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How to Add and Edit a Vendor in Accounting

In this article:

Background

A Vendor is a business or independent contractor that you pay for providing their services to you, such as your suppliers. Before you can make payments to a vendor, you must first add the vendors you need to pay.

A vendor is different than a customer. A Customer is a business or person that purchases products or services from you.  If you have Accounting Basic or Accounting Premium, see Adding and Editing Customers.

How to Add a Vendor

If you are coming from another accounting system, you can import your vendor information into Patriot Software instead of manually entering each one.  For more details, see Importing Vendors into Patriot Software.

You can add and pay a new vendor without their Form W-9 information. However, you should complete the W-9 Information section as soon as the vendor gives you the completed Form W-9 so your records are complete. You must have the W-9 information to issue a 1099 at the end of the year.

đź’ˇ Currently, you can only add vendors based in the U.S.

  1. Go to Accounting > Payables > Vendors. 
  2. Click “+Add New.”
  3. Fill out the required fields.
    • Enter the Vendor’s legal name found in the W-9 section, if different from the Vendor Name.
    • Enter the Vendor’s Federal Employer Identification Number or Social Security Number, whichever they reported on the W-9.
    • Select the type of business from the dropdown list, as indicated on the W-9.
  4. Click “Save.”
  5. You can invite those who receive a 1099 to view their payment details and 1099s in a Contractor Portal by adding their email address and clicking “Send Invite.
  6. Notes are for your records only and will not print on a check
  7. Default Check Memo – an available field if you would like the same information to print on the check each time you pay the vendor, for example, an account number.
    • Please note, if the Default Check Memo is used, it will replace the vendor address on the printed check and you will not be able to print the vendor address on the check.
  8. “Create 1099 at Year-End?” – Keep the box checked so that you can issue a 1099. (There are some cases where the IRS does not require a 1099. See the IRS Instructions for Form 1099-MISC.)

You can also add a new vendor “on the fly” while you are Entering Bills From Your Vendors, and when you Pay Bills from Vendors.

The Vendor Record

  • Vendor Info” shows the vendor’s contact information.
  • “Payments” shows the same Vendor Payment History Report, just for this vendor.
  • “Attachments” shows a list of files you have attached to this vendor’s record, such as receipts or bills from the vendor. For more info, see Adding Attachments to Vendors.

How to Edit a Vendor

  1. Go to Accounting > Payables > Vendors 
  2. Click the Vendor name.  You are now on the “Vendor Info” page.
  3. Click Edit. You can now make changes in the fields.
  4. Click Save after your changes are complete.

How to Inactivate a Vendor

  1. Go to Accounting > Payables > Vendors
  2. Click the Vendor name.  
  3. Click Edit in the top right corner of the page.
  4. Uncheck the “Active?” box.
  5. Click “Save.”

How to Delete a Vendor

Vendors can only be deleted if they don’t have any transactions. If there are transactions, you won’t see the trash can icon. In that case, just inactivate the vendor instead.

  1. Go to Accounting > Payables > Vendors
  2. Click the Vendor name.
  3. Click the trashcan icon in the row of the vendor link if you have never paid this vendor. Once you have paid a vendor, the Delete icon will not be visible.
  4. Click either Yes or No to confirm.

How to Export Vendors

You can export all Vendors that are added in the software by

  1. Go to Accounting > Payables  > Vendors.
  2. Click the “Download Spreadsheet” link to get a spreadsheet of the vendors displayed on your screen.
  3. A spreadsheet will be saved to your device in your default download location (where you normally save files).

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