Relay's W-9 report lets you download every W-9 you've collected from your payees as a single zip file, ready for 1099 prep in QuickBooks Online, Xero, or your tax platform.
What you need before you start
A Relay Account on the Starter Plan, Grow Plan, or Scale Plan
Desktop access to Relay (the report is not available in the mobile app)
Administrator permissions on the account, either as the business owner or an advisor
At least one payee with a completed W-9 already on file
How do I run a W-9 report as a business owner?
Follow these five steps to generate the report from your own Relay Account.
Sign in to your Relay Account on desktop at relayfi.com.
Open the Payments section from the left navigation.
Click Payees to see the list of payees on the account.
Select Run W-9 Report from the right-side menu.
Confirm the download to save a zip file with all collected W-9 data.
The zip file includes a CSV of extracted fields plus the original PDF of each W-9.
How do I run a W-9 report as an accountant or advisor?
Advisors can pull W-9 reports across all their Relay clients at once, or for one client at a time.
To run a report across every client account:
Sign in to your advisor dashboard on desktop.
Select Run W-9 Report from the top-level menu.
Confirm the download to receive a combined report.
To run a report for a single client:
Locate the client in your client list.
Open that client's account.
Select Run W-9 Report from the payee menu.
Confirm the download.
What data is included in a W-9 report?
Each row in the CSV includes the fields Relay collects from a completed W-9:
Payee name
Federal ID type (EIN, SSN, ITIN, or ATIN)
Federal ID number
Address
Email
Entity type
Exempt payee code
FATCA exemption status
The zip file also contains the source PDF for every payee, so you can attach the original W-9 to your vendor records.
How does the CSV work with 1099, QuickBooks Online, and Xero?
The CSV export is formatted for direct upload into 1099 filing platforms, QuickBooks Online, and Xero. Column headers line up with the vendor-import fields those systems expect, so you can map fields on import without reformatting the file.
When does Relay collect W-9s from payees?
Relay collects W-9s during payee setup. The W-9 can either be manually linked yourself, or you can request that the form be provided by your new payee.
To add a W-9 yourself while creating a new payee:
Navigate to Payments, then select the Payees tab.
Select + Add Payee.
Fill in the payee information form. Navigate to the W-9 Collection sub-header, and select Upload (or drag and drop a W-9 file into this box). Select the W-9 file you wish to link to your payee.
Relay will auto-populate all required W-9 information fields. Select Add Payee once processing has completed.
The W-9 form will now appear on the payee’s profile! You can select Run W-9 Report > Download, or click into a specific payee to find a link to the W-9 form that you may click to download.
To directly request the W-9 form from your payee:
While creating a new payee, navigate to the Payment Methods tab and select + Add Payment Method.
Select Request Details from Payee, then select the W-9 Form Required box.
Once you finalize the payee creation, Relay sends the payee a secure link to upload their signed W-9 (along with their requested payment details). Once the payee submits the form, it is stored on their record and included in every future W-9 report.
Can I upload a W-9 for a payee I already created?
Yes. If you did not tick W-9 form required when you created the payee, you can attach the W-9 yourself at a later point, should your payee send it to you via another method. This can be done on the browser, not the mobile app.
To add a W-9 to an existing payee, follow the below steps:
Navigate to Payments, then select the Payees tab.
Select the three dots besides a payee name and press Upload W-9, OR click on your payee and select Upload W-9.
Navigate to the W-9 Collection sub-header, and select Upload (or drag and drop a W-9 file into this box). Select the W-9 file you wish to link to your payee.
Relay will auto-populate all required W-9 information fields. Select Save Payee once processing has completed.
The W-9 form will now appear on the payee’s profile! You can select Run W-9 Report followed by Download, or click into a specific payee to find a link to the W-9 form that you may click to download.
Who has permission to run a W-9 report?
Only Administrators can run W-9 reports. That includes:
The business owner on their own Relay Account
Advisors with Administrator access on a client account
Team members at lower permission levels will not see the Run W-9 Report option in the menu.
Common issues
The Run W-9 Report option is missing. You are likely signed in on the mobile app or your role is below Administrator. Switch to desktop and confirm your permission level in Team & Advisors.
A payee is missing from the report. The W-9 form required box was not checked when the payee was created, or the payee has not submitted their form yet. Archive and recreate the payee to re-trigger the collection flow, or manually link the W-9 form yourself to your created payee.
The zip file is empty. No completed W-9s have been submitted yet. Confirm at least one payee has a W-9 on file before running the report.
CSV import fails in QuickBooks Online or Xero. Compare the CSV column headers against your accounting software's vendor import template. Some platforms require adjusting the entity type field before import.
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