Bell Vendors

Welcome to Bell Partners' Vendor website. The purpose of this site is to quickly and easily connect our current and potential vendors with all necessary information to work with Bell Partners. So whether you are new to Bell or a long-term vendor, we look forward to building and maintaining a safe, efficient and cost-effective partnership with you through utilizing cutting-edge, multifamily technology solutions.

Need help? No problem. We are here to answer any questions you may have.

All vendors who wish to work with Bell Partners must comply with the Vendor Management Program (VMP). VMP is a two-step program comprised of Compliance Depot and OpsTechnology. Why should you participate? View a list of benefits.

A. Compliance Depot
Compliance Depot is a risk management tool that will help keep Bell Apartment Living properties safe by screening all vendors to ensure they have adequate insurance coverage and a clean background.

To be considered compliant, vendors must register with Compliance Depot and maintain a status of "approved". To become an "approved" vendor in Compliance Depot, vendors must:

Pay an annual fee directly to Compliance Depot.
Submit a current W-9 form.
Sign a vendor agreement.
Pass a company and principal owner background check.
Have adequate insurance coverage depending on your industry code.
Have the correct additional insured language on your certificate of insurance.
Provide appropriate endorsements.

Download Insurance Requirements. The Insurance Information Document provides sample certificates of insurance, industry codes, corresponding insurance limits and additional insured language.

B. OpsTechnology
OpsTechnology is a purchasing and electronic invoice processing platform. Electronic invoicing prevents invoices from getting lost in the mail and gets payments to the vendor much faster. There are two types of electronic vendors in OpsTechnology – Electronic Invoicing and Managed Catalog.

NOTE: Bell Partners requires that all flooring installation vendors register for Managed Catalog services. All other vendors have the option of choosing Electronic Invoicing or Managed Catalog when registering with OpsTechnology.

What is a Managed Catalog vendor?
Managed Catalog vendors host a catalog of parts and services on OpsTechnology that allows properties to shop online for your goods and services. Orders are transmitted electronically through Ops directly to you as the supplier. Once the goods and services have been delivered, invoices are then transmitted electronically to the property using the OpsTechnology platform.
What is an Electronic Invoice vendor?
Electronic Invoice vendors cannot receive orders through the OpsTechnology platform, but they can submit invoices electronically to the properties. Do note that electronic invoices are not scanned, faxed, or emailed invoices. Electronic invoices are those keyed directly into the OpsMerchant platform, which does require vendors to register for an OpsMerchant account.

C. Bell Approved Vendor
Once vendors have completed both Part A and Part B, they will be considered a Bell Approved Vendor. Both programs do have an associated cost to vendors to participate. Download Fee Information from Ops Technology and Compliance Depot.

Visit our Bell Apartment Living website to search for apartments by metro area.

If you wish to service a specific property, you should contact that community directly. In most cases, new vendors are chosen directly by the properties.
If you are able to service our entire portfolio and wish to establish a national agreement, Contact Us. If we are in need of your services, someone from corporate will contact you.

If you have been selected as a new vendor to perform work for a community, you must agree to our Vendor Management Program. View Vendor Requirements for Bell Partners. If you agree to these requirements and wish to continue the setup process for new vendors, you may follow the steps below.
IMPORTANT – Vendors are not allowed to begin performing work for our communities until all the steps below are complete.

Download the new vendor set-up form. Complete part II and return the form to the community you wish to service.
The property will obtain permission from the regional manager to use your services and then submit the new vendor form to Accounts Payable.
Once AP receives the completed form you will receive an email and/or fax from Compliance Depot on how to establish an account and begin the approval process.
You will need to submit the required documentation to Compliance Depot per their instructions and await a response. Please note it could take up to 72 hours for Compliance Depot to complete their review of your information once all documents are submitted. If you have questions about your status, you should log into your Compliance Depot account. If you have trouble accessing your account, you should contact Compliance Depot directly. Contact Compliance Depot.
Once you have been approved by Compliance Depot, you will be entered into our Accounts Payable system. At that time, you will receive an email invitation to join OpsTechnology.
Follow the instructions on the email to register for an OpsMerchant account with OpsTechnology.
Once you've registered for an OpsMerchant account, Bell will receive a notification that you are in the system. Accounts Payable will then activate you for Bell Partners. However, you are not done yet! Each property you work with needs to be activated in your OpsMerchant account in order to work with them electronically.
To activate the individual property, Accounts Payable will send you a new account request for the property who submitted the new vendor setup form.
Once you receive the request in your OpsMerchant account, you should log into OpsMerchant and activate the property. Download Ops Merchant Activation Instructions.
Congratulations! You are now a Bell Approved Vendor and can begin to work with the community.

Printer Friendly Directions

Existing vendors who still need to complete the requirements of Bell's Vendor Management Program may use the steps below to complete the process.

DO NOT PROCEED IF YOU ARE A NEW VENDOR TO BELL PARTNERS. View New Vendors tab for information on how to comply with Bell's Vendor Management Program.

A. Compliance Depot

If you did not receive your Compliance Depot login information, please contact Compliance Depot directly at 888.493.6938 option 5 to enroll.

B. OpsTechnology

Bell Partners requires that all flooring installation vendors register for Managed Catalog services. All other vendors have the option of choosing Electronic Invoicing or Managed Catalog when registering with OpsTechnology.
- Electronic Invoice vendors cannot receive orders through the Ops platform, but they can submit invoices electronically to the properties. Do note that electronic invoices are not scanned, faxed, or emailed invoices. Electronic invoices are those keyed directly into the OpsMerchant platform, which does require vendors to register for an OpsMerchant account. To register with OpsMerchant as an Electronic Invoice vendor, go to http://register.opstechnology.com/ and enter "invoice2175any" as the registration code.
- Managed Catalog vendors host a catalog of parts and services on OpsTechnology that allows properties to shop online for your goods and services. Orders are transmitted electronically through Ops directly to you as the supplier. Once the goods and services have been delivered, invoices are then transmitted electronically to the property using the OpsTechnology platform. To register with OpsMerchant as a Managed Catalog vendor (required for all flooring installation companies), go to http://register.opstechnology.com/ and enter "catalog5764any" as the registration code.
If you are already registered as an electronic invoice vendor but would like to upgrade your account to managed catalog, Contact Us. We will issue you an electronic invitation to upgrade your account.
If you are already a managed catalog vendor for OpsTechnology and need to register for Bell Partners, Contact Us. We will issue you an electronic invitation.
If you are already an electronic invoice vendor or managed catalog vendor for Bell Partners but have begun working with a new property, you may ask the property directly to send you a "new account request" through Ops so you can activate their property.

Under Construction - More Information Coming Soon.

1. How do I get on your Preferred Vendor List?
Bell Partners does not have a Preferred Vendor List. However, when selecting new vendors, our properties do look at our list of approved vendors first. For information on how to become an approved vendor with Bell Partners, click here.

2. What are the requirements, including insurance limits, to work for Bell Partners?
To be an approved vendor for Bell Partners, vendors must comply with our Vendor Management Program. Click here to visit the requirements page for details.

3. Which properties do Bell Partners manage in my area?
Visit our Bell Apartment Living website to search for apartments by metro area.

4. How do I bid for services in my area?
Services and vendors are generally selected by the individual properties or occasionally by a regional manager. If you would like to service an individual property, you should contact the property directly. If you wish to service a specific geographic area, you should contact the regional office closest to you. View Bell Regional Offices.

5. How do I become a national vendor for Bell Partners?
If your company has the ability to service our entire portfolio and you would like to inquire about a national agreement, Contact Us. If we are in need of your services, you will be contacted by our corporate office.

6. How do I register for OpsTechnology's OpsMerchant?
If you are an existing vendor, click here for details on how to register.
If you are a new vendor, click here for details.

7. How do I register for Compliance Depot?
If you are an existing vendor, click here for details on how to register.
If you are a new vendor, click here for details.

8. I'm currently enrolled with Compliance Depot for Bell Partners. Will I be notified when my insurance expires or my status changes?
Yes. Compliance Depot will notify you prior to your insurance expiring. If you supply current information to Compliance Depot, your status should not be affected. However, should you let your insurance lapse, your status will move to "incomplete" and payment for services rendered may be delayed.

9. I currently have an OpsMerchant account and wish to submit an invoice electronically. The system states I need a WTN. Where do I find that information?
A WTN (workflow tracking number) is the same as a PO number, but is auto generated by the property using OpsTechnology. Beginning November 12, 2012, Bell Partners will require the property to provide you a WTN for every order they submit to you. We ask that you place that WTN number on the invoice when submitting the invoice through OpsMerchant. If the property does not provide you a WTN when placing the order, please do not accept the order. In addition, please submit one invoice per WTN.

10. I currently have an OpsMerchant account and need to activate a new property. How do I do that?
To activate a new property, ask the property to send you an enablement request through Ops. Upon receipt of the request, you may activate the property in your OpsMerchant account. Download OpsMerchant Activation Instructions. NOTE – OpsMerchant will ask you to enter an account number for the property. This is the number your company uses to identify this property. If you do not use account numbers, you may enter the property's name.

11. How do I use the Compliance Depot website once I've registered with Compliance Depot?
Download the Compliance Depot Vendor Guide for detailed instructions on navigating the Compliance Depot website.

12. How can I tell if the invoices I submitted electronically through OpsMerchant have been paid by the property?
Once an invoice has been paid, vendors can see the payment information in OpsMerchant. For details on where to find payment information in OpsMerchant, download this one page instruction handout.