Vendor contact information

On the vendor record, you enter primary contact information that serves as the vendor's default contact. In the Contact information tab, you can also specify additional contacts to use as pay-to, return-to, 1099, or location-based contacts.

Subscription Accounts Payable
User type Business
Permissions

Vendors: List, View, Add, Edit

About vendor contact information

The information you enter in the Primary contact section on the Vendor tab is used as the default contact information for the vendor, unless otherwise specified. On the Contact list tab, you can set up and attach additional contacts to use for specific purposes.

Assigning a contact to one of the contact types (Primary, Pay to, Return to, or 1099) sets that contact as the new default vendor contact for specific areas. The following table describes which contact type is used as the default for which transactions and activities:

If these fields are not populated, the default contact information of a vendor will be the same as the Primary contact section of the Vendor tab.
Contact type Description
Primary contact Default contact for all transactions if no other vendor contacts are defined.
Pay-to contact

Default contact when paying by checks or creating bills.

This contact is required for calculating tax in the Purchasing application.

Return-to contact

Default contact for purchasing transactions.

This contact is required if your company uses Advanced Tax calculation or AvaTax (Purchasing).

Default contact for the return of purchases from purchasing transactions.

1099 contact Default contact for all 1099 tax transactions and documents. Learn more about 1099 contacts.

Contact names: on-page and printed

When you set up your contacts, there are two fields to pay special attention to: Suggested contact name and Print as.

Suggested contact name is a unique ID used across your company in common areas such as vendors, employees, customers, users, projects, dimensions, and recurring transactions. This field is not printed on your documents or used in your transactions; rather, the Suggested contact name is simply how the contact record is stored in Intacct. This name is that you use to search through contacts in Intacct, whether through the Contact list or when selecting a different contact during the creation of a transaction. After the Suggested contact name is created, it can’t be changed.

In contrast, the Print as field defines how the contact name appears on printed documents, such as bills and checks. The Print as field doesn't have to match the Suggested contact name. Furthermore, because the Print as field is not unique, you can make changes to it at any time.

Because of how these fields are used in your company, you do not need to create a brand new contact record when your vendor name or mailing information changes. Also, you can create separate contact records for different vendor locations using unique Suggested contact names, but still retain the same Print as name across all records as it should appear.

For example, say you need to add contacts for the Vendor A. Vendor A has locations in both California and North Carolina. In this case, you would create two contact records, one for California and one for North Carolina. For the California contact record, you'd set the Suggested contact name to something like "Vendor A California" so that the record is easy to identify when setting up your vendor contact list or manually choosing different contacts on transactions. However, you'd set the Print as field to "Vendor A" as it should appear on printed documents. Similarly, for the North Carolina record, you'd set the Suggested contact name to "Vendor A North Carolina" and the Print as field to "Vendor A."

Set up contact information for a vendor

You can set up contact information directly from the vendor record. You can even create new contacts in the vendor record while you create or update the vendor.

Although only a name is required for a vendor contact, it's recommended to fill out the address portion of the contact record as well if you have an ongoing relationship with the vendor.

If you have a vendor with multiple locations, set up one vendor with multiple contacts for each location. With these extra contacts, you can override the default contact on a transaction if necessary.

  1. Go to Accounts Payable > All > Vendors.

  2. Do one of the following:
    1. To add a new vendor, select Create.
    2. To edit a existing vendor, select More actions > Edit at the end of the row.
  3. Go to the Contact list tab, then locate the Contact list section.

  4. Select in the Category column in a row, then enter a user-defined category or name for the contact.

    Entering a category makes it easier to group, sort, and keep track of contacts.

    For instance, you might have a vendor with many locations and contacts. It could be confusing and time-consuming to see a long list of similarly named contacts associated with the vendor.

    However, if you set the category to "Pay to" for each Pay-to contact with a different location, then it would be easier to select the right one. Or, if your contact names are already easily identifiable, you might use their different locations as the category instead for quick scanning.

  5. In the Contact column of that row, either:
    • Choose an existing contact. Use Find to filter the list.
    • Create a new contact for use.
      1. Select Add in the Contact dropdown list.

      2. In the Contact Information window, enter a Suggested contact name and a Print as name for the contact.

        The Suggested contact name is a unique ID used across the system by various records. It can't be changed after creation. The Print as name is the text that appears on printed documents and transactions.

      3. Fill in any additional information necessary to your business.

        For instance, if you're going to mail payments to this vendor, you might want to fill out the Mailing information.

      4. Select Save.
  6. For each contact that you want to add to the vendor record, select a category and a contact, on a new row.
  7. In the Pay to and return to section at the top, select a contact from the dropdown list for each field your company uses: Primary contact, Pay-to contact, Return-to contact, 1099 contact.
    You can only select contacts that you added in the Contact list on this tab. If you need to assign a contact that is not shown in the list, add it . If you didn’t add the contact to your Contact list in the below section, then you can't choose it as a default in your vendor contact dropdown lists.
  8. Select Save.

