How should shared vendors be handled across multiple entities?

On Ramp, you can track vendor spend across multiple entities with consolidated reporting and entity-level visibility, though you'll need to create separate vendor records to handle different payment methods or approval owners.

Risks of managing shared vendors across entities

When multiple legal entities use the same vendor, poor management creates:

• Duplicate vendor records: The same supplier appears multiple times under different names, obscuring true spend volume
• Fragmented negotiations: Each entity negotiates separately, losing collective buying power
• Allocation errors: Unclear cost distribution distorts entity-level financial reporting
• Compliance gaps: One entity's expired vendor certification goes unnoticed by others

Structuring shared vendors in a multi-entity environment

Shared vendor management works best when vendor data is centralized, but controls vary by entity. This approach avoids duplicate vendors while preserving accurate entity-level reporting.

Centralize core vendor data

Maintain a single, authoritative vendor record that all entities reference:

• One vendor record with a consistent legal name and tax ID
• Centralized payment details, tax information, and compliance documents
• Updates made once and reflected across all entities

On Ramp, this allows all card transactions, bills, and reimbursements for the vendor to roll into one vendor profile, while each transaction remains clearly tied to the correct entity.

Apply entity-level controls without duplicating vendors

When entities share the same vendor setup but need different accounting treatment or reporting visibility, you can use a single vendor record.

Ramp supports this by allowing you to:

• Set a default entity on vendor records to auto-populate new bills
• Route approvals based on entity, department, and spend thresholds
• Apply different GL codes, cost centers, or locations by entity at the transaction level
• View vendor spend either by entity or in a consolidated report

This works well when the vendor relationship itself is consistent across entities—same payment method, same contractual terms, same vendor contact—but transactions need entity-specific coding or approval routing.

Handling exceptions and entity-specific requirements

Some vendors require materially different setups across entities, such as different payment methods or approval ownership. In these cases, separate vendor records may be appropriate.

When to create separate vendor records

Create entity-specific vendor records only when differences affect processing or controls, such as:

• Different payment methods or settlement accounts
• Separate billing addresses or contractual terms
• Distinct approval owners or workflows

Use clear naming conventions (for example, “Amazon – Entity A” and “Amazon – Entity B”) to preserve visibility and prevent accidental duplication.

On Ramp, each entity-specific vendor record can maintain:

• Its own vendor owner for approval routing
• Unique payment and default accounting settings
• Entity-specific workflow and control rules