Vendors

Keep one list of everyone you buy from or let work to — suppliers, subcontractors, labour contractors, plant hire and consultants — with GSTIN, TDS section, terms and blacklist status.

Where

1. Procurement
2. Vendors

Who

• Company Admin
• Procurement Manager

Every purchase order and every subcontract names a vendor, so the vendor has to exist first. The same list is also in the sidebar under Vendors.

📷 Screenshot spot — the Vendors page with the kind filter set to "All kinds" and one vendor open below the list, showing its kind, status and payment terms

Save as static/img/screenshots/procurement-vendors.png and replace this box with ![Vendors](/img/screenshots/procurement-vendors.png)

Add a vendor

1. Open Procurement and click the Vendors tile.

2. Click New vendor.

3. Fill in the form:

   Field	What to enter
   Code	A short, unique code you will recognise, such as BLOCKWORK or ACC-CEMENT. It cannot repeat within your company
   Name	The name you use day to day
   Kind	What this vendor does for you — see below. It decides which cost head their spend lands under
   GSTIN	Their 15-character GSTIN, if registered
   State code	The 2-digit GST state code, for example 29 for Karnataka
   TDS section	For example 194C for a works contractor
   Contact person, Phone, City	Who to call
   Payment terms	Days of credit. Leave blank for the default of 30 days

4. Click Save vendor.

Choose the right kind

Kind	Use it for
Supplier	Cement, steel, aggregates — anything delivered against a delivery note and bought on a purchase order
Subcontractor	A firm doing a package of work, billed on measurement
Labour contractor	A contractor who supplies labour
Equipment hire	Whoever you hire plant and machinery from
Consultant	Professional services

Two rules are enforced: only a Subcontractor can be let a subcontract, and a Subcontractor cannot be put on a purchase order. The two documents carry different retention, certification and TDS terms, so keeping them apart keeps each cost in the right head.

warning

Once a vendor has a purchase order or a subcontract against them, their Kind can no longer be changed — the existing documents were filed under the old kind. If a supplier starts doing subcontract work for you, create a second vendor record for them as a subcontractor.

Edit a vendor's details

1. Click the vendor's row. Their details open below the list.
2. Click Edit.
3. Besides the fields above, you can now fill Legal name, PAN, MSME no., Email, the address lines, State, PIN, Bank, Account no., IFSC and Notes, and tick MSME or Active.
4. Click Save changes.

The payment terms are copied onto each purchase order when it is raised. Changing a vendor's terms later does not change orders already raised.

The vendor's email and phone are what the app offers when you send them a purchase order, so keep them current.

Blacklist a vendor

1. Open the vendor and click Blacklist.
2. Enter a Reason (required) — this is what the next person reads before lifting the blacklist.
3. Click Blacklist.

What changes:

• No new purchase order or subcontract can be raised with them.
• They disappear from the vendor pickers and, by default, from the Vendors list. Click Show blacklisted & inactive to see them again.
• Their history — orders, receipts, bills, payments — stays exactly as it was.

Blacklisting does not touch orders already raised. If a draft order to that vendor is in the system, cancel it yourself.

To undo it, open the vendor and click Lift blacklist. A reason is optional.

Make a vendor inactive

To retire a vendor without the weight of a blacklist, Edit them and untick Active. An inactive vendor is hidden from the list and refused on new purchase orders.

Delete a vendor

Delete works only for a vendor with no purchase orders or subcontracts. Once any document points at them, deleting is refused — blacklist them or mark them inactive instead.

Statuses

Status	Meaning
Active	Can be ordered from
Inactive	Retired; hidden and refused on new orders
Blacklisted	Refused on every new order and subcontract, with a recorded reason

Sync with Zoho Books

If your company has connected Zoho Books, a Sync to Zoho Books button appears at the top of the Vendors page for anyone who can edit vendors. It pushes your vendors to Zoho Books as contacts. Vendors already in Zoho Books show a small zoho tag next to their name. See Integrations.

Who can do what

Role	Can
Procurement Manager, Company Admin	Add, edit, blacklist and delete vendors
Accountant	Edit, blacklist and delete vendors (not add them)
Project Manager, QS / Estimator, Site Engineer, Store Keeper	View the list

Tips

• Use the All kinds filter and the Search name or code box to find a vendor quickly.
• The Share button on an open vendor gives a link that opens that vendor for a colleague. See Sharing.

Related

• Purchase orders — where a supplier is used.
• Subcontracts — where a subcontractor is used.
• Integrations — connect Zoho Books, email and WhatsApp.