How to set up and use the supplier portal in Lookout

This guide explains how to enable the Supplier Portal for a supplier and send their activation invitation.  

Before you start 

• You have purchase order write and finance access permissions 

• The Supplier Portal feature has been enabled for your organisation 

• The supplier is set up in Lookout as a supplier-type Helper (supplier or clinician) and engagement type as a Contractor, with a linked contact record and valid ABN 

Step-by-step instructions 

Step 1: Invite a supplier to the Portal 

• Navigate to the Third party providers from the main menu and select your supplier 

• If the supplier is eligible, you'll see an option to Enable and send invitation on the right-hand side of their dashboard 

• Click the Enable and send invitation button. The supplier will receive an email with instructions to set up their account. 

Step 2: Supplier completes account setup 

The supplier will: 

• Receive an email invitation from Lookout 

• Click the link to set up their account 

• Verify their business details 

• Once verified, they are logged into the Supplier Portal 

Step 3: Manage the Supplier organisation 

From the Supplier Portal, supplier administrators can: 

• Edit their organisation details - name and time zone
• Manage contacts (workers) - add, edit, archive, and import workers in bulk via spreadsheet upload

Step 4: Understand supplier role levels 

The Supplier Portal has four role levels: 

Step 5: How suppliers view and complete jobs 

Once logged in, suppliers see a list of jobs (purchase order line items assigned to them): 

• Jobs are grouped by delivery date 

• Each job shows which care provider it relates to - suppliers working with multiple providers will see labels distinguishing them 

• Jobs can be filtered by timeframe (upcoming, overdue, past) and by client 

• To complete a job:

• • Complete any must-do tasks - respond to required tasks, fill in custom forms, upload files 

• • Check out - record a checkout note, confirm the delivery date, and capture location 

• • The job is marked as Completed 

Manage Supplier connection access

• From the Helper dashboard, return to the Supplier connection tile
• Confirm the supplier shows as active once they have activated access
• Use Disable supplier connection if access needs to be revoked
• Resend the invitation if the original activation link has expired

What happens next? 

• Once a supplier activates their portal account, this is reflected in Lookout 

• All checkout activity is recorded and auditable 

• Delivery confirmations flow through to your finance and claiming workflows automatically 

• You can view delivery details, must-do responses, and checkout notes directly from the purchase order and/or the Member notebook in Lookout 

Troubleshooting 

The supplier says the invitation link has expired 

• Invitation links are valid for 7 days  
• You can resend the invitation from the supplier's profile in Lookout

A supplier worker can't see their jobs 

• Check their role - Limited workers can only access jobs via QR code scans 

• Make sure the purchase order line item has the correct supplier contact assigned 

• Verify the worker's account is not disabled or archived 

A supplier can see a job, but can’t check out 

• Check the estimated delivery date on the purchase order line item 

The supplier's organisation details are wrong 

• The supplier's admin or owner can update organisation details from within the portal 

• Tax numbers must be valid and unique across all supplier organisations