vendor Information Request form located in the forms
workbook (excel) provided by Corporate and on the Intranet. Email the form to
your Accounts Payable Representative upon completion (See sample on page 12
of this section):
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Vendor ID
Full vendor name
Invoice number
Invoice date
Invoice amount
Community name (only necessary if the check was to be cut off of a
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community other than your own)
NOTE: It is also acceptable to send this information in a regular email and not
on the form. We just ask that you include all of the information on the previous
page so accounts payable does not have to go back and forth requesting
additional information.
If you see that the payment has been made to the vendor 10 or more days ago and
the vendor claims they have not received the check, please provide Accounts
Payable with the following information.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Vendor name
Vendor address-in case the check was lost in the mail due to incorrect address
Check number
Check date
Check amount
The Accounts Payable Department will verify the status of the check with the
bank and will email you back with one of following three responses:



The check has cleared our bank and a copy of the cancelled check is attached.
The check has cleared our bank and a copy of the cancelled check can be
provided within a day for a small fee charged by the bank. The bank will only
charge a fee if a copy of a current month’s check is needed. If the check is
from a prior month and the bank statements have been received, then we have
the cancelled checks on a CD at the Corporate Office. At that point no charge
is necessary. Note: Depending on the bank we may have access to cancelled
checks right away.
The check has not cleared our bank. A stop payment will be issued and upon
confirmation of the stop payment (24 hours) a replacement check will be
issued.
.
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REQUESTS FOR VENDOR INFORMATION
Security Deposit Refunds
Objective:
A Vendor Information Request form must be filled out for verification of
payment of any security deposit refunds.
Effective date: May 2015
Procedure:
Security deposit refunds upload into the Onesite accounting software whenever
the Accounts Receivable (A/R) date is advanced in Onesite Leasing and
Rents. Dates should be advanced daily and kept current. Accounts Payable will
cut these checks on a weekly basis to ensure timely payment of the refunds upon
receipt of the printed Final Account Statement (FAS). Send these FASs’ to the
“Accounting A/P” email address per instructions located in Section C page 6 of
this manual. To determine whether a security deposit has been paid, please fill
out the information below on the Vendor Information Request form located in
the forms workbook (excel) provided from Corporate. Email your request to
your Accounts Payable Representative.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Resident name or who the check was payable to if not the resident
Resident address
Apartment number
Date vacated
Amount due
NOTE: It is also acceptable to send this information in a regular email and not on
the form. We just ask that you include all of the information above so accounts
accounts payable does not have to go back and forth requesting additional
information.
Please keep in mind that it can sometimes take up to three weeks from the time
the check is cut for the resident to receive a refund, depending on how long the
post office takes to redirect the former resident’s mail.
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