Finance

MDF Management Software for IT Vendor Channel Programmes

PartnerFlo gives IT vendors a complete market development fund management workflow — from partner request submission through vendor approval, activity execution, proof-of-execution review, and reimbursement. Partners manage their MDF activity through the self-service portal. Vendors review and approve requests, track spend against quarterly budgets, and maintain a full audit trail of every co-marketing activity — without a spreadsheet in sight.

Why MDF management breaks down without dedicated software

Market development funds are one of the most powerful tools a vendor has to activate partner-led marketing — and one of the most administratively painful to manage. The typical process involves a request submitted by email, an approval that may or may not get recorded anywhere, an activity that takes place, a reimbursement request accompanied by invoices and screenshots, and a payment that gets processed when someone remembers to do it. At any stage, the process can stall — because there is no system enforcing it. Partners stop claiming MDF they are entitled to because the process is too slow and opaque. Vendors cannot report on MDF utilisation because the data is in email threads and a spreadsheet that is three months out of date. The result is co-marketing budget that goes unspent while partners feel unsupported.

How PartnerFlo handles it

Partner-initiated MDF requests with full workflow

Partners submit MDF requests directly through the PartnerFlo portal — activity description, activity type, planned date, and requested amount. The request is routed to the channel manager for review. Vendors can approve the full amount, approve a reduced amount with a note, or decline with a reason. Partners receive automated notification at each stage and can track their request status without emailing to chase.

Proof of execution and reimbursement management

After the approved activity takes place, partners return to the portal to submit proof of execution — uploading invoices, screenshots, attendance records, or any other required documentation. The vendor reviews the submission against the approved activity plan and processes reimbursement. Every document is stored against the MDF record, creating a complete audit trail from request to payment.

Budget tracking by partner and quarter

Vendors set MDF budgets by partner tier and track utilisation in real time from the vendor dashboard. The MDF approvals view shows every active request — pending, approved, in-progress, and paid — with amounts and activity types. Finance teams can see exactly what has been approved but not yet paid, what proof is awaiting review, and what has been reimbursed — without extracting data from a spreadsheet.

A record your finance team will actually trust

Every MDF transaction in PartnerFlo is timestamped and attributed to the user who performed each action. Approved amounts, activity descriptions, uploaded proof, and payment dates are all stored against the original request. When your finance team needs to reconcile co-marketing spend at the end of a quarter, the data is in one place and complete.

What's included

  • Partner self-service MDF request submission
  • Configurable approval workflow with partial approval support
  • Proof of execution upload and review
  • Reimbursement tracking with payment confirmation
  • MDF budget management by partner tier and quarter
  • Activity type categorisation (events, digital, webinars, etc.)
  • Real-time spend tracking vs approved budget
  • Full audit trail from request to payment
  • Automated partner notifications at each workflow stage
  • MDF activity history export for finance reconciliation

Related features

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