  1. Go to Accounts Payable > All > Vendors.

  2. Do one of the following:
    • Add a new vendor record.
    • Edit an existing vendor record.
  3. Go to the Contact list tab, then locate the Contact list section.
  4. Select in the Category column in a row, then enter a user-defined category or name for the contact.
    Entering a category makes it easier to group, sort, and keep track of contacts.

    For instance, you might have a vendor with many locations and contacts. It could be confusing and time-consuming to see a long list of similarly named contacts associated with the vendor.

    However, if you set the category to "Pay to" for each Pay-to contact with a different location, then it would be easier to select the right one. Or, if your contact names are already easily identifiable, you might use their different locations as the category instead for quick scanning.

  5. In the Contact column of that row, either:
    • Choose an existing contact. Use Find to filter the list.
    • Create a new contact for use.
      1. Select Add in the Contact dropdown list.
      2. In the Contact Information window, enter a Suggested contact name and a Print as name for the contact.
        3. The Suggested contact name is a unique ID used across the system by various records. It can't be changed after creation. The Print as name is the text that appears on printed documents and transactions.
      3. Fill in any additional information necessary to your business.

        For instance, if you're going to mail payments to this vendor, you might want to fill out the Mailing information.

      4. Select Save.
  6. For each contact that you want to add to the vendor record, select a category and a contact, on a new row.
  7. In the Pay to and return to section at the top, select a contact from the dropdown list for each field your company uses: Primary contact, Pay-to contact, Return-to contact, 1099 contact.
    You can only select contacts that you added in the Contact list on this tab. If you need to assign a contact that is not shown in the list, add it . If you didn’t add the contact to your Contact list in the below section, then you can't choose it as a default in your vendor contact dropdown lists.
  8. Select Save.

Set up a vendor with multiple locations and contacts

When you set up a vendor that has multiple contacts for multiple locations, it's best to set up one vendor record that has all of these contacts added to the vendor contact list.

However, because you can only designate one default contact per category, you might have to overwrite the default contact during the creation of a transaction. Because of this, you need to create unique contacts that are identifiable throughout Intacct to avoid confusion about which contact belongs to which location.

For example, when you create a new contact for a vendor location, say New York, you could name it "Vendor Name New York." If you were to make another contact for that same vendor, but for a different location, you could name the contact "Vendor Name California."

Given this, setting up a vendor with multiple locations and contacts is a multi-step process:

  1. Set up your vendor record.
  2. Create all contacts that need to be associated with the vendor record, and add those contacts to the vendor contact list.
  3. Overwrite the contact on the transaction.

To overwrite a contact on a transaction:

  1. Create a new transaction, or edit an existing one.

    For example, if you want to create a bill for a vendor with multiple locations, go to Accounts Payable > All, and select Add (circle) next to Bills.

  2. In the Vendor field, choose the appropriate vendor.
  3. In the Pay to and/or Return to field, select the dropdown arrow, then select Find.
  4. In the Contact name field on the Select Contact window, enter the name of the contact you want to use for this transaction.
    5. The system stores contacts by their unique Suggested contact name. Be sure to search by this name when selecting a new contact.
  5. Select Select next to the appropriate contact name.
  6. Fill in any other necessary information, then save your progress.

Edit contact information in a vendor record

To update the Print as name or the mailing address for a contact, edit the contact record through the vendor record. This ensures that you edit the correct record.

Changing a vendor contact only affects future transactions. If you need to change contacts on previous transactions, see Edit contact information used in a transaction.

  1. Go to Accounts Payable > All > Vendors.

  2. Find the vendor you want to update.

    If you're having trouble finding the vendor, filter the list by vendor name. Records designated as Inactive do not appear in the list by default. To view these records, select Filters at the top of the list and select Remove next to the Status filter to remove it.

  3. Select More actions > Edit at the end of the row.

    To see the Edit option for a vendor, you need the following:

    • Access to the entity where the vendor was originally created.

      For example, if the vendor was created at the top-level, you need to slide into the top level to edit it. If you do not have access to that level, you cannot edit the vendor record.

    • Access to entities where the vendor is restricted.

      For example, say you are a restricted user with top-level access. If a top-level vendor is restricted to the West entity, and you do not have access to that entity, you cannot edit the vendor record at the top level.

    • Permission to edit vendors.

  4. Go to the Contact list tab.
  5. In the Contact list section, select the name of the contact you want to edit in the Contact column, then select the dropdown arrow.
  6. In the dropdown list, make sure the contact that you want to edit is highlighted, then select View.
  7. In the Contact Information window, select Edit.
  8. Make your changes.

