/ 4 min read / payment safety / supplier contact / wire transfer
Salesperson Requests Payment Through a Personal Assistant
Payment instructions passed through an assistant need independent confirmation before funds move.
What to check in the order file
Salesperson Requests Payment Through a Personal Assistant looks administrative until payment, shipment, or import review depends on it. The buyer sees a payment request routed through an assistant, then checks whether one field, message, or document no longer agrees with the earlier file. A salesperson may describe the change as routine.
The buyer needs to decide whether the assistant has authority to transmit payment instructions for the supplier.
Check the known supplier contact, assistant email, PI, bank instruction, prior payment record, company domain, confirmation call record, and approval note.
A buyer may receive a final bank detail from a new assistant because the main salesperson is traveling or unavailable.
Ask one control question before warehouse receipt: can the buyer confirm the bank instruction through a channel already trusted before the request arrived?
Payment instructions passed through an assistant need independent confirmation before funds move. This is an order-specific exception, so the answer needs to be settled before the next transfer of funds. Keep the supporting file beside the salesperson requests assistant entry in the order folder.
The working file should contain the approved PI, beneficiary details, bank confirmation, payment receipt, and PO version. Both versions matter: the older record explains the original sign-off, while the newer one shows what the counterparty now wants the importer to accept. State the remaining limit in the supplier contact note before the file is closed.
Make the decision before the next handoff
A counterparty explanation is not enough when it cannot be tied to a file. Ask for a dated answer that names the PO, invoice, shipment, product, or claim, then decide whether the missing proof changes the next approval. Put that result in the wire transfer note for the current PO.
Send the decision to finance and the purchasing team who approved the commercial terms. If a broker reply, bank confirmation, inspection record, or supplier letter is still missing, label the sign-off as conditional and name the person expected to close it. Carry the result into the payment safety instruction used by the next team.
Escalation is appropriate when money may move against a different company, amount, currency, or record version. Higher value, regulated goods, changed counterparties, customer-facing claims, and repeated corrections all justify a stronger check. The salesperson requests assistant file should show how this point was resolved.
The working steps are to verify assistant authority, confirm through known contact, compare bank details, and save confirmation record. Store the result under the PO number and supplier name, using a file name that identifies the issue and document version. State the remaining limit in the wire transfer note before the file is closed.
Keep the exception narrow by naming the order, document version, affected quantity or value, and the date when it expires or must be checked again. Carry the result into the payment safety instruction used by the next team.
Outside guidance defines the review boundary, while the purchasing team's own records prove the transaction. Keeping those roles separate prevents a general web page from being treated as counterparty evidence. Link the answer to the supplier contact checkpoint for this order.
At the next checkpoint, compare the closed note with the supplier's new document. A repeated mismatch is a supplier-management problem, not another isolated correction. Make this result visible in the salesperson requests assistant decision record.
Close the record for the next order
Compare file dates as carefully as file fields. A correction received after approval needs a different note from one received before the importer committed funds or released cargo. Keep the supporting file beside the payment safety entry in the order folder.
Separate fact from judgment. State what changed first, identify the evidence reviewed second, and record the commercial decision only after those facts are visible. Record the outcome with the supplier contact evidence before handoff.
Check whether the change alters another team's work. Finance may need a new payment basis, logistics a corrected booking field, quality a revised inspection point, or the broker a different product or party description. The next reviewer should find the answer under wire transfer without reopening the whole case.
Use the next reorder to see whether the vendor corrected its process. If the same field fails again, strengthen the sign-off gate instead of writing another one-off explanation. Put that result in the salesperson requests assistant note for the current PO.
When a screenshot matters, save the underlying record or message if it is available. Retain the sender, date, version, and order reference so another reviewer can judge the evidence without a cropped image. Use the supplier contact record to show who accepted the result and on what date.
After the decision, check that obsolete instructions are no longer circulating. The final record should match the version used by finance, logistics, quality, the warehouse, and the broker. Keep the supporting file beside the wire transfer entry in the order folder.
Working checklist
- Verify assistant authority.
- Confirm through known contact.
- Compare bank details.
- Save confirmation record.
- Hold payment on unexplained urgency.