Vendors — User Guide

Module: Purchase
Audience: Procurement staff, vendor administrators, system administrators
Version: 1.0.0
Last updated: 2026-07-22

Overview

A vendor is a supplier your organization buys from. The Purchase module stores vendor company details, contacts (for the vendor portal), bank accounts, and links to quotations, contracts, purchase orders, invoices, and payments. You can filter the vendor list, assign internal staff as vendor admins, import vendors from Excel, and send account statements to vendor contacts.

Prerequisites

Step-by-step: View the vendor list

1. Go to Purchase → Vendor.
2. Use the filter menu to narrow results:
   • Vendors assigned to me — only vendors where you are a vendor admin
   • Vendor category
   • Vendors that have purchase orders or quotations in a given status
3. Click a company name to open the vendor profile.

Toolbar actions (when permitted): New vendor, Import vendors, Vendor contacts (all contacts across vendors), and links to the vendor portal login or registration page.

Step-by-step: Create a vendor

1. Go to Purchase → Vendor.
2. Click New vendor.
3. On the Vendor detail tab, complete company information:
   • Vendor code (assigned automatically, for example VEN-0001)
   • Company name, VAT, phone, website
   • One or more vendor categories
   • Default currency and language (optional)
   • Address and country
4. Optionally open Billing & shipping and Return policies before saving.
5. Click Submit.

Save and add contact: On a new vendor, use Save and add contact to go straight to adding the first portal user.

Expected result: The vendor appears in the list. If you only have View own permission, you are automatically assigned as a vendor admin for vendors you create.

Step-by-step: Edit a vendor profile

1. Open the vendor from the list.
2. Use the left sidebar to switch tabs (profile sections and related records).
3. On Profile, update fields in Vendor detail, Custom fields, Billing & shipping, or Return policies.
4. Click Submit.

Vendor codes cannot be changed after creation.

Step-by-step: Assign vendor admins

Vendor admins are internal staff members responsible for a vendor. Users with View own only can open vendors where they are assigned as admin.

1. Open the vendor → Profile → Vendor admins tab.
2. Click Assign admin.
3. Select one or more staff members and save.

Step-by-step: Manage vendor contacts

Contacts are people at the vendor who can log in to the vendor portal.

1. Open the vendor → Contacts tab.
2. Click New contact (available when the vendor registration is confirmed).
3. Enter name, email, and password options (including send set password email if offered).
4. Save.

To see contacts across all vendors: Purchase → Vendor → Vendor contacts.

Mark one contact as primary for display on documents and statements.

Step-by-step: Manage bank accounts

On the vendor Profile → Vendor detail tab (right column):

1. Add a bank account with bank name, account name, and account number.
2. Set one account as primary for payments and documents.
3. Edit or remove accounts as needed.

Step-by-step: Import vendors

1. Go to Purchase → Vendor → Import vendors.
2. Download or use the provided Excel template.
3. Upload the completed file.
4. Review success and error feedback; fix failed rows and re-import if needed.

Requires Create permission on Purchase Vendors.

Step-by-step: Vendor purchase statement

1. Open the vendor → Purchase statement tab.
2. Select the statement period.
3. Review the on-screen statement.
4. Optional actions:
   • Print or PDF
   • Send to email — choose vendor contacts and optionally attach the PDF

Requires View permission on Purchase Vendors.

Step-by-step: Approve or reject portal registration

When Allow vendors to register is enabled, new portal sign-ups appear in the vendor list awaiting confirmation (highlighted row).

Confirm registration (administrator or settings editor):

1. Open the vendor profile or use Confirm registration on the list row.
2. Review uploaded registration documents if present.
3. Confirm to activate the vendor and primary contact.

Reject registration (administrator only): removes the vendor record entirely.

Until confirmed, the vendor cannot be activated from the list toggle and new contacts cannot be added.

Vendor profile tabs (related records)

Common issues

Related features

• Purchase requests — invite vendors to RFQs
• Purchase orders — edit — orders tied to vendors
• Purchase → Settings → Vendor category, Vendor required docs, Purchase options (portal registration)
• Vendor portal (separate feature cluster) — external login and self-service