    To make a name correction, change the Print as name. This is used on printed documents and transactions. The Suggested contact name is only a unique identifier used by Intacct. However, if you want to make changes to this field, see Change the suggested contact name.

  9. Select Save.

  1. Go to Accounts Payable > All > Vendors.

  2. Edit the appropriate vendor record.
  3. Go to the Contact list tab.
  4. In the Contact list section, select the name of the contact you want to edit in the Contact column, then select the dropdown arrow.
  5. In the dropdown list, make sure the contact that you want to edit is highlighted, then select View.
  6. In the Contact Information window, select Edit.
  7. Make your changes.

    To make a name correction, change the Print as name. This is used on printed documents and transactions. The Suggested contact name is only a unique identifier used by Intacct. However, if you want to make changes to this field, see Change the suggested contact name.

  8. Select Save.

Edit vendor contact information on a transaction

If you notice that the vendor contact information is incorrect on a transaction, or perhaps the transaction uses the wrong contact entirely, then you can edit or change the contact from the transaction itself. This is simple to do if you notice the error during the creation of the transaction, but keep in mind that editing vendor contact information only affects the current transaction being created and future transactions.

If you already saved and posted the transaction, editing or changing a contact becomes more complicated. Depending on the type of transaction and the state of the transaction, you may have to reverse the transaction before you can make any changes to the transaction record, including changes to the associated contact record that apply to the existing transaction.

See Edit contact information used in a transaction for more detailed information and step-by-step instructions.

Change a vendor contact

Perhaps your primary vendor contact has changed, or maybe your vendor has a new Pay-to contact. You can change any contacts associated with a vendor in the Contact list tab.

Changing a vendor contact only affects future transactions. If you need to change contacts on previous transactions, see Edit contact information used in a transaction.

  1. Go to Accounts Payable > All > Vendors.

  2. Find the vendor you want to update.

    If you're having trouble finding the vendor, filter the list by vendor name. Records designated as Inactive do not appear in the list by default. To view these records, select Filters at the top of the list and select Remove next to the Status filter to remove it.

  3. Select More actions > Edit at the end of the row.

    To see the Edit option for a vendor, you need the following:

    • Access to the entity where the vendor was originally created.

      For example, if the vendor was created at the top-level, you need to slide into the top level to edit it. If you do not have access to that level, you cannot edit the vendor record.

    • Access to entities where the vendor is restricted.

      For example, say you are a restricted user with top-level access. If a top-level vendor is restricted to the West entity, and you do not have access to that entity, you cannot edit the vendor record at the top level.

    • Permission to edit vendors.

  4. Go to the Contact list tab.
  5. In the Contact list section, add any new contacts you need to the vendor contact list.

    See Set up contact information for a vendor for more details.

  6. In the Pay to and return to section, choose the new default contact for each contact type from the dropdown list.
  7. If applicable, delete the old contact from the vendor contact list by selecting the trash icon at the end of the corresponding row.

    This removes the contact record from the vendor contact list, and is no longer available as a default contact option. However, the contact record remains in Intacct.

  8. Select Save.

  1. Go to Accounts Payable > All > Vendors.

  2. Edit the appropriate vendor record.
  3. Go to the Contact list tab.
  4. In the Contact list section, add any new contacts you need to the vendor contact list.

    See Set up contact information for a vendor for more details.

  5. In the Pay to and return to section, choose the new default contact for each contact type from the dropdown list.
  6. If applicable, delete the old contact from the vendor contact list by selecting the trash icon at the end of the corresponding row.

    This removes the contact record from the vendor contact list, and is no longer available as a default contact option. However, the contact record remains in Intacct.

  7. Select Save.

Print a list of vendors with their contact information

You can print a list of vendors that includes their contact information, such as phone numbers or mailing addresses, by customizing the list and optionally saving it as a reusable view.

You can print a list of vendors that includes their contact information, such as phone numbers or mailing addresses, by creating a custom view.

Contact fields only display values if the chosen field is different than the Primary contact section on the Vendor tab. This means that your vendor custom list view might not display any values if the chosen contact reads Same as Vendor on the Contact List tab of the vendor record.

To create a custom view with vendor and contact information:

  1. Go to Accounts Payable > All > Vendors.

  2. In the Manage views dropdown, select New.
  3. Enter a View name, such as Vendor contacts.
  4. Select the columns, filters, and sort order for the new view.
    Learn how to create a new view.
  5. If you want other users to be able to use this view, select Public.
  6. Select Save.

  1. Go to Accounts Payable > All > Vendors.

  2. In the Manage views dropdown, choose Create new view.
  3. Select columns to include in your view, then follow the custom view wizard steps.

    See Edit a custom view for more information about the different steps and options.

To print your custom view list:

  1. Go to Accounts Payable > All > Vendors.

  2. From the View dropdown above the list of vendors, select the custom view that you created.
  3. Export your list to your desired format.
  4. Print the list in that format.