Implementing a new enterprise platform often comes with questions about how much technical lift is required from your IT team. This guide is designed to walk your IT team through the key setup components for a successful PaymentWorks implementation.
Introduction
Implementing a new enterprise platform can raise questions about the time and technical effort required from your internal teams. This article aims to cover the IT lift involved in getting PaymentWorks up and running. It walks through the key technical components of a successful implementation — including secure authentication, data exchange, and file formatting — so that your IT team can feel fully prepared to support the process.
We’ll cover:
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How to configure Single Sign-On (SSO) for secure and streamlined access
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Set up of Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) for exchanging data
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The purpose and format of the files used to synchronize vendor data, invoices, and payments
Each of these elements plays a critical role in making PaymentWorks function smoothly within your existing ERP ecosystem.
Single Sign-On (SSO): Secure Access for Your Users
At PaymentWorks, security is foundational. That’s why we require all platform access to be routed through your organization’s Single Sign-On (SSO) system. With SSO in place, your users can access PaymentWorks using their existing enterprise credentials—eliminating the need for separate usernames and passwords, and reducing the risk of credential misuse.
We support SAML 2.0, a widely adopted industry standard, and integrate seamlessly with common Identity Providers such as ADFS, Azure AD, Shibboleth, and Okta among others. As part of onboarding, your IT team will complete a brief SSO Questionnaire to help us gather key configuration details. These include your SAML metadata file, which typically contains:
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Your Identity Provider’s entity ID
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SSO login URL
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Signing certificate
We’ll also request attribute mappings for information that PaymentWorks needs in the login assertion, such as the user’s first name, last name, email address, and a unique identifier (e.g., employee ID). This unique ID helps us maintain user continuity even if their name or email changes later.
After your team submits the questionnaire, we’ll configure our side of the connection and provide you with our ACS URL, entity ID, and X.509 certificate for use in your Identity Provider. Once both sides are set up, you’ll be able to test the integration in a sandbox environment prior to moving forward with the Implementation.
SFTP: Secure and Automated Data Exchange
To keep vendor data, invoice updates, and payment instructions flowing between your ERP system and PaymentWorks, we use Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP). This provides a reliable and encrypted way to move structured files between systems without the need for manual uploads.
Your team will begin by completing an SFTP Questionnaire. We’ll ask for a public SSH key, which is used to authenticate your system to ours. Most organizations generate this key using standard tools like OpenSSH or PuTTYgen—tools your IT team may already be familiar with. If not, we’re happy to provide additional guidance where needed. We’ll also ask for a group email address that we can associate with your SFTP account (note: this email isn’t used for login; it’s simply a reference for provisioning shared access).
Once configured, we’ll supply your team with credentials and technical details—including the SFTP host, port, and folder structure. From there, you can connect using any compatible tool (like FileZilla or WinSCP), or even automate transfers with scheduled scripts.
Supplier File: Establishing a Baseline for Vendor Management
The Supplier File is the foundation of your PaymentWorks implementation. It contains the list of vendors currently stored in your ERP and is used to create a synchronized, up-to-date vendor directory within the PaymentWorks platform.
This file is critical because it enables PaymentWorks to associate new registration requests, payment instructions, and updates with the correct records in your system. Without it, the platform has no reference point for who your vendors are.
Each row in the file typically includes:
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Vendor number and site code (if applicable)
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Supplier name and address
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Tax ID number
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Optional: Banking details (routing and account numbers)
We recommend including all active vendors, as well as any inactive ones you want to track for audit or historical purposes. The file can be uploaded directly through the PaymentWorks UI or placed into the /suppliers folder in your SFTP directory. We accept both .csv and .xlsx formats, encoded in UTF-8.
Once this file is in place, PaymentWorks can begin validating and onboarding vendors in a way that aligns with your existing ERP structure.
Invoice Status File: Visibility for Vendors While Enhancing Payment Security
The Invoice Status File allows your ERP system to push invoice-level updates into PaymentWorks. On the surface, this file serves a straightforward purpose: giving your vendors real-time insight into the status of their invoices. But its value goes far beyond transparency—it also plays a critical role in reducing payment friction and enhancing PaymentWorks’ fraud detection capabilities.
Having access to invoice data before a payment is scheduled allows PaymentWorks to proactively perform risk assessments. This helps reduce last-minute holds by flagging issues earlier—when your team still has time to investigate and resolve them. In addition, PaymentWorks uses invoice history to support behavioral analysis and fraud detection. Understanding how much a vendor is typically paid—whether that’s $100 or $1 million annually—enables our platform to spot anomalies, evaluate risk more accurately, and detect suspicious payment patterns over time.
Each invoice record typically includes:
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Vendor number and site code
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Invoice number, date, and amount
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Current invoice status—such as “Pending,” “Approved,” or “Paid”
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Payment date, if applicable
This file can be uploaded via the PaymentWorks UI or dropped into the /invoices folder of your SFTP server. We support .csv and .xlsx file formats encoded in UTF-8.
Automating this feed improves the experience for both internal teams and vendors. Your suppliers gain the transparency they expect, while PaymentWorks leverages this data to enhance fraud monitoring and risk detection. By providing visibility into invoice activity before payments are scheduled, the platform can identify suspicious patterns and prioritize early intervention—helping protect your organization from fraud while reducing last-minute payment disruptions.
Payment Instruction File: A Critical Fraud Prevention Step
The Payment Instruction File is submitted just before payments are released from your ERP to your banking institution. It lists all payments that are about to be sent and allows PaymentWorks to perform pre-payment validation—a core part of our fraud prevention strategy.
When we receive this file, we check each transaction against our vendor validation data to ensure that:
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The bank account belongs to a verified supplier
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The account details have been authenticated and risk-scored
This is your final safeguard before money leaves your organization. If something looks suspicious—like a last-minute change to bank details—we flag it for your team’s review before the payment is finalized.
We support both ISO 20022 and NACHA formats, and files can be submitted via SFTP (/payment-instructions) or uploaded through the UI.
By integrating this step into your payment workflow, you add a critical layer of protection against fraud while retaining full control over payment approvals. For domestic ACH payments, PaymentWorks’ pre-payment validation process provides an added layer of security through our indemnification coverage—giving your organization peace of mind that validated payments are being sent to the correct, verified accounts. It’s an essential safeguard that helps you mitigate risk while confidently moving funds out the door.
What to Expect During Implementation
During onboarding, the PaymentWorks Implementation Team will provide:
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Access to SSO and SFTP questionnaires
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Prebuilt file templates for each file type
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Field definitions and formatting guidelines
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Sample files to assist with development
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Support for file testing and validation
Setting up SSO, SFTP, and file exchanges early in the project ensures that PaymentWorks can deliver its full value—from automated vendor onboarding to real-time payment transparency and fraud prevention.
For more support, please contact PaymentWorks Support.