Property Vendor Requirements

National Vendor Partnership

If you are interested in becoming a National Vendor Partner, in addition to meeting property vendor requirements, the following apply:

  • Ability to invoice each property individually
  • Ability to manage individual credit lines for individual properties
  • Electronic Invoicing via VendorCafe
  • Produce consolidated invoices (Service Providers)
  • Yardi Marketplace Capabilities (Suppliers)
  • Ability to generate detailed “vendor usage reports” for each property
  • Participate in Windsor directed activities, including all E.S.G. reporting

For more information on becoming a National Vendor Partner, please contact procurement@windsorcommunities.com. 

Vendor Enrollment

If you have been selected as a vendor to perform work for a community or region, and you agree and meet all vendor requirements, please follow the steps below.

Note: Vendors are not allowed to begin performing work for our communities until all the steps below are complete and a PO issued, as payment may be delayed.

  1. Accept Invitation from RealPage Vendor Credentialing and Establish Your account. Please note, Windsor Communities has a closed enrollment system, so you must wait for the email or fax from RealPage Vendor Credentialing to begin your enrollment. The Community Manager/Service Manager must add or link your company to Windsor to initiate the enrollment process.
  2. Submit all documentation and complete registration by submitting the $99 enrollment fee to RealPage Vendor Credentialing.  You will not be able to proceed to step #3 until your RealPage Vendor Credentialing status shows Approved.
  3. VendorCafe – Once you have been Approved with RealPage Vendor Credentialing, you will receive a Vendor Café activation email, sent to the primary email contact on file, for electronic invoicing in the Yardi Procure to Pay (P2P) system. Be sure to pay close attention to the directions in the activation email as it is a two-step process.
    3a. Follow the steps provided in the activation email to establish your account.
    3b. Be sure you complete registration with Yardi P2P/Vendor Café, as you will not be fully approved until registration has been completed.
  4. Once Fully Approved, all vendors can manage their invoices, payments, and profile through VendorCafe. Please ensure your account in linked to all Windsor Properties for which you are associated. View our VendorCafe Benefits document for a full overview of benefits.

FAQs

What does the Vendor Credentialing enrollment fee cover?

The Vendor Credentialing approval process and enrollment fee covers the processing, and storage of your documents including Windsor’s Master Vendor Agreement, W-9, licensing information (if applicable), and insurance documents. It also covers the extensive screening procedures Windsor requires including – but not limited to – background and criminal checks; government watch list searches, professional license verification, liens/judgments/bankruptcies, and tax identification number verification.

I am already an approved Real Page Vendor Credentialing for a different client. Do I need to enroll for Windsor as well?

Yes, approval for Windsor is required as each management company has different compliance requirements. You will need to complete the enrollment process for Windsor to ensure that your company meets our specific requirements. The property must “link” you as a vendor within the Real Page Vendor Credentialing system in order to start the process.

How long does it take Real Page Vendor Credentialing to process documents?

Documents are usually processed within 72 hours however the process may take longer if documents are incorrect or missing. NOTE: This process re-starts each time a new document is submitted for review.

I have submitted all of my documents, but I am still not Approved.

Log in to your account or contact Real Page Vendor Credentialing to determine what items are still pending.

What does it mean when my verbiage is incorrect?

Windsor requires specific additional insured verbiage. If your policy does not reflect the exact wording required, or contains typographical errors, then Vendor Credentialing is not permitted to accept it. A correction will need to be made by your insurance agent to meet the requirements Windsor has requested.

Who should I contact if I have questions regarding my Vendor Credentialing account?

All questions should be directed to Vendor Credentialing Support not Windsor.  Customer Service Professionals can be reached M-F, 7:30 am to 7:00 PM CST via phone at 888.493.6938 Option 1 or via email.

Am I required to submit invoices electronically?

There are three specific methods for entering invoices electronically into our billing system.

  1. Via Vendor Café Electronic Upload
  2. Via the Vendor Café using a specific CSV template
  3. Via EDI thru the Yardi Marketplace
  4. Vendors that do not submit multiple invoices per year should submit their invoices via email to PAYWINDSOR-Regular@yardifs.com.
Does Yardi charge per invoice like some other companies do?

No. There is no charge to use Yardi’s Vendor Café invoicing portal. In addition to being free, Vendor Café offers you visibility into the status of your invoices, meaning you can track your invoices all the way through our approval workflow to payment process.

Is a PO required to initiate work requests?

Yes, properties should always provide vendors with a PO prior to ordering or requesting service, depending on the service that you provide, a PO may be required to submit your invoice for payment.  If goods and services are provided without a valid Purchase Order, then the VENDOR will not be entitled to receive any payment for those Services as set forth in the Master Vendor Agreement. You can easily flip a PO to invoice within the VendorCafe system.

What contracts and services are exempt from this Purchase Order policy?

Legal Services, Utilities, Professional Fees/Dues/Licenses and Major Construction and Renovation Projects (AIA Contracts).

What if I use QuickBooks?

QuickBooks and many other accounting software programs can be configured to upload invoices via a CSV template. Once fully approved as a vendor, you should contact vendorcafe_support@yardi.com for assistance in getting started.

How do I update contacts or business information such as address or phone?

All information excluding a Tax ID change can be updated through your VendorCafe portal. This will immediately reflect within our system.  If you have a change to your tax id, please contact vendorchange@gid.com.

Who to Contact

RealPage Vendor Credentialing Support
Phone Number: 888.493.6938 – option 1 (Monday – Friday: 7:30 A.M. – 7:00 P.M. CST)
Email: VCcustomerservice@RealPage.com
url: https://vendorcredentialing.realpage.com/webapp/Login.aspx

VendorCafe Support
Email: VendorCafe_Support@yardi.com
url: https://www.vendorcafe.com/vendorcafe/