Vendor Management

Vendors are your suppliers and partners who provide the products and materials for your business. TimberCloud's vendor management system helps you maintain organized supplier relationships, track purchase history, and streamline the procurement process.

Creating a Vendor

Navigation

1. Go to Purchasing → Vendors
2. Click + New Vendor button

Required Information

Basic Details

• Vendor Name: The company or individual name
• Vendor Code: An optional internal reference code (e.g., "SUPP-001")
• Vendor Type: Categorize your vendor
  • Manufacturer: Direct producer of goods
  • Distributor: Reseller or wholesale supplier
  • Service Provider: Provides services rather than goods

Contact Information

• Primary Contact: Name of your main point of contact
• Email: Primary email for communications and PO delivery
• Phone: Contact phone number
• Website: Vendor's website URL

Financial Settings

Payment Terms

Configure default payment terms for purchase orders:

• Net 30: Payment due within 30 days
• COD: Cash on delivery
• Prepaid: Payment required before shipment

Tax Configuration

• Tax Rate: Default tax percentage to apply to purchases
• Tax ID: Vendor's tax identification number for record-keeping

Credit Management

• Credit Limit: Maximum credit extended to/from this vendor

Currency

• Default Currency: The vendor's preferred currency
• Supports all major world currencies
• Will auto-populate on new purchase orders

Lead Time Settings

• Lead Time: Expected delivery time from order placement
• Lead Time Format: Days, Weeks, or Months
• Used for planning and expected delivery date calculations

Addresses

Billing Address

Where invoices should be sent (if different from your company):

• Street address
• City, State/Province
• Postal code
• Country

Shipping Address

Vendor's shipping origin:

• Used for logistics planning
• Helps calculate accurate freight estimates

Vendor Detail View

Click on any vendor to access the full vendor profile with tabbed navigation:

General Information Tab

• View and edit basic vendor details
• Update contact information
• Modify vendor status (Active/Inactive)

Purchase Orders Tab

• View all purchase orders for this vendor
• See order counts and status breakdown
• Quick stats: Total Orders, Pending, Approved, Total Value
• Create new PO directly from vendor view

Payment & Terms Tab

• Review payment terms and credit limits
• Update financial settings
• Track payment history

Shipping Tab

• Manage shipping addresses
• Configure logistics preferences
• View shipping history

Documents Tab

• Upload contracts and agreements
• Store certifications and licenses
• Attach related documentation

Note: Document storage is available through the interface for organizing vendor-related files.

Notes Tab

• View and edit vendor notes
• Quick access to contact information
• Communication guidelines display

Note: The vendor record has a single notes field for general vendor information.

Managing Vendors

Editing a Vendor

1. Navigate to the vendor detail page
2. Click Edit button
3. Make your changes
4. Click Save

Deactivating a Vendor

Rather than deleting, deactivate vendors you no longer work with:

1. Edit the vendor
2. Set Active status to No
3. Inactive vendors won't appear in vendor selection dropdowns

Vendor Lookup

Use the search and filter options on the vendors list:

• Search by name or code
• Filter by vendor type
• Filter by active status
• Sort by name, recent activity, or total spending

Tracking Vendor Activity

Monitor vendor relationships through purchase order history:

Available Information

• Purchase Order History: All orders placed with the vendor
• Order Counts: Total and by status (pending, approved, received)
• Total Spending: Cumulative value of orders
• Recent Activity: Latest purchase orders

Using Vendor History

• Review order patterns and frequency
• Track spending by vendor over time
• Access purchase order details directly from vendor profile
• Plan future orders based on past activity

Best Practices

Setting Up New Vendors

1. Verify Information: Confirm all contact details before saving
2. Request Tax Documents: Obtain W-9 or appropriate tax forms
3. Negotiate Terms: Establish payment terms upfront
4. Document Agreements: Upload contracts to the Documents tab
5. Set Accurate Lead Times: Critical for inventory planning

Maintaining Vendor Data

• Review vendor information quarterly
• Update contact changes promptly
• Track price changes and renegotiate as needed
• Document any issues in the Notes section

Multi-Vendor Strategy

• Maintain backup vendors for critical materials
• Diversify supply sources to reduce risk
• Compare pricing across vendors regularly
• Balance cost savings with reliability

Integration with Purchase Orders

When creating a purchase order, vendor selection automatically populates:

• Default payment terms
• Tax rate for calculations
• Currency for pricing
• Vendor contact for PO delivery

Vendor-Specific Features

• Quick PO Creation: Start a new PO directly from vendor profile
• Auto-Email: Approved POs are automatically sent to vendor email
• PDF Attachments: Professional PO documents included in emails

Reporting

Access vendor insights from Reports → Purchasing Reports:

Vendor Summary

• Total spending by vendor
• Order counts and values
• Filter by date range and status
• Export to spreadsheet

Purchasing Reports Include

• Summary of all purchase orders
• Products purchased breakdown
• Vendor spending analysis
• Location-based filtering

Troubleshooting

Vendor Not Appearing in PO Dropdown

• Verify the vendor is marked as Active
• Check that the vendor is associated with your company
• Refresh the page to reload vendor data

Emails Not Reaching Vendor

• Verify the email address is correct
• Check for typos in email field
• Ask vendor to whitelist your domain
• Check spam/junk folders

Tax Rate Not Applied Correctly

• Confirm tax rate is set on vendor profile
• Check that the tax rate format is percentage (e.g., 8.25)
• Verify the PO wasn't created before tax rate was set