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Australia (AU)Bills & PurchasesSuppliers

Suppliers

The Suppliers tab manages your vendor database. Store supplier details, track ABNs, maintain contact information, and manage your payables relationships.

Overview cards

At the top of the page, summary cards show your supplier base:

Total Suppliers

  • Count: All suppliers in the system
  • Breakdown: Active and archived counts
  • Purpose: Quick view of vendor base size

Active Suppliers

  • Count: Suppliers currently in use
  • Status: Currently active relationships
  • Purpose: Working vendor count

Archived Suppliers

  • Count: Inactive suppliers no longer used
  • Purpose: Historical records maintained

The suppliers list

List columns

ColumnShows
Business NameSupplier company name
ContactPrimary contact person
EmailContact email address
PhoneContact phone number
ABNAustralian Business Number
StatusActive or Archived

Row actions

Click any supplier row to open the Supplier Editor where you can:

  • View and edit supplier details
  • Update contact information
  • Modify payment terms
  • View supplier transaction history
  • Archive or reactivate supplier

Status filter

Filter suppliers by status:

  • Active Suppliers: Currently used vendors (default view)
  • Archived Suppliers: Historical/inactive vendors
  • All Suppliers: Both active and archived

When to use status filter

  • Active: Day-to-day supplier management
  • Archived: Review historical suppliers
  • All: Complete supplier database view

The search box filters suppliers by:

  • Business name
  • Contact name
  • Email address
  • ABN

Search tips

  • Search partial names: “ABC” finds “ABC Supplies”
  • Search by ABN: “12 345 678 901”
  • Find contacts: “John Smith”

Adding new suppliers

Add Supplier button

Click Add Supplier to create a new supplier:

Opens the Supplier Editor with empty fields ready for data entry.

Creating from bill/PO

When entering a bill or PO:

  1. Type supplier name in supplier field
  2. If not found, select ”+ Add [name] as new supplier”
  3. Fill in supplier details
  4. Continue creating document

Supplier details

Business Information

Business Name: Legal company name.

  • Appears on bills and purchase orders
  • Used for reporting and searching

ABN: Australian Business Number.

  • 11-digit identifier
  • Verify with ABN Lookup if unsure
  • Required for claiming GST credits
  • Appears on purchase orders

Trading Name: If different from legal name.

  • Optional field
  • How supplier is commonly known

Contact Information

Primary Contact: Main person for orders/inquiries.

  • First and last name
  • Direct phone number
  • Email address

Phone: Main business phone.

Email: General email or accounts email.

Website: Supplier website (optional).

Address

Business Address: Registered or main office address.

Delivery Address: Where goods are sent (if different).

  • Use if supplier delivers to different location
  • Leave blank if same as business address

Payment Details

Payment Terms: Default terms for this supplier.

  • Due date calculation method
  • Examples: “7 days”, “30 days”, “End of month”
  • Can be overridden on individual bills

BSB and Account: For bank transfer payments.

  • Record for reference
  • Use when paying via bank transfer

Managing suppliers

Editing suppliers

  1. Click supplier name in list
  2. Update fields as needed
  3. Click Save

Commonly updated fields:

  • Contact person changes
  • Phone/email updates
  • Address changes
  • Payment term updates

Archiving suppliers

When you stop using a supplier:

  1. Open supplier in editor
  2. Click Archive
  3. Supplier moved to Archived status
  4. Historical bills remain linked

Why archive instead of delete:

  • Preserves historical transaction records
  • Maintains audit trail
  • Can be reactivated if needed

Reactivating suppliers

To bring back an archived supplier:

  1. Filter to “Archived Suppliers”
  2. Find the supplier
  3. Click Reactivate
  4. Supplier returns to Active status

Merging suppliers

If you have duplicate supplier records:

  1. Click Merge Suppliers button
  2. Select supplier to keep (target)
  3. Select supplier to merge (source)
  4. Review transactions that will be reassigned
  5. Confirm merge

What merges:

  • All bills/POs from source move to target
  • Source supplier is archived
  • Contact details from target kept

AU-specific features

ABN verification

Why ABN matters:

  • Required to claim GST credits
  • Validates supplier is registered business
  • ATO compliance

How to verify:

  1. Ask supplier for their ABN
  2. Check on ABN Lookup (abr.business.gov.au)
  3. Verify name matches
  4. Enter in Rebased

If ABN not provided:

  • Still record the supplier
  • Note ABN pending
  • Cannot claim GST without valid ABN

GST implications

  • Supplier must be registered for GST to charge it
  • Check ABN lookup for GST registration status
  • Record GST-free suppliers correctly

Best practices

Data entry

  • Verify ABN: Always confirm with supplier
  • Complete contact info: Name, phone, email
  • Record payment terms: For due date calculation
  • Note special requirements: Delivery instructions, etc.

Maintenance

  • Review annually: Update contact details
  • Archive inactive: Keep list manageable
  • Merge duplicates: Clean up errors
  • Verify ABNs: Especially for new suppliers

Using supplier data

  • Consistent selection: Always select from list (don’t type variations)
  • Check before adding: Search first, add only if needed
  • Update promptly: When supplier details change

Supplier transactions

Viewing history

From supplier editor:

  • All bills from this supplier
  • Total spend over time
  • Average bill amount
  • Payment status summary

Analyzing spend

Use supplier data for:

  • Vendor performance review
  • Spend analysis by category
  • Negotiating better terms
  • Identifying consolidation opportunities

Integration with other features

Bills

  • Supplier auto-fills from database
  • Payment terms applied from supplier record
  • ABN appears on bills

Purchase Orders

  • Supplier selection from database
  • Delivery address from supplier record
  • PO sent to supplier email

Reports

  • Spend by supplier
  • Payables aging by vendor
  • GST claimed by supplier

Troubleshooting

Can’t find a supplier

  • Check “All Suppliers” (might be archived)
  • Try partial name search
  • Verify spelling

Supplier has wrong ABN

  1. Edit supplier
  2. Update ABN field
  3. Verify with ABN Lookup
  4. Save changes

Duplicate suppliers created

  • Use Merge Suppliers to combine
  • Check bills are on correct supplier going forward
  • Archive duplicate after merge

Supplier not appearing in dropdown

  • Check supplier is “Active” (not archived)
  • Search in dropdown (might be lower in list)
  • Create new if genuinely missing
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