Stop Sending Me Portals: Vendor Logins Are an Accounts Payable Tax
I have 42 passwords. I only want one invoice. Vendor portals are lazy, arrogant, and create audit holes. Here is how we boycott them.
Your Convenience is My Burden
I have a rule: If I have to click more than once to see how much I owe you, I am already annoyed.
SaaS companies and utilities love “Portals.” They send you a cheerful email: “Your invoice is ready! Click here to log in and view it.”
They think this is modern. It is archaic.
To them, it saves bandwidth. To me, the Finance Lead, it is a disaster. I manage finances for a company with 40+ subscriptions. If every vendor requires a login, that is 40 usernames, 40 passwords, and 40 two-factor authentication codes just to get the documentation required by law to pay them.
This is Shadow Admin. The vendor is saving €0.01 on email attachment bandwidth by costing me €5.00 in retrieval time.
The Leak: Where Invoices Go to Die
Portals are the primary cause of late payments and missing VAT reclaims.
Why? Because the friction is too high.
- The email notification goes to the CEO (who signed up for the tool).
- The CEO forwards it to Finance.
- Finance clicks the link.
- Finance does not have the password.
- Finance asks the CEO for the password.
- The CEO is busy.
- The invoice sits unpaid.
- Service gets cut off.
This “Stack” is broken. Data must flow to the accounting system. A portal is a dam. It stops the flow and waits for a human to manually open the floodgate.
Furthermore, when we do audits, portal-based invoices are always the ones missing. We have the credit card transaction, but no receipt. Why? Because nobody logged in to get it. That missing receipt means we cannot reclaim the VAT. That is a 21% tax on your inability to manage passwords.
[TO EDITOR: Illustration idea. A maze. At the entrance: “The Invoice”. At the exit: “The Bank”. The path is blocked by walls labeled “Login Required”, “Reset Password”, “2FA Code”, “Session Expired”.]
The Plug: The “No PDF, No Pay” Policy
We need to stop accepting this behavior.
My Accounts Payable process is a machine. Machines need standardized inputs. The standard input for global finance is a PDF attached to an email.
I have implemented a standard response for small to mid-sized vendors who try to force me into a portal:
To: Billing Dept Subject: Invoice Submission Standards
Hello,
We have received a notification of an invoice, but no invoice was attached.
Our AP system processes invoices automatically via email parsing. We do not manually log into vendor portals to retrieve documents. This ensures you get paid on time.
Please update your billing settings to attach the PDF invoice directly to future emails sent to [[email protected]].
Thank you, Klara
Does this work? 80% of the time, yes. Often, it is just a checkbox in their system they need to tick.
For the other 20% (the Amazons and Googles of the world who will not read your email), do not surrender. Use a “Fetcher” tool. There are software solutions that log in for you and scrape the receipts.
But for everyone else? Demand the PDF. If they want your cash, they can send you the bill.
Summary
Resistance is not futile. It is necessary. Every portal you accept is a minute of your life you will never get back. Guard your time. Guard your team’s focus.
Clear the blockage. Get the PDF.
FAQs
Some vendors (like Amazon) force you to use portals. What then?
For the behemoths, use a 'fetcher' tool that scrapes the portal automatically. Do not send a human to do a robot's job.
Is it rude to demand PDF attachments?
No. It is professional. You are the customer. You hold the money. You set the terms of engagement.
What about security?
An invoice is not a state secret. It is a request for payment. Sending it via email is standard industry practice. Portals are often just 'security theater'.