Having multiple vendors across many online marketplaces involves a lot of coordination. To take that coordination out of your hands, you have the option to invest in a multi-vendor payout app. But when collaborating between different partners, what sort of features should you look for in a good vendor payout app?

The short answer: it needs to be convenient, easy to navigate, and work with multiple platforms. It needs to provide for automatic payouts, taking the effort entirely out of your hands.

Below, we will dig into essential features you need to keep in mind regarding vendor payout apps.

5 Advanced Features You Need for Your Multi-Platform Vendor App

Automatic Payments
Multi-Vendor Marketplace Access
Secure Payment Gateways
Simple Notification Systems
Link-Based Invitations

#1: Why You Need Automatic Payments With Your Vendor Payout App

The first tool you need to collaborate between multiple product vendors is convenience. The ultimate sign of comfort comes from payment splits.

After installing the application, your collaborative online marketplace should seamlessly split. A good app will automatically split the money. That way, vendors will get their fair share without you having to worry about the details.

When you utilize a payout app, there should be an option to split by percentage or cash. Having these two features allows you to address differing deals you make with various partners.

For example, if you have a product collaborator who requests 10% of each sale, you’ll want that to be ready. However, other collaborators might request specific cash amounts ($5, $10, etc.).

Sometimes, you might have tricky situations where you need multiple payment methods for a single product. Your chosen application must be flexible and automatic.

#2: How Multi-Vendor Support is Important

Whether you sell on Amazon, Spotify, or WooCommerce, you need to support multiple platforms. Support for a variety of platforms allows the seller to expand and diversify their offerings.

For example, Amazon offers MultiChannel Fulfillment which provides support for two storefronts. However, you might find your needs change to move to another storefront.

For example, you might find yourself preferring the terms and conditions of working with another business. You might also want to work in multiple storefronts for a few other reasons:

Online platforms work well to draw attention to your brick-and-mortar storefronts
Some stores are better suited to targeting international audiences
You can create multiple stores to offer different product types
Multiple storefronts can be good for different brands

Two of the biggest storefront providers are WooCommerce and Shopify. Chances are you’ve heard of them, so these are the first places you might stop. As a result, finding a split payment app that supports both is essential.

You might also be using both platforms to test which works best for you. Regardless, it’s essential to have flexibility in your applications.

Visit CollabPay to learn more

#3: You Need A Secure Payment Platform

A significant oversight when creating any payment application comes back to security. Many smaller applications consider security as an afterthought. That’s why a secure payment platform must handle anything involving payment management.

Having secure payment options goes above all other areas. Being convenient and flexible are both excellent. But none of that will matter if someone steals vendor information.

A lack of security can cause a significant leak of information. That leak can lead to identity theft, stolen bank information, and other security breaches.

Eventually, it will lead to broken confidence in your process. Nobody is going to want to work with you if they lose money or information.

Below are signs that your vendor payment app provides security:

Support with well-known security providers (i.e., Stripe)
Mention of end-to-end encryption
Understanding of financial compliance measures

#4: Simple Email Notification Systems To Stay Aware of Your Payouts

Awareness is crucial when it comes to where your money is going. Multiple product vendors might need payouts on a single collaborative product. But with automatic payments, how do you track this?

The answer is a complex payment notification system. This system provides two different areas:

It keeps you up-to-date with all vendor payments happening with your products
It provides you a regular location for which to find payment history

A good vendor payment app will also extend out notifications to your collaborators. Discuss how your collaborators want to receive those notifications.

The combination of efforts saves you time from having to track payments. Even with more difficult vendors, you can easily find this through your notification list.

Payment details provided with each notification will detail who gets what. Clarity solves many problems when it comes to potential disagreements.

#5: Simple Link-Based Invitation Systems

Collaborators appreciate anything you can do to take the effort out of their hands. Providing them with a collaborator’s link is one way you can do that.

A link will allow you to add your collaborator to a simple list. By inputting simple back information through a secure system, there’s no struggle.

