---
title: "The supplier wants payment in advance"
url: "https://vemente.com/en/guides/supplier-wants-payment-in-advance/"
description: "The supplier only delivers after payment. The routes a company has, what it checks before paying in advance and how it works with Vemente."
language: "en"
publisher: "Vemente"
area: "Paying"
stand: "November 2026"
published: "2026-10-11"
modified: "2026-11-03"
---

# The supplier wants payment in advance

You have found the right item. The supplier sends a pro forma invoice, or the shop offers no payment on invoice. They only deliver once the money has reached them.

As of November 2026

## In short

If a supplier wants payment in advance, you have three routes. You ask for payment on invoice. Your company checks the supplier, sets them up and pays in advance. Or you order through Vemente. Then Vemente checks and pays the supplier, and your company receives the invoice from Vemente.

## What to check before paying in advance

Paying an unknown supplier in advance means your company hands over money before it has the goods. That is why companies first check whether the supplier really exists, and record who approves the payment.

> ‘Dem BACS werden wöchentlich zahlreiche betrügerische oder äusserst fragwürdige Online-Shops gemeldet.’
>
> Translation ‘Numerous fraudulent or highly questionable online shops are reported to the BACS every week.’
>
> Source [Swiss Federal Office for Cybersecurity (BACS), ‘Wenn der Bezug zur Schweiz täuscht’, published 13 October 2026, German original](https://www.bacs.admin.ch/de/26w41-de), read on 4 Nov 2026

> ‘Verlassen Sie sich nicht auf eine .ch-Domain oder einen Städtenamen im Logo.’
>
> Translation ‘Do not rely on a .ch domain or a city name in the logo.’
>
> Source [Swiss Federal Office for Cybersecurity (BACS), checks before buying from an unknown online shop, 13 October 2026, German original](https://www.bacs.admin.ch/de/26w41-de), read on 4 Nov 2026

> ‘Die Revisionsstelle prüft, ob: [...] ein internes Kontrollsystem existiert.’
>
> Translation ‘The external auditor checks whether […] an internal control system exists.’
>
> Source [Swiss Code of Obligations, Art. 728a para. 1 no. 3 (ordinary audit), German original](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/27/317_321_377/de#art_728_a), read on 4 Nov 2026

*Whether buying through Vemente fits your rules is your company's decision.*

## Your routes when payment in advance is required

- **Ask for payment on invoice.** Some suppliers deliver against an invoice, for example on a written order or with a business account in the shop. Others don't.
- **Set up the supplier and pay in advance.** Your company checks the supplier, sets them up as a supplier account in accounting and approves the payment under its own rules. For a single order that is a lot of work.
- **Pay with the company card.** Where there is a company card and the purchase fits within its limits.
- **Pay with your own card.** Where your expenses rules allow it. Until the reimbursement, the person carries the amount themselves.
- **Order through Vemente.** Your company sets up Vemente once as a supplier. Vemente checks and pays the supplier. It's quick.

## How Vemente pays a supplier that wants payment in advance

Vemente buys from the supplier in its own name and resells the goods to your company.

We check the supplier in the commercial register, against sanctions lists, for export control and for adverse media. Then we pay them, also in advance and in their currency.

You receive a quote by email. We order once you have accepted it and the order is approved. Depending on what your company sets, orders are approved automatically, through Vemente's AI approval or by your people. The fee is 2.8% of the order value, minimum CHF 19, or EUR 19 in euro countries.

If something is wrong, damaged or missing, we sort it out with the supplier.

## Questions about payment in advance

### What does Vemente check before it pays the supplier?

Commercial register, sanctions lists, export control and adverse media. Only then do we order and pay.

### Does the supplier have to be set up at our company?

No. The one you set up is Vemente, once. Your existing suppliers stay in your own process.

*General information, not legal advice.*

## Related

- [The online shop only takes cards](https://vemente.com/en/guides/online-shop-only-takes-credit-cards/)
- [The supplier is not in the system](https://vemente.com/en/guides/supplier-not-in-the-system/)
- [Ordering from abroad for your company](https://vemente.com/en/guides/ordering-from-abroad/)

As a web page https://vemente.com/en/guides/supplier-wants-payment-in-advance/