Suppliers
Suppliers holds the accounts of the people and organisations you buy from: their status and approval, classification, commercial, payment and delivery terms, holds, notes, compliance and certifications, risk and performance, tax and banking details, and which of their addresses and contacts to use for ordering, delivery and remittance.
A supplier is built from three layers. You never type a supplier's name or address into Suppliers itself:
One Partner can have one supplier account. If the organisation is also a customer, its Partner type is Customer and supplier and it has a separate account in Customers.
Every page follows the same pattern: Where (the screen) and Who can do it (the permission), numbered steps with the exact field names, a field table with examples, and what the system refuses.
The example used in this guide
Bright Home Supplies buys stock from Northstar Wholesale, supplier code SUP-0017. The examples
continue the Purchasing guide.
| Person or account | Role in the examples |
|---|---|
| Omar | Buyer. Creates suppliers and keeps their terms up to date. |
| Nadia | Procurement approver. Reviews compliance and moves suppliers to Active. |
| Farah | Accounts. Records tax and bank details. |
Northstar Wholesale (SUP-0017) | Main stock supplier: distributor, preferred, GBP. |
Coastline Packaging (SUP-0024) | New packaging supplier onboarded in the worked example. |
The Suppliers screens
Open Suppliers from the dashboard.
| Screen | What it is for | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Supplier register | Search and filter suppliers; find by external reference | Find suppliers |
| Create supplier | Choose or create the Party, the Partner, then the supplier account | Create a supplier |
| Supplier details | Eight tabs, below | |
| Supplier groups | Group suppliers, e.g. by category | Groups |
| Tab on Supplier details | What it holds | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | Account and identity, classification, lifecycle status, purchase readiness | Status and purchase readiness |
| Commercial | Commercial, payment and delivery terms | Terms |
| Addresses and contacts | Ordering, delivery, remittance addresses and contacts | Addresses and contacts |
| Holds and notes | Holds and internal notes | Holds and notes |
| Compliance | Compliance profile and certifications | Compliance |
| Risk and performance | Risk profile and performance ratings | Risk and performance |
| Finance | Tax, financial, electronic invoicing, bank accounts | Finance |
| References | IDs in other systems | Holds and notes |
Can we order from this supplier?
A purchase order is only allowed when every check passes. The Purchase readiness panel on the Overview shows each one.
Key terms
| Term | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Supplier code | Your unique, permanent code | SUP-0017 |
| Supplier type | What they are | DISTRIBUTOR |
| Supplier tier | How you rate them | PREFERRED |
| Approved supplier flag | Procurement has approved them | On |
| Hold | A typed stop on one activity, separate from status | PURCHASING hold |
| Compliance profile | Checks done and the approval for purchasing | APPROVED, approved for purchasing |
| Assignment | Which Party address or contact to use for a purpose | ORDERING contact |
Next: Access and permissions.