Manually validating a high volume of US supplier Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TINs) is often a time-consuming and expensive process. That can lead to compliance issues, payment delays, and exposure to risks from fraudulent suppliers or inaccurate tax information.
The Unimarket TIN Validation feature is designed to address these challenges directly by automating the verification process. With a single click, users can instantly verify a supplier's TIN, ensuring the information is accurate and legitimate. This functionality integrates seamlessly into your existing procurement workflow, providing real-time checks as new suppliers are onboarded.
Key Benefits
| Benefit | Description |
|---|---|
| Mitigate Risk | Automatically verifies supplier TINs to help prevent fraud and ensure compliance with tax and government regulations. |
| Enhance Efficiency | Eliminates the need for manual, time-intensive checks, allowing procurement staff to focus on strategic tasks. |
| Improve Data Accuracy | Reduces the risk of human error, ensuring a clean and reliable supplier database. |
Feature Set-Up
TIN validation is a paid feature and must be enabled by Unimarket Staff.
If your community is interested in using the TIN validation feature, please reach out to your Unimarket Customer Success Manager.
Using the Feature
Once the feature is enabled, the TIN Validation component will be visible on all supplier profile screens (both Registered and Lite).
Eligible Roles
The following user roles can initiate the validation check:
Community Administrator
Community Supplier Administrator
Create Invoices
Note: All other roles will still have visibility of the supplier’s TIN status.
TIN Validation Statuses
The feature provides clear status indicators on the supplier profile:
Valid
The TIN status is returned as Valid when the Legal Business Name and the Tax Number (EIN) match the official records.
Not Valid
If the TIN status is returned as Not Valid, the system attempts to provide resolution options:
With Suggested Names: If your Community has ‘Supplier Data Review’ turned on, Supplier Intelligence will return officially lodged business names as suggestions.
The user can select one of these suggestions to change the supplier business name. This action will validate the TIN and trigger an email to the supplier, notifying them of the change and requesting they review and align their records.
Without Suggested Names: If no suggested names are provided, the user must wait 24 hours before attempting to re-validate the TIN. Changes to the supplier details will likely be needed to achieve a different result.
Not Checked
The supplier profile has not yet undergone TIN Validation.
Validation Attempts and Control
Because each validation attempt incurs a cost, a control is in place to prevent users from validating too frequently.
Revalidation Period Setting
In settings, the default period for which a valid TIN cannot be revalidated is 3 months. This can be adjusted to:
6 months
9 months
12 months
This setting disables the validation button for the defined period, and a message notifies the user of the date when it can be next validated.
Overriding the Control
The Community Administrator and Community Supplier Administrator roles can override this control by clicking Reset TIN Validation.
Attempts to Change Tax Detail of Validated Suppliers
If a user attempts to change the tax details of a supplier with a Valid TIN status, they will be presented with a warning message that this action will invalidate the TIN.
A pop-up box will appear asking for confirmation to proceed.
If the user proceeds, the TIN status will revert to Not Checked.
Important Notes
The TIN status is only visible on the supplier profile screen.
The feature is available for both Registered and Lite suppliers.
Temporary Unavailability: On rare occasions, if the upstream validation service cannot provide a definitive response. The following message will be displayed: “Validation is temporarily unavailable. Please try again at [48 hours later].” The Run Validation icon will be disabled for this period.