Purchase of goods and services

To become a council vendor you will need to be awarded a contract or be requested by an Isle of Wight council officer to provide goods/services. On award of your first contract or when requested to provide goods/services to the Isle of Wight Council a requisitioner from the IWC will ask you to provide details of your business.

It is important that these details are provided promptly because without this information an official purchase order number cannot be issued.

Once your vendor details have been processed and approved you will receive correspondence confirming you have been set up as a Vendor. You will then receive a purchase order (either by e mail, fax or post) from the requisitioner agreeing with you the supply of goods or services. This applies to all purchases, including emergency work.

The purchase order number needs to be on your invoice to enable prompt payment from the council. Any invoices received by the Isle of Wight Council without a purchase order number will be returned.

An example of a purchase order (PDF, 120KB, 2 pages).

When you receive a PO from the council, you should check the details:

• purchase order number.
• is the description of the goods or services you are supplying correct?
• is the price correct, if it is shown?
• is the delivery address correct?
• is the delivery date correct?
• are the delivery instructions clear? You will find these on the second page of the order.

Once you have checked the detail of the PO, any queries you have should be raised with the contact person named on the PO. Failure to raise any issues about the PO at this time could delay payment being made. In the event of any query the purchase order number needs to be quoted on all further correspondence including the invoice.

Next steps

It is important that you provide either a delivery note or some form of confirmation to the person who ordered the goods from you that the goods/services have been supplied. This will enable them to confirm receipt on the council’s purchasing system. Without a confirmation of receipt of the goods or services you will not receive prompt payment.

Please note: The Isle of Wight Council operates a no purchase order, no pay policy. All invoices submitted for payment without stating a valid purchase order will be returned (unless you have a contract that specifies otherwise).

Download information on our purchase order and payment process (PDF, 120KB, 2 pages).

Learn more about our current contract opportunities.