Vendor Management: Frequently Asked Questions
Why can't I delete a vendor? Because vendors are attached to real bills and payments. Deleting one would leave gaps in your history and break your reports. Archiving retires the vendor without...
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Why can't I delete a vendor?
Because vendors are attached to real bills and payments. Deleting one would leave gaps in your history and break your reports. Archiving retires the vendor without touching anything you have already recorded, and it can be undone.
What is the difference between the three labels?
Service vendors come from Operations and carry an operational record: work orders, insurance, paperwork. Accounting vendors exist for the books only. Person rows are individuals you reimburse rather than companies.
They all behave the same way in this list. The label tells you where the rest of their record lives.
Why does clicking some rows take me to a different screen?
A Service vendor's full record lives in Operations, so clicking one opens that record. Accounting and Person rows open an editor inside the panel, because this is where their whole record lives.
Can I edit a service vendor's insurance or work orders here?
No. This screen holds the accounting side: name, contact details, tax number, address and the expense category. The operational side stays in Operations, which is where a service vendor's row takes you.
I renamed a service vendor and it warned me about QuickBooks. Did it still save?
Yes. The warning is telling you the name is shared, so the change reaches beyond this screen. It does not block the rename.
Why isn't there a category field when I add a vendor?
Because you rarely know the right answer at that moment, and guessing is what causes miscoded bills. The category sets itself from the first real bill instead, and you can override it from the list at any time.
A category appeared on a vendor by itself. Is that a bug?
No. The first genuine bill you record against a vendor with no category sets it. That is the only time it happens on its own, and it only ever fills a blank. A category you chose is never overwritten.
Does a draft bill set the category?
No. Only a real, committed bill does.
Can I stop the suggestion appearing?
There is no setting for it, but it is already about as quiet as it can be: it appears only after three bills in a row use the same different category, only once for that run, and never when you lack permission to act on it. Ignoring it changes nothing.
Why does the same vendor have a different category at another property?
Deliberate, for service vendors. One vendor can work across several properties and the correct category is not always the same in each, so it is remembered per property. Setting it at one property does not affect another.
Can I merge two vendors that are duplicates?
Yes. If a company has both a Service vendor and an Accounting vendor, you can merge the Accounting record into the Service one from the vendor's Merge button. The panel previews what would move (bills and recurring expense templates) before you confirm.
Can a merge be undone?
No. A merge is permanent. The source record becomes an inactive pointer at the target, and the change is written to the accounting audit log. There is no undo, which is why the panel shows a preview and a warning before the button runs.
Which vendor's name survives a merge?
The target's name, by default. The merge panel also offers a second option, keeping the source's name on the surviving company instead, if that record happened to have the name you actually want going forward.
What happens to past bills and general ledger entries after a merge?
They now point at the surviving company. Bills and recurring expense templates that belonged to the source vendor move to the target, and general ledger entries update the same way. Posted entries and history are not rewritten, reclassified, or reversed: only which vendor they belong to changes.
Why can't I merge into an Accounting vendor?
Because an Accounting vendor exists only to hold bills and a category. It has no operational record, so there is nothing for the source to merge into. The target picker only ever shows Service vendors that already serve the property.
Why was my merge refused?
The source vendor has reimbursement history. Reimbursement history can only ever point at an accounting record, so it cannot follow the merge. Settle or reassign those reimbursements first, then try again. Nothing changes on either record while the merge is refused.
Why can I see fewer properties on a vendor than before?
A vendor's property list now shows only the properties you are assigned to. This is a deliberate access change. Nothing was unlinked, and a colleague assigned to more properties sees more.
Is the "Account number" field a bank account?
No. It is your own reference number for that vendor, the sort of thing you would quote on a remittance. No banking or payment details are entered anywhere on this screen.
Can residents see any of this?
No. Vendor management is for property staff, board members and property managers only.
Do I need a particular plan?
The property needs accounting turned on. On plans below that, the card shows in read-only form.
Where did Products & Pricing and Approval Chain go?
Products & Pricing moved to the Services tab and Approval Chain moved to the Operations tab. Nothing about them changed except where they sit.