Vendors

Why Track Vendors?

Vendors are the businesses and individuals your organization pays. Tracking vendors helps you:

• Prepare 1099s: Identify vendors requiring 1099-NEC filing ($600+ in payments)
• Automate Categorization: Link transaction rules to vendors for automatic payee assignment
• Track Payments: See payment history for each vendor
• Maintain Records: Store EIN/TIN and contact information for tax reporting
• Auto-Match Transactions: BeeKeeper links past and future transactions to vendors automatically

Managing Vendors

Viewing Vendors

1. Go to Vendors from the main menu
2. See all vendors with name, type, and status
3. Use sorting to organize by name or type

Filtering Vendors

The vendor list supports filtering to help you find what you need quickly:

• Name: Search by vendor name or DBA
• Address: Filter by city, state, or zip code
• Vendor Type: Show only businesses or individuals
• Status: Toggle between active and archived vendors

Filters can be combined. For example, show only active individual vendors in a specific state to prepare for 1099 filing.

Creating a Vendor

1. Click New Vendor
2. Fill in the