6 min read

The Vendor's Self-Service Experience & Seller Onboarding

What a vendor sees on their way from application to their first payout, and the day-to-day dashboard they use once they're selling.

Every approved vendor gets their own dashboard — a focused, limited view that shows only their shop. This page walks through what a seller experiences from the moment they apply to the tools they use every day once they're active.

What a vendor can never see

A vendor cannot see other vendors, platform-wide finances, or store-wide configuration. Everything in their dashboard is scoped strictly to their own shop.

The seller onboarding journey

A vendor goes from stranger to active seller in six stages. You stay in control at every gate.

Invite or application

You invite a vendor directly from Vendors by entering their name, email, business name, and commission rate — an invitation email goes out automatically. Alternatively, a prospective seller can apply themselves through your public vendor sign-up link (see below); those arrive in your Applications queue clearly labelled "Self Sign-up."

Review & approve

You review each applicant's business name, application date, and how they arrived (invited or self-signup), then click Approve or Reject. Rejections require a reason, which is shared with the applicant. Approved vendors move to active status immediately.

Identity verification (KYC)

Once approved, the vendor completes identity verification from their own dashboard: business type (Individual, Proprietorship, Private Limited, or LLP), PAN number, GST number, and bank account details — the account their payouts will land in. After submission their status shows "Under Review"; once your team verifies the documents, the vendor is marked Verified and their bank account is locked from further edits to prevent fraud.

Product listing

Verified vendors list their own products from their dashboard. Their catalogue is scoped entirely to them — they set prices, descriptions, images, and stock levels independently, and you see their product count from the vendor's detail screen.

Order fulfilment

When a customer orders a vendor's product, that vendor sees the order in their own dashboard. They confirm, pack, and arrange shipment from their registered warehouse — tracking, delivery exceptions, and return logistics are all handled inside their own dashboard, without ever seeing orders that belong to other vendors.

Automatic payout

After an order is fulfilled and any return window passes, the platform calculates the vendor's share, deducts your commission, and records the amount as a pending payout. The vendor sees every payout — amount, status (Pending, Processed, or Failed), and settlement date — in their own Payouts tab, while your team processes the actual settlement to their verified bank account.

Applying to become a vendor

Prospective sellers who discover your public vendor sign-up link fill out a short form with:

FieldNotes
Business nameRequired
EmailRequired — this is where the application confirmation and any updates are sent
First name / last nameRequired
Contact phoneOptional — a 10-digit number
Business typeOptional — Individual, Proprietorship, Private Limited, or LLP
NotesOptional — anything they want you to know before you review the application

On submission, the applicant sees a confirmation message and their application lands in your Applications queue, labelled "Self Sign-up" so you know how they found you.

First and last name block submission, but the form doesn't say so

First name and last name are required to submit the form, but neither field shows a red asterisk or an inline error message the way Business Name, Email, and Contact Phone do. If an applicant leaves them blank, the form simply won't submit — with no visible explanation of why. Tell prospective vendors to fill in both name fields even though the form doesn't flag them as mandatory.

The vendor's day-to-day dashboard

Once active, a vendor's dashboard is organised into tabs that mirror the lifecycle of their business — go to Vendors → [vendor] to see the same tabs from your side, or ask your vendor to sign in and go to their Vendor Profile.

TabWhat the vendor does there
ProfileUpdate contact email, phone, and public shop description. Business name, commission rate, and status are read-only — set by you.
KYC & Bank DetailsSubmit or update identity and banking information: business type, PAN, GST, and bank account details. Once your team verifies it, bank details lock for security.
PayoutsA running ledger of every payment received or owed, with status (Pending, Processed, Failed, Reversed).
WarehousesRegister one or more dispatch addresses, set a default warehouse, and connect each location to the shipping providers you've enabled on the platform.
Return PolicyDefine the return window and refund terms for their products — customers see these terms at checkout.
RMA QueueManage return requests from customers: approve, generate a return shipping label, confirm receipt of goods, and issue refunds.
PerformanceTheir own sales and order trend charts over any date range, so they can track their growth independently.
Shipments & NDRLive tracking of every parcel dispatched, plus a queue of non-delivery reports so the vendor can re-attempt delivery or refund quickly.
Shipment AnalyticsDelivery performance by courier and date range.
Logistics PreferencesSet a default courier preference (Recommended, Cheapest, or Fastest), default package dimensions and weight for their shipments, and a default shipping mode (Surface or Express).
PluginsFor vendors on a plan where couriers support per-vendor credentials (such as Shiprocket), enter and manage their own API credentials so shipments bill to their own courier account.

Vendor teams

A vendor with the Vendor Admin role can invite colleagues — for example a warehouse manager or a customer-service rep — who get their own login scoped exclusively to that vendor's shop. This lets a larger seller run their business with a proper internal team, without any of them ever having access to the wider platform.

Next steps