You can easily integrate a system like this as part of your process. If you work with many collaborators, you need a system that brings them in quickly.

Again, clarity is crucial when providing a quick and easy process. Without simplification, you might end up fielding a series of questions you don’t have time to answer.

Additional Features When Finding An Effective Vendor Payout System

Everything above lists the most critical areas to focus on when finding good vendor payout apps. However, the remaining features below are also areas that might be important for you:

Support for Multiple Payment Applications

Your collaborators likely have some personal preferences with payout systems. Some may like PayPal, and others may prefer Google Pay. Regardless, you’ll want to look for an app that has support for your preferred method.

The typical payment methods include the following:

PayPal
Direct Bank Transfer
Card Payments

Most vendor payout apps do not support cheques because they are outdated and not digital.

Scheduled Payment Options

Some vendors prefer to have their payments all at once. They don’t want to receive small bits of notifications throughout the day. Instead, they want a bunch.

See if you can’t find a system with a scheduled payment option. Otherwise, most vendors will deal with the alternative, as they are receiving money either way.

Automate vendor payouts

Automating your vendor payout process is ideal when you’re busy running a hectic business and you have important things to do. A good vendor payout app would need to have this as a prime feature. Good thing that CollabPay has this feature.

Cost Breakdown Features

Shipping charges, sales tax, and other vital fees need addressing. It’s convenient to find out the total breakdown of costs alongside vendor fees. If you can get that built into a single app, that might be useful for you.

However, if you already have another system for financial breakdown, this feature might be redundant. The idea is to try and download as few applications as possible.

Worldwide Support

A good payout app understands that your vendors aren’t always from the same country. International support diversifies your offering by allowing you to rely on overseas providers.

Many businesses overseas can do things more efficiently than in other countries. Ask yourself the question of cost-savings and quality when making your decision. Never rule out international providers.

Support for Multiple Product Types

Vendor payment platforms typically have support for a wide range of products. However, you might find that they don’t support what you offer.

Digital products are one such example where things can get tricky. Given that they aren’t available on all platforms, you might find some confusing crossover.

A good payout app should work with whatever products you offer. If they don’t, that payout system isn’t going to work for your business.

Transparent Pricing Practices

Many vendor payout apps offer free trials, monthly costs, and per-transaction fees. However, does reading through those terms and conditions make them clear and understandable?

If the answer is no, your vendor payout app doesn’t have transparent pricing practices. That means you might end up being stuck with a bill that could ruin your Cost of Goods Sold (COGS).

Having a positive COGS is the difference between success and failure as an eCommerce provider.

Testimonials Proving Success

Word of Mouth advertising is crucial in understanding the actual quality of many products. In our information-based world, online reviews comprise most of our advertising.

Many companies have a comprehensive testimonial section or list of case studies. Both of those sections should detail the behind-the-scenes element of what makes this application great.

However, businesses tend only to pick positive testimonials. You should compare those results with what you see on Trustpilot to ensure a good crosssection of information.

When Do You Need A Vendor Payout App? – CollabPay

When answering whether or not you need a vendor payout app, ask yourself the amount of time you have to deal with administrative duties. Many times, you can hand those duties to an automated system. A sound payout system should save you money overall.

For the latest in advanced features for your vendor payout system, check out CollabPay. CollabPay provides many of the features mentioned on this list. Given that it is early in development, it will be exciting to see how this new application grows. It is believed to be released in August 2021. Sign up your email to their website to be notified of their release.

Key features of CollabPay:

Automatic payouts
Cross-platform connections (Shopify & WooCommerce)
Connect vendors easily
Set percentage rates for commission

Regardless, we hope this article has helped you realize what to keep an eye out for on good vendor payout apps. Thanks for reading!

ecommerce marketplace payments shopify vendors woocommerce

About Author

Eli Smith

Eli is sufficient in Shopify & general tech. He loves writing and talking about his interests in technology and ecommerce.

Get Automatic Payouts Using A Vendor Payout App