Overview

The New Vendor Request feature allows organisation users to formally request a new vendor be added to the vendor list before an invitation is sent, ensuring that vendor details are validated and an approval workflow is completed first.

Who this article is for: This feature is only available when your organisation administrator has enabled the New Vendor Request Approval feature. If you do not see the Request Vendor option in your vendor list, contact your organisation administrator.

 

Prerequisites & Permissions

The New Vendor Request workflow replaces the process of directly inviting a vendor and instead routes the vendor invite through an internal approval chain. This helps organisations maintain quality control, prevent duplicate vendors, and ensure the right people have signed off before a vendor receives an invitation email.

Before you begin, confirm the following:

• The New Vendor Request Approval feature and the Approval Workflows feature are both enabled for your organisation.
• Your security group includes the Request new vendor permission. Without this permission, the Request Vendor button will not appear in the vendor list.
• You have the vendor's contact email address, primary operating country, and — unless your organisation has enabled the Optional Business Number setting — the vendor's business registration number (e.g. ABN for Australian vendors).
• An approval group and approval route have been configured in your organisation's Approval Workflows settings. If no approval groups are available when completing the request form, contact your organisation administrator.

 

Step 1: Open the New Vendor Request Form

1. Navigate to the Vendor List in the main navigation.
2. Locate the add-vendor button area (typically a button or dropdown in the top-right corner of the vendor list page).
3. Click the dropdown arrow and select Request new vendor from the options presented.
   • If your organisation also has the Invite Vendor and/or Create Internally Managed Profiles options enabled, all available options are shown in the same dropdown. Select Request new vendor specifically.
   • If only one option is available to you based on your permissions, the button may appear as a single action rather than a dropdown.
4. The New Vendor Request form opens. You will see a Back button (which returns you to the vendor list without saving) and a Cancel button at the bottom of the form (which also discards the form and returns you to the vendor list).

 

Step 2: Complete the Business Details Section

The Business Details section is the first section in the New Vendor Request form and collects the vendor's core identity information. Felix uses this information to validate the vendor and check for duplicates before allowing you to proceed.

 

Step 2a: Enter the Vendor's Email Address

1. In the Email address field, type the vendor's contact email address.
2. Felix automatically validates the email address when you finish typing.
3. If the email address validation passes, the Email address field is marked as valid and the remaining fields in the Business Details section become available.

NOTE: The following email address types will be rejected with an inline error message and cannot be used to submit a New Vendor Request: email addresses belonging to an incompatible user type, such as an organisation user; and email addresses belonging to a vendor who is already on your organisation's vendor list. If the email belongs to a vendor who exists in Felix but is not yet on your organisation's vendor list, Felix will display an information message, pre-fill the Business Name field with the vendor's existing title, and prevent you from editing the Business Name field directly.

 

Step 2b: Select the Operating Country

1. In the Operating country dropdown, select the vendor's primary country of operation.
2. The Operating country field defaults to your organisation's first domestic location. If no domestic location is set, the field defaults to the first country in your organisation's operating countries list.
3. Selecting the Operating country activates the Business number field and updates the business number field label and validation rules to match the requirements of the selected country (for example, selecting Australia changes the field label to ABN and applies Australian Business Register (ABR) validation).

 

Step 2c: Enter the Business Number

1. In the Business number field (label varies by country — for Australia this field is labelled ABN), enter the vendor's business registration number.
2. Felix validates the business number according to the rules for the selected country.
   • For Australian vendors (ABN): Felix validates the ABN against the Australian Business Register (ABR). An ABN with a status of "Cancelled" or that does not exist in the ABR registry is treated as invalid and cannot be used to proceed.
   • For non-Australian vendors: Felix validates the business number format per the selected country's rules.
3. If the business number is valid, Felix checks whether the same business number already exists in your organisation's vendor list. If a potential duplicate is found, Felix displays a warning alert with a hyperlink to the vendor list pre-filtered by that business number, so you can review possible duplicates before proceeding. The warning does not prevent you from continuing — it is informational.
4. Once the Email address, Operating country, and Business number fields have all passed validation, all three fields are locked. An Edit button appears next to each locked field if you need to make corrections.

NOTE: If you need to change a locked field after validation, click the Edit button next to that field. A confirmation modal will appear warning you that editing the field may clear dependent fields (for example, editing the Operating country field will clear the Business number and Business name fields). Confirm in the modal to unlock and edit the field.

