The furniture order is approved, the deposit is due and an email arrives with payment instructions. It names the correct project and repeats the amount you expected. Before sending the money, finance still needs to establish that the instructions came from the supplier and that the destination is authorized.
Make that check part of the opening plan before the first deposit falls due. A deadline is easier to manage when the person verifying the payment already knows whom to call and what evidence to retain.
Separate the order decision from the payment destination
The approved quote, purchase order and supplier acknowledgment establish what the project intends to buy. Your deposit and draw calendar establishes when the money is needed. Neither document, on its own, verifies an account number newly supplied by email.
Give these questions separate recorded answers: is this an approved payment for this order, and have the current payment instructions been verified? Keep the payment pending when the second answer is unresolved, even if the order and budget approvals are complete. Ask the authorized project and finance leads to resolve any resulting schedule issue with the supplier through the established contact.
The FBI's business email compromise guidance explains that fraudulent requests can appear to come from a known sender. Criminals may also gain access to legitimate billing conversations. A familiar name, correct order details or an existing email thread should therefore prompt you to find the right record, rather than serve as the verification itself.
Establish the contact before instructions change
At supplier onboarding, have finance record how it will independently reach the person authorized to confirm payment instructions. Use the project's established supplier relationship and independently obtained contact information. Keep this record in the restricted finance system, with a named person responsible for maintaining it.
The FBI advises looking up a company's phone number independently, rather than using a number supplied in a suspicious request. It also recommends verifying payment requests in person or by calling, including changes to account numbers or payment procedures.
For a new supplier, a public main number can be a starting point for reaching its authorized finance contact. It does not finish the check by itself. Establish that the person you reach has authority to confirm the supplier's instructions, and use your organization's payment controls to resolve any uncertainty about the supplier or payee.
If the established contact is unavailable, refer the request to the finance lead. A new number in the same email asking for the change is not an independent way to resolve that absence.
Verify the instructions you are about to use
Have finance compare the proposed destination with its verified supplier record before releasing payment. Treat a changed account, payment method or payee as a new verification task. The same applies if an intermediary or another company is suddenly named as the recipient: obtain an authorized explanation through the independent contact and have finance review it.
Use a short status record to keep the opening team informed without circulating banking details:
| Record | What the opening team needs to know |
|---|---|
| Order and payment reference | Which approved order and installment the check covers |
| Instruction status | First instructions, unchanged verified instructions or a requested change |
| Independent confirmation | Who completed it, when and which established contact route was used |
| Finance review | Accepted, unresolved or referred for further review |
| Payment release | Authorized person, release status and payment reference when sent |
This is a proposed project record, not a substitute for the organization's finance procedures. Keep full account details, verification documents and access permissions in the appropriate restricted system. The furniture tracker only needs the status and reference that let the project coordinate the order.
Deal with urgency through the project team
An instruction to pay immediately can collide with the order deadline. The FBI specifically advises caution when a requester presses for quick action. Bring the deadline and the unresolved payment check to the responsible project lead together; do not let a verbal assurance about losing a production slot quietly bypass finance authorization.
Ask the independently reached supplier contact what the delay means for the acknowledged order. Record any agreed revision to the payment or production timing. Do not assume that asking for time grants an extension, or that a transfer to an unverified destination will satisfy the supplier's deposit requirement.
When payment is released, reconcile the transaction with the supplier through the established process and update the order record. A sent-payment receipt shows that funds were sent; obtain the supplier's acknowledgment of the applicable order milestone separately.
Act promptly if a transfer may be fraudulent
If money has already gone to a suspect destination, the FBI advises contacting your financial institution immediately and asking it to contact the receiving institution. Report business email compromise to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center. Involve the organization's responsible finance and security people so they can preserve the relevant records and handle the incident.
These steps do not guarantee recovery. Avoid promising the opening team a refund or a replacement production date while the transfer and supplier position remain unresolved.
Before the next furniture deposit is due, assign the verifier, establish the independent supplier contact and put the verification status beside the payment milestone. That gives the person authorizing the transfer a clear answer about both the order and the destination.