Frequently asked questions

If you have questions then please contact us – we’re always happy to answer an email or jump on a call. To save some time though, here are some of the common questions we are asked.

What does implementation look like?

We follow a simple four-step implementation process:

  1. DISCUSS. We'll talk with you about your requirements and explain what data we need to build and configure the system. This could be a quick one-hour meeting through to a full day workshop for complex imeplementations.
  2. COLLATE. You pull together the information we need to build the system (e.g. category taxonomy, organisation structure, benefit types, project steps & workflow etc) as well as existing project/savings data.
  3. BUILD. Once we have the data, we build and configure the system as well as migrate any existing project/savings data. This takes just 2-3 days.
  4. TRAIN. The system is now ready for use, so it's just a matter of training users and providing them with access to the tool.

The whole process can take anything from a week to a couple of months. It really depends if your data is in good shape and if you have a well defined existing process. We are always happy to offer advice where required.

Do my IT team need to get involved?

Provalido is a cloud-based system, so really just a website that you need to log in to. There's no need for any IT involvement, although your information security team are likely to require information about any cloud-based software and we are used to responding to data security questionnaires.

Do you offer Single-Sign-On?

Yes, we can include single-sign-on (SSO) as part of the implementation, or at a later data if required. Set-up is generally very simple and we support any SAML2 based SSO.

Where is the data stored?

We use one of the leading global hosting providers to store the data. All data is stored and backed-up within the EU. For organisations that require data to be stored in other regions, this can be provided for additional cost (although we can't provide on-premise hosting). We are fully GDPR compliant and Cyber Essentials certified.

How does pricing work?

Pricing is on an annual subscription model, based on the number of users you have. Our plans start at 10 users, and we only charge for users with Super or Editor roles (so those that will be creating and updating projects). Viewer and Remote users (all of whom can make approvals) are unlimited. We ask for a one year commitment, but many choose a longer term.

Do you provide a free trial?

Although our software is super-easy to use, for the best experience it does require configuring to match your process and structure. For this reason it's not well suited to free-trials and some work is required on both sides to get the system ready for use. We're happy to provide a generic sandpit for you to have a play with.

Does Provalido integrate with other systems?

We have an active API which means data can be pulled directly from our system into business intelligence tools such as PowerBI or Tableau. This can be set up by any user in just a few minutes. We are always open to suggestions on other integrations for both pulling data from and pushing data to our tool.

Can Provalido calculate PPV (purchase price variance)?

Provalido is designed to operate on a project level rather than a part number or SKU level. SKU level data can be uploaded in attachments, but the system is not designed to calculate savings for part number level data. However, PPV is only one if the many financial benefits that procurement can deliver, so if this is all that's being reported you may be missing out on showcasing procurement's full value. Check out the 16 different financial benefits in our free report.

Where is Provalido based?

We are based in the UK. We've never had an office so our team works remotely, spread from Swindon in the south of England to Aberdeen in the north of Scotland. All our system development is all performed in-house. We have customers around the world, many of whom we have met in-person, but several have been managed entirely virtually.

What's the story behind Provalido?

Provalido was founded in 2013 by Paul Gurr, an experienced procurement professional who saw the need for a better way to manage and report the benefits delivered by procurement. The first version of our tool was launched in 2014, with our first customer (who is still with us today) up and running in January 2015. Today we have over 7,000 users of the system across more than 70 customers. Our name comes from the words Procurement and Validation and yes, we wish we'd chosen a name that was easier to pronounce!