Vendors

For: People using the software to manage vendors

Purpose: Understand what the Vendor module does and how it helps your business

Related: The Customer module covers parties who buy from you (invoices, quotes, orders). The same party can be both a vendor and a customer; see [Linking a Vendor to a Customer](#section-1-sub-4) below.

What This Module Does

The Vendor module is where you keep all information about vendors: companies or people you buy from. You use it for:

• Bills: what they billed you and what you've paid or owe
• Purchase orders: orders you place with them
• GRPO (Goods Received Purchase Order): receipts against POs
• Payments made to vendors
• Vendor credits: credit they've given you that you can use against future bills

You can add, edit, search, and view vendors. You can manage their addresses and link a vendor to a customer when it's the same party (e.g. when one company both sells to you and buys from you).

Main Features (What You Can Do)

1. Add a New Vendor

• You enter details such as name, company name, email, phone, GSTIN, billing and shipping address.
• You can upload a company logo and documents (e.g. agreements, tax forms). These are stored securely.
• Each vendor is saved with a unique display name within your company. The same display name cannot be used twice for vendors (the check is case-insensitive, e.g. "ABC Ltd" and "abc ltd" count as the same).

2. Add Many Vendors at Once (Bulk Add)

• You can add multiple vendors in one go (e.g. from a list or import).
• The system records who added them and when. There is no duplicate-name or link check in this bulk step; use it when you are sure the data is correct.

3. Search and List Vendors

• You can search by name, company name, email, phone, code, or type.
• You can filter to show only Vendors (or use a combined list that includes customers when the screen needs both).
• The list is paginated (shown in pages) so it stays easy to use when you have many records.
• For each vendor you can see who added them, who last updated them, and their credit limit (either one overall limit or the sum of branch-wise limits, depending on your setup). You can also see who is linked to a customer.

4. View Full Details of a Vendor

When you open one vendor, the system can show:

• Purchase orders: status, total, order date.
• GRPO: status, total, date, link to PO/bill.
• Bills: status, total, paid amount, balance, dates.
• Payments made: amount, date, mode, status.
• Vendor credit: balance available, total, date, status.

If this vendor is linked to a customer, you also see the customer side:

• Invoices, delivery challans, sales orders, quotes, payments received, credit notes.

You can choose to see only split or non-split transactions when your company uses split accounting.

5. Link a Vendor to a Customer (Same Party)

• Sometimes one party is both your vendor (you buy from them) and your customer (you sell to them). You can link this vendor to one customer so that both sides of the relationship are visible in one place.
• Rules:
  • A vendor can be linked to only one customer. If they are already linked to someone else, you must unlink them first.
  • The customer can be linked to only one vendor (see the Customer module doc).
• When you link them, both records are updated so that from either the vendor or the customer screen you see the linked party and their related documents.

6. Update a Vendor

• You can change any saved details: name, addresses, contacts, credit limit, branches, payment terms, documents, logo, etc.
• Addresses: You can update the main billing and shipping address. You can also add and edit additional shipping addresses and turn them on or off (active/inactive).
• Branches: If you use branches, you can set opening balance, current balance, credit limit, payment terms, and restricted modules per branch. The system keeps balances consistent when you change opening balance.
• Documents and logo: New files you upload are added (documents) or replace the logo. Existing documents stay unless you change them.

7. Manage Addresses

• View addresses: You can see all shipping addresses (main + additional). The main one is marked as default; others can be marked active or inactive.
• Add a shipping address: You can add one more additional shipping address and use it for deliveries.
• Edit an address: You can edit either the default shipping address or any additional one (e.g. change street, city, pincode).
• Activate or deactivate: For additional shipping addresses only, you can toggle active/inactive so that old addresses stay in history but are no longer used for new orders.

8. Credit and Balances

• Credit limit: You can set an overall credit limit for a vendor or use branch-wise limits. The system can show you the total credit limit (e.g. sum of branch limits when branch credit is used).
• Unused credit: The system can show unused vendor credit balance (money you can use against future bills). This appears in lists and in the vendor view so you know how much credit is available.

9. Delete a Vendor

• You can delete a vendor when they are no longer needed. The system checks that the record belongs to your company. Deletion is permanent; use with care.

10. Vendor List for Dropdowns and Selection

• In other parts of the software (e.g. creating a bill, purchase order, or payment), you choose a vendor from a list. The module provides:
  • Vendor list: for purchases (bills, POs, payments, etc.) with optional branch filter. You can see who is linked to a customer.
  • Where the screen needs both vendors and customers, a combined list is available with filters, optional branch, and unused credit (vendor credit or credit note) so you can see available balance when selecting a party.

Summary Table (At a Glance)

Important Business Rules

1. Names: No duplicate display name for vendors within your company. The check is case-insensitive (e.g. "ABC Ltd" and "abc ltd" count as the same).
2. Linking: One vendor ↔︎ one customer. To link to a different customer, unlink the existing link first.
3. Documents and logo: Uploaded files are stored securely; new uploads add to documents or replace the logo as described above.