NOTE: If your organisation has enabled the Optional Business Number setting, a checkbox labelled Optional business number appears after the email address is validated. Checking this checkbox disables the Business number field, removes the mandatory requirement, and displays an information alert explaining that the business number will be collected during vendor onboarding instead. The Optional business number checkbox is only shown when the email has been validated AND the vendor is not already recognised by Felix (i.e. the vendor does not already exist in Felix with a known business number).

 

Step 2d: Enter the Business Name

1. Once the Email address, Operating country, and Business number fields have all passed validation, the Business name field appears.
2. For Australian vendors (ABN): The Business name field is a dropdown pre-populated with names sourced from the ABR. Select the correct business name from the ABR results, or type a custom business name.
3. For non-Australian vendors: The Business name field is a free text input. Enter the vendor's business name.

 

Step 3: Complete Any Custom Sections and Questions

1. Depending on the Approval template associated with the selected approval route, additional custom sections and question fields may appear below the Business Details section.
2. Complete all mandatory fields in each custom section. Mandatory fields are marked with an asterisk (*).
3. Custom question responses are saved with the request and will be visible to approvers when they review the vendor request.

 

Step 4: Select an Approval Group and Route

1. In the Requires approval by section (also referred to as the Approvers section), select the appropriate Approval group from the dropdown. Only approval groups that have been enabled for New Vendor Request approvals by your organisation administrator will appear in this list.
2. After selecting the Approval group, select the appropriate Approval route from the dropdown. Only routes within the selected approval group that are enabled for New Vendor Request approvals will appear.
3. Once both the Approval group and Approval route are selected, a read-only table of approvers is displayed, showing each approver's name, approval level, and their position in the approval chain. Review this table to confirm the correct approvers are assigned before submitting.

 

Step 5: Submit the Vendor Request

1. Review all sections of the New Vendor Request form to confirm the information is complete and accurate.
2. Click the Send request button at the bottom of the form.
3. Felix validates all mandatory fields. If any mandatory fields are incomplete, inline validation error messages are displayed and the request is not submitted until all errors are resolved.
4. Once all validation passes, the request is submitted and the approval workflow begins. The first approver (or group of approvers at the first level) in the approval chain receives an Approval required notification email. You will also receive a confirmation email with a reference number of the approval request.
5. A success confirmation is displayed after the request is submitted successfully.

 

Troubleshooting

Issue	Likely cause	Resolution
The Request new vendor option does not appear in the vendor list	The New Vendor Request Approval feature is not enabled for your organisation, or your security group does not include the Request new vendor permission	Contact your organisation administrator to enable the feature and assign the Request new vendor permission to your security group
The email address field shows an error even though the email address format appears correct	The email address is associated with an incompatible user type, or a vendor already on your organisation's vendor list	Review the error message for specifics. If the vendor already exists in your vendor list, search for the vendor in the vendor list directly rather than submitting a new request. If the vendor does not yet exist, ask them for a different email address.
The ABN validation fails for an Australian vendor	The ABN entered does not exist in the Australian Business Register (ABR), or the ABN status is "Cancelled"	Confirm the ABN with the vendor directly. A cancelled ABN cannot be used to submit a New Vendor Request
A duplicate vendor warning appears after entering the business number	One or more vendors in your organisation's vendor list share the same business number	Click the hyperlink in the warning to review potential duplicates in the vendor list. If the existing vendor is the same entity, contact your organisation administrator rather than creating a duplicate request
No approval groups appear in the Approval group dropdown	No approval groups have been configured for New Vendor Request approvals in your organisation's Approval Workflows settings	Contact your organisation administrator to configure at least one approval group and approval route for New Vendor Request approvals
The Send request button is clicked but the request is not submitted	One or more mandatory fields are incomplete or contain validation errors	Review all inline validation error messages displayed on the form and resolve each one before re-clicking Send request

 

Related Resources

• How to Review and Action a New Vendor Request (Approver Experience)
• How to Track the Progress of a New Vendor Request
• How to Configure the New Vendor Request Approval Feature (Administrator Guide)
• Sourcing Approvals vs New Vendor Request Approvals: What's the Difference?
• How to Create and Modify Approval Workflows