A supplier is anyone you buy stock from. They need to exist before you can raise an order or book a delivery in.

Steps

  1. Go to Suppliers.
  2. Add a supplier.
  3. Enter the Supplier Name, which is what your team will recognise.
  4. Add the Legal Name if it differs, which is the name on the invoice.
  5. Fill in the Email and Phone Number.
  6. Add the address, which is the Street Name, Locality and country.
  7. Set the Source of Supply.
  8. Choose the branch under Select Branch Assigned, or choose All Branch.
  9. Save.

Two names, and why

Supplier Name is what your team sees when raising an order, so make it the short name everybody uses.

Legal Name is the registered name that appears on their invoices. When the two differ, having both saves somebody trying to match a delivery note to an order.

Get the contact details right

The email and phone number are what you use when a delivery is short or late. That is exactly the moment you do not want to be hunting for them.

Use a shared inbox at the supplier rather than one salesperson's address if they have one, because people change jobs.

Branches

A supplier assigned to one branch cannot be used by another. If you buy centrally, use All Branch.

This catches people out when a second branch opens and orders cannot be raised against a supplier they have always used.

Keeping the list clean

Add each supplier once. Two records for the same company splits your buying history, so you can no longer see what you actually spend with them, which is the number you want at renewal time.