What is Zip?
Zip is a scalable service that helps organizations manage purchase requests via custom, dynamic workflows. Requests can be submitted by anyone in the organization, and Zip gathers the required purchase information dynamically based on the requester and the product or service being requested. Zip routes purchase requests to the appropriate internal parties for approval automatically, and anyone in the organization who has sufficient permissions can easily check the status of an existing request.
Zip can also facilitate the collection and scoring of RFx survey responses (e.g., for RFIs, RFPs, or RFQs), to help your potential customers with the sourcing process.
Once a purchase request has been fully approved, Zip can generate purchase orders (POs) and help your potential customer send them to you. Customers who use Zip's payment module can process your invoices and issue payment to your company through Zip.
What is the Zip Vendor App?
The Zip vendor app is a service hosted securely by Zip that lets your company create and manage a vendor profile that you can share securely with any customer you like (including non-Zip customers) via email invitation. This lets you enter and upload basic details about your company once and then reuse that information to complete onboarding with new customers more quickly.
One component of the Zip vendor app is the Zip vendor portal, which is section of the vendor app dedicated to one specific purchase request associated with a potential customer. The customer can use the vendor portal to request a series of tasks from your company--such as filling out surveys and uploading documentation--to help them onboard your company as a vendor in their ERP or other systems. You can view and access all of your Zip customers' portals individually through your vendor app login.
Detailed Information
Zip places a high priority on the security of your company's information. Since the vendor app may contain sensitive information including your company's payment account details, Zip requires multi-factor authentication (MFA) when logging in to the app.
In order to sign in, users must perform multiple steps to verify their identity:
- Enter a strong password associated with their email address
- Prove that they have access to the vendor contact's email address
- Prove that they have access to the registered phone number or authenticator app associated with the vendor contact's login
The multi-factor authentication requirement ensures that even if an adversary were to gain access to a vendor contact's username and password, the adversary would be unable to sign in, since they could not access the vendor contact's actual email account or mobile phone.
The first time a new user signs in to the vendor app, the sign-in process is slightly different compared to that of a returning user.
First-Time Sign In
You will initially receive an email invitation to the vendor portal from your potential customer. The message body might look something like the following illustration. Your potential customer's company name and logo may appear at the top, and the tasks that your potential customer is requesting may vary based on their vendor creation requirements.
When you click Get started, you are taken to the Create a password page. Your email address is filled automatically and cannot be edited, since this is the address to which your potential customer sent the vendor portal invitation. Enter a strong password meeting the requirements shown on this page, re-enter it to confirm it, and then click Create password.
On the next page, Zip prompts you to set up multi-factor authentication (MFA). This controls how you will log in to the Zip vendor app now and in the future. You can choose to receive one-time authenticator codes via a call or text message, or generate fresh codes using an authenticator app on your mobile device; any app that supports TOTP (temporary one-time password), such as Google Authenticator™, is compatible.
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Important: The multi-factor authentication method you choose here (phone number or authenticator app) will be associated with your email address for future logins. Once you have logged in using that method, you cannot change to the other method unless you reset your authenticator. |
Using a Phone Number for Authentication
If you want to receive one-time authentication codes via a call or text each time you log in to the vendor app, enter your phone number.
If you prefer to use authenticator codes generated via an authenticator app instead, click Use authenticator app instead.
When you enter your phone number and click Send by text or Get a phone call, Zip immediately sends your verification code to your phone (or places an automated phone call with the code)...
...and the Enter your code page appears.
Enter your six-digit security code in the spaces provided. When you enter the sixth digit correctly, Zip automatically submits the code, so it is usually not necessary to click Verify. You are logged into the Zip portal. Once you have verified your phone number by entering the security code, that phone number will serve as an authenticator for future login attempts.
If You Do Not Receive the Security Code
As a new user, if you do not receive the initial text or call with your security code within five minutes, you can click Request a new code to re-send the code, and try entering it again.
Alternatively, you can click Use authenticator app instead to switch authentication methods.
Using an Authenticator App for Authentication
When you click Use authenticator app instead on the Enter your phone number page or the Enter your code page, the Set up authenticator page appears. On your mobile device, open the authenticator app of your preference (any app that supports TOTP, such as Google Authenticator™, will work) and scan the provided QR code.
If you prefer to authenticate using codes sent to a phone number instead, click <- Back to return to the Enter your phone number page.
If you have any issues scanning the QR code, you can click the down error next to Trouble scanning? and retrieve an alphanumeric code that can be entered into your authenticator app manually instead.
Once you have scanned the QR code or entered the code shown on the screen into your authenticator application, the app will provide a six-digit numeric code that automatically refreshes periodically. To log in, click Enter code.
Enter the current code from your authenticator app. When the code is entered correctly, Zip will automatically process your login upon receiving the sixth digit so it is usually not necessary to click Verify. You are logged in to the vendor app.
Once you have logged in successfully for the first time using an authenticator app, that app will be associated with your email address and you will use it each time you log in to the Zip vendor app in the future. You will not be able to switch to receiving codes via a call or text message unless you reset your authenticator.
If Your Vendor Portal Invitation Expires
If you do not act on the original invitation email message for more than than thirty days, Zip will automatically disable the login creation process for your email address. You will need to request a new vendor portal invitation from your potential customer. Please check the sender's email address shown in the body of the invitation email message.
Your potential customer can easily send a reminder invitation via the request detail page of the associated purchase request in Zip.
Choosing or Creating Your Vendor Organization
As a new user, Zip attempts to match your email domain with an existing vendor organization that is already set up on the Zip vendor app. For example, if your email address is john.doe@trustysteed.com, Zip looks for a vendor organization matching the domain trustysteed.com.
| Note: If your email addresses uses a free email server such as gmail.com, Zip does not attempt to match your domain to an organization. You will instead bypass this step and land directly on the vendor portal once you have logged in, with a newly created vendor organization. |
Choosing Your Organization
If Zip finds an organization matching your email domain, the Choose your organization page appears.
If your vendor organization is listed, click Choose. You are logged in to the Zip Vendor app immediately.
If you do not see your vendor organization listed, click the Can't find your company? link at the bottom of the page. A dialog appears with the contact information for Zip's support team.
You can click Create new at the bottom of this dialog to create a new vendor organization, or click Choose existing org to close the dialog so you can join one of the organizations listed on the page.
Creating Your Organization
In case Zip does not find any organization matching your email domain--or if you click Can't find your company? and then click Create new, the Get set up page appears.
- In the Create your organization section of the page, your Organization name is filled in automatically using the name entered by your potential customer when they sent you the vendor app invitation. You can edit or override this with a different name.
- In the Add your logo section, you can optionally click Upload logo and browse to your company's logo file. This will be used in your vendor profile.
- In the section labeled What services does your organization provide?, select one or more checkboxes.
Next, scroll down to the Add your contact information section.
- The First name, Last name, and Job title fields may be filled in already, based on the contact information entered by your potential customer when they sent you the vendor app invitation. Update or complete these fields as required.
- In the Invite teammates section, you can optionally enter the email addresses of other users from your company who should have access to this workspace. Zip will send email invitations to the specified addresses.
- The checkbox labeled Let people with (your email domain) emails immediately join this organization when invited by a customer initially controls whether or not your organization will appear on the Choose your organization page. If you select this check box, then when your teammates respond to customer invitations to the vendor app, they will see your organization listed on that page with a Choose button they can use to join. You will be able to change this setting later on via the Company Settings | Domain matching page in the vendor app.
- Click the Terms and Conditions link to preview a PDF file containing the terms and conditions. If you agree to them, click the checkbox labeled I have read and agree to the Terms and Conditions. Then, click Submit.
On the next page, Zip may prompt you to confirm the initial signup experience for new team members joining your vendor organization on the Zip vendor app in response to other customers' invitations. If you did not select the check box labeled Let people with (your email domain) email immediately join this organization when invited by a customer, the next page illustrates how the joining experience will work for your teammates when invited by other customers.
You can control whether new team members with your email domain can join the organization immediately, or whether you must invite them directly from within the Zip vendor app.
Click Select for the desired option and then click Done. You can change this setting at any time.
The vendor app opens to the customer portal for which you received the invitation.
| Note: If the original customer who invited you to the vendor portal invites other members of your team with the same email domain to the same or other vendor portals, your team members may not be required to choose an organization. Zip can automatically assign them to your organization with permissions limited to the single vendor portal to which they have been invited. You and other team members who are administrators will be able to modify the access permissions for all users in your organization. |
Returning User Log In
After you have initially created your login password and configured your multi-factor authentication, the vendor app login process will be slightly different. You can begin logging in to the vendor app using the link provided in the original invitation email message (or any other invitation message from your potential customer).
On the Log in page, enter your email address and click Next.
Enter your password in the Password field and then click Log in.
When you click Log in, the vendor app prompts you to perform multi-factor authentication (MFA) using the method you chose the first time you logged in to the vendor app (either by entering a code sent to your phone via text message or phone call, or by entering the current Zip vendor app code from your authenticator app).
Once you have completed the second step of multi-factor authentication, the Check your email on this device page appears.
Check your email for a new message with a sign-in link.
When you click the Sign in button, you are signed into the vendor app.
If You Have Trouble Logging In
Forgotten Password
If you forget your password, you can reset it by clicking the Forgot your password? link below the Log in button. Zip will send you an email message containing a link you can use to reset your password. When you click the button in the message, Zip prompts you to perform multi-factor authentication using the method associated with your email address.
If You Do Not Receive the Authentication Code
If you do not receive a text message or a call when you click Send by text or Get a phone call, you can click Resend code to try sending the code again.
If You Lose Access to Your Phone
Regardless of whether you have chosen to perform multi-factor authentication using a code texted or called to your phone number or using an authenticator app, if you lose access to your phone, you can reset your authenticator. This process may take up to three days. For more information, please see Resetting Your Authenticator, below.
Resetting Your Authenticator
If you lose access to your authenticator (i.e., your mobile phone), or if your phone number changes, you can reset your authenticator. This process may take up to three days to complete. Upon completion, you can switch authentication methods (from a phone number to an authenticator app, or vice versa), or continue using the same method but with a new phone number or authenticator app.
To reset your authenticator, click Reset your multi-factor authentication on any page in the login process where the link appears.
When prompted, click Submit.
Zip automatically emails your organization's administrators with a request to reset your authenticator.
Your administrators can click Review request in the body of the email message, and then click Approve to approve the request, or click Reject to reject it.
Zip also sends an email message to your login address...
...and a text message to your current authenticator/phone number, if applicable....
...to confirm that you have requested the reset.
| Important: If your administrators do not approve or reject the request and you do not cancel the request within three days, Zip will approve the request automatically. |
Once your reset request has been approved, the previous authenticator associated with your email address is deleted from Zip's records. The next time you enter your email address and password on the vendor app, Zip will prompt you to enter a new phone number or set up a new authenticator app for future authentication.
Switching Between Your Vendor Company and a Zip Buyer Organization
Some users' email addresses may be associated with both a vendor profile and a Zip buyer organization. If this applies to you and you have log in access to the buyer organization, you can switch between accessing the vendor app and your Zip buyer organization by clicking the account switcher at the top left-hand corner of the page.
While logged into the vendor app, the Launch buyer app button appears. Likewise, if you are logged into the Zip buyer organization, the Launch vendor app button will appear at the bottom of the account switcher.
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