Use cases
Each scenario names who does the work, what they start with and which parts of VendOrca they use.
On this page
Stand up a program from a plain-language brief
Who: a Program Admin setting up VendOrca for the first time.
Problem: the program's rules exist only as habit and a spreadsheet of rates, and nobody has written them down.
How VendOrca handles it: the admin starts at app.vendorca.com/start and describes the program in plain language. VendOrca drafts rate cards and approval chains, imports a first list of names and runs a sample cycle through to invoices. The admin then refines the rules in Config, for example "Set up weekly timesheets with overtime over 40 hours". For each change, VendOrca shows what will change, whether it passes its checks and how it would play out. The change takes effect only when the admin applies it.
Outcome: a working set of program rules. Every earlier version is kept, and every change was reviewed by a person before it took effect.
Migrate an existing contractor roster
Who: a Program Admin moving off spreadsheets.
Problem: a spreadsheet of suppliers, rates and workers needs to come across without silent errors.
How VendOrca handles it: the admin imports suppliers first, then rate cards, and applies the draft rules change that the rate-card import creates. Then they import workers, up to 150 rows per self-serve file. VendOrca tests each file before saving anything: the admin enters how many records the file should contain, and VendOrca lists any rows it set aside, with the field and the reason. The records can be saved only once the counts match. A larger worker file stops at Routed to assisted setup, and the admin either emails info@vendorca.com for help or splits the file (see size limits).
Outcome: the roster is in, and the admin knows the record counts match what they expected.
Onboard a contractor and put them to work
Who: an HR / Compliance user and the new worker.
Problem: contractors get onboarded differently by each team, and nobody can say who is cleared to start.
How VendOrca handles it: HR selects Start onboarding on the worker in Onboarding. The checklist comes from the program's onboarding template. Once their sign-in is linked to their record, the worker completes their own steps on their Onboarding page. When the last required step is done, the worker becomes Active automatically. If the onboarding template requires staff sign-off, HR selects Mark active instead. If HR has to proceed with a step still open, they give an override reason, which is logged. HR then creates an assignment on a rate card from the program rules, with the right org unit.
Outcome: every worker goes through the same checklist, and the assignment's rate comes from the program rules.
Weekly time approval
Who: a Hiring Manager with a team of contractors.
Problem: timesheets arrive by email and approvals stall.
How VendOrca handles it: workers log hours in Time and submit. The Hiring Manager opens Timesheets and filters to Awaiting approval. They can select several and choose Approve selected, or reject one with a reason and tell the worker what to fix. A rejected timesheet goes back to the worker. During the same week it's editable again on Time, so the worker adds the missing entries and resubmits it.
Outcome: one queue for approvals, and every rejection carries a reason.
Month-end invoicing that matches approved work
Who: a Finance / AP user closing the month.
Problem: supplier invoices have to be checked line by line against what was approved, and mistakes surface after payment.
How VendOrca handles it: Finance generates invoices for the period in Invoices. They're built only from approved work and grouped by the program's invoice rule. The tie-out panel shows whether invoiced and approved totals balance to the cent and lists every difference by kind. Finance works through them, records a tie-out snapshot and selects Push to AP on each invoice. VendOrca creates the bill in the AP system for the invoice's exact total, and the invoice shows Pushed to AP. VendOrca sets up the integration with the company's AP system for the workspace. To arrange it, a Program Admin contacts info@vendorca.com. Finance can also download the whole period as one CSV file. Use one route per invoice, Push to AP or the CSV file, so each bill is entered once. Suppliers can see their own invoices in the supplier portal.
Outcome: AP receives invoices whose totals match approved work to the cent, and suppliers can check invoice status in their portal.
A rate change or extension mid-engagement
Who: a Program Admin or Hiring Manager.
Problem: a contractor's rate goes up next month, or the engagement runs longer than planned, and past invoices must not change.
How VendOrca handles it: on the assignment, they select Amend with a new rate card and an Effective from date. An optional approved-through date stops the change from reaching back into periods that are already approved. To keep the rate and move the end date, they use Extend. Each change adds a new version with the date it takes effect.
Outcome: new work prices at the new rate, and everything before the effective date stays priced as it was.
Program questions without a report builder
Who: an Executive or anyone on the staff team.
Problem: a question like invoiced totals by supplier means exporting data and building a spreadsheet.
How VendOrca handles it: they ask "Invoiced total by supplier for July to September 2026" in Reports and get a figure, a chart and a short summary. They save the answer to the library and pin it to Home. The Ask VendOrca bar answers the same kind of question from any page. A Program Admin controls which figures people can ask about through the report library in Config.
Outcome: an answer without building a report, and a saved version the team sees on Home.
Ask Claude for invoiced totals by supplier
Who: a Finance / AP user on a Team or Business plan who works with Claude Code, an AI assistant.
Problem: they want program figures inside the tool they already use for analysis, without exporting spreadsheets.
How VendOrca handles it: a Program Admin turns on agent access for the workspace. The finance user opens Agent access and creates a read-only access key in their own name, picking Program and Financial data. They connect Claude Code to VendOrca with that key (see Connect Claude Code). They ask, "What did we invoice by supplier last quarter?" Claude finds the invoiced-total figure among the figures VendOrca offers and fetches it by supplier for the previous calendar quarter. If suppliers bill in more than one currency, the user asks for a breakdown by currency as well. Supplier names arrive marked as text from outside VendOrca, so Claude treats them as information to report.
Outcome: the invoice figures arrive in the conversation. The access key is read-only, sees only what its owner sees in the app and can be turned off at any time. See How assistant access stays safe.