What checks should you do on a new supplier?

At a minimum: verify Companies House registration and active status, check director history for insolvencies and disqualifications, review filed accounts for net assets and going concern warnings, search for CCJs and charges, and check the Gazette for winding-up petitions or strike-off notices. Beyond these, request insurance certificates, trade references, a bank reference, confirm sector-specific regulatory compliance, and check modern slavery statement requirements.

What is supplier due diligence?

Supplier due diligence is the process of verifying a potential supplier before entering a commercial relationship. It covers financial stability, legal standing, director integrity, payment behaviour, and regulatory compliance. The goal is to identify risk before you commit spend, not after a supplier fails to deliver.

How do I verify a supplier company in the UK?

Start at Companies House to confirm registration number, active status, registered address, and filing history. Then cross-reference with the Gazette for insolvency notices, the Register of Judgments for CCJs, and Companies House charges register. RecoupIQ automates all of this in one search, checking 12 UK public registers and running 72 ML models on the results.

What documents should you request from a new supplier?

Request: certificate of incorporation, latest filed accounts, public liability insurance certificate, professional indemnity insurance (where applicable), employer liability insurance, two to three trade references from existing customers, a bank reference or credit report, proof of regulatory registration (sector-specific), and a modern slavery statement if their turnover exceeds £36m.

How often should you re-check existing suppliers?

Annual review is the minimum. Critical suppliers (high spend, single-source, or project-critical) should be monitored continuously. Financial position can deteriorate in weeks. RecoupIQ Pro (£149/mo) and Business (£299/mo) plans include continuous monitoring with 24-hour alerts for gazette notices, new charges, director changes, and status changes.

What if a supplier fails due diligence?

Three options: (1) reject outright and find an alternative, (2) proceed with risk mitigation (payment on delivery, reduced credit terms, performance bonds, retention clauses), or (3) request the supplier address specific concerns before proceeding. The decision depends on the severity of the findings, availability of alternatives, and your organisation risk appetite. Document the decision either way for audit purposes.

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Procurement

New Supplier Onboarding Checklist UK

The 10-point due diligence checklist used by procurement teams across the UK. Five of these checks are automated in one RecoupIQ search, backed by 72 ML models and 12 live sources.

Vitaly Gariev / Unsplash

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Enter a company name or number. Instant verification against 12 UK public registers.

Why a structured onboarding process matters

UK businesses lose billions each year to supplier failure. In most cases, the warning signs were visible in public records months before the supplier collapsed. A structured onboarding checklist catches these signals before you commit spend, not after the goods fail to arrive.

The checklist below covers every dimension a procurement team should verify. The first five steps can be completed in seconds using RecoupIQ. The remaining five require direct engagement with the supplier.

The 10-point supplier onboarding checklist

1
Verify company registration
Check Companies House for active status. Confirm the company is not dissolved, dormant, or in liquidation. Match the registered name and number to what the supplier has provided you.
2
Check director history
Review current and former directors. Look for serial company failures, disqualifications, phoenix patterns (same director cycling through companies that collapse after taking on debt), and conflicts of interest.
3
Review filed accounts
Check net assets, profit trend over the last 3 years, and any going concern warnings from the auditor. A company with negative net assets or declining revenue is a higher-risk supplier.
4
Check for CCJs and charges
Search the Register of Judgments for county court judgments. Check Companies House for outstanding charges (debentures, fixed charges). If a bank already has a charge over all assets, you are behind them in any insolvency.
5
Gazette notices
Check the London Gazette for winding-up petitions, compulsory strike-off notices, and administration appointments. These are public signals of distress that many procurement teams miss.
6
Insurance certificates
Request copies of public liability, professional indemnity (where relevant), and employer's liability insurance. Verify cover amounts meet your minimum requirements and check expiry dates.
7
Trade references
Request 2 to 3 references from existing customers of similar size and sector to your organisation. Follow up directly. Ask about delivery reliability, quality consistency, and responsiveness to issues.
8
Bank reference
Request a bank reference or status enquiry. While limited in detail, it confirms the supplier has a functioning banking relationship and is not subject to a freezing order.
9
Regulatory compliance
Confirm sector-specific registration where applicable: FCA for financial services, CQC for healthcare, OFGEM for energy, CSCS for construction operatives. Check the relevant register directly.
10
Modern slavery statement
Required if the supplier's turnover exceeds £36m. Even below this threshold, requesting a statement demonstrates your organisation's commitment to ethical supply chains and may be required by your own stakeholders.

What RecoupIQ automates

Steps 1 to 5 (company registration, director history, accounts review, CCJs and charges, gazette notices) are all automated in one RecoupIQ search. Enter a company name or number and receive results in seconds, not hours.

Every search runs 72 machine learning models across 12 UK public data sources. You receive a risk verdict (Clear, Caution, or High Risk), director network analysis, financial distress probability, and any active compliance flags.

Steps 6 to 10 (insurance, trade references, bank reference, regulatory compliance, modern slavery) still require manual requests from the supplier. RecoupIQ handles the public-record intelligence; you handle the relationship.

Result: what used to take a procurement officer half a day now takes 90 seconds for the data-intensive steps.

Who uses this checklist

Procurement manager

Onboarding 20 new suppliers per month. Running individual checks manually is not sustainable. RecoupIQ lets you clear steps 1 to 5 for each supplier in under two minutes, freeing time for relationship and contract work.

Construction firm

Vetting subcontractors before they step on site. Subcontractor insolvency mid-project is the single largest cause of cost overrun in UK construction. One check before issuing the subcontract can save hundreds of thousands.

NHS trust

Checking new clinical suppliers against financial and compliance registers. Public sector procurement requires auditable evidence of supplier standing. RecoupIQ reports are timestamped and structured for audit files.

Retail chain

Adding new product suppliers to a growing range. A failed supplier means empty shelves, refund liabilities, and reputational damage. Verify financial stability before committing to stock orders.

A diverse team talking and working together at a desk in a modern office — Vitaly Gariev / Unsplash

How often to re-check existing suppliers

Onboarding is not a one-time event. Suppliers that passed due diligence 12 months ago may be in a very different financial position today. At a minimum, run an annual review. For critical suppliers (high spend, single source, or project-critical), continuous monitoring is the only safe approach.

Key trigger events that should prompt an immediate re-check: late filing at Companies House (a leading indicator of distress), director resignations, new charges registered, gazette notices of any kind, or a sudden drop in headcount.

RecoupIQ monitoring plans alert you within 24 hours of any material change: new gazette notices, director resignations, new charges filed, late accounts, or company status changes. You find out before it affects your supply chain, not after.

One search covers steps 1 to 5

Company status, director history, filed accounts, CCJs, gazette notices, and 72 ML risk signals from 12 sources. All in one search. £29 per supplier.

Forensic Report (£167) adds full financial analysis and director network mapping. Practitioner Pack (£687) covers your entire supplier panel in one go.

No spreadsheet. No manual Companies House lookups. No guesswork.

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Continuous supplier monitoring for teams

Pro plan (£149/mo) monitors your entire supplier panel with 24-hour alerts. Business plan (£299/mo) adds team seats, audit trail, and bulk onboarding tools. Both include the Microsoft 365 Trust Check app for procurement teams who live in Teams and Outlook. RecoupIQ is a Microsoft partner.

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Related guides

Last reviewed: July 2026. General information for procurement professionals. Not legal advice. RecoupIQ Ltd, Company No. 16947526, ICO ZC077511. Microsoft Partner.