01Guide · Supplier check
AICTIONBOT™ · Guide
Supplier check: sanctions lists, LEI register and VAT number in one step.
A new supplier, a good offer, the first order is about to go out. If you do not look first at who you are dealing with, you often find out only when something goes wrong. This guide shows what to check before the first order. The Workbench supplier check matches lists and registers for you.
No AI, no daily limit, no account. Your browser checks the sanctions lists itself. Nothing is stored. Not legal advice.
02Check now · name, country, VAT number
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03Six checkpoints
What to check before the first order.
The supplier check covers the first four points in one step. For the rest it tells you where to look.
- Sanctions listsIs the supplier on a sanctions list? The supplier check matches the name against five sanctions lists of the EU, the United Nations, the USA and the United Kingdom, about 94,000 names.
- CountryEU sanctions regimes with restrictions on goods, sectors and payments apply to some countries. If you enter the country, the check names the regime.
- LEI registerMany companies have a global identifier, the LEI. The entry shows name, address, registration number and status, and where reported the parent and group company. No LEI is not a warning sign on its own: many smaller companies do not have one.
- VAT numberIs the number valid according to the European Commission? For German numbers the EU service VIES returns no name. The qualified confirmation with name and town comes from the German Federal Central Tax Office.
- What else mattersInsolvency notices, the commercial register, the transparency register and, for dual-use goods, export control. The check does not cover these sources, but it lists them in the result.
- File a check recordRecord when you checked what. The check creates a record with date and sources and, if you wish, adds a follow-up in 6 months to the deadline guard.
04Approach
How to build the check into your purchasing.
- Check before the first order: check new suppliers before you order or pay a deposit.
- Check with all details: company name, country and, if available, VAT number and LEI. The more details, the clearer the result.
- Take hits seriously: red means do not order before the hit is resolved. Similar names are no proof, no hits are no clearance.
- Repeat regularly: lists change. For ongoing suppliers repeat the check, for example with the follow-up after six months.
- Know the limits: the name match does not replace a legal sanctions screening. For hits or sensitive goods, get legal advice.
05Questions and answers
What businesses ask us most often.
Which sources does the supplier check use?
Five sanctions lists of the EU, the United Nations, the USA and the United Kingdom with about 94,000 names, EU sanctions regimes by country, the global LEI register of GLEIF and the validity of the VAT number via the EU service VIES.
Does the name leave my device?
Not for the sanctions lists: your browser checks the lists itself. For the LEI register and VAT number only name, country and number go to GLEIF and the European Commission. Nothing is stored.
What do red, amber and green mean?
Red: hit on a sanctions list, do not order before the hit is resolved. Amber: findings, please clarify before ordering. Green: no findings in the sources checked.
No entry in the LEI register, is that a problem?
Not on its own. Many smaller companies have no LEI. Pay particular attention to the VAT number and the commercial register extract then.
Does this replace a sanctions screening?
No. The name match does not replace a legal sanctions screening and is not legal advice. Similar names are no proof, no hits are no clearance.
What does the check cost?
Nothing. The supplier check works without AI and without a daily limit, no account. The Workbench licence at €14.99 per month or €149 per year lifts the daily limit of the AI tools; you can try it free for 7 days, no card.
Who is it for?
For businesses without their own purchasing or legal department: trades, retail, law and accounting firms, practices, clubs and the mid-market.
Check now
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Guide by Dario Kulić, KULIC Advisory, Cologne. Twenty years of purchasing in large companies. Not legal advice. Last updated: October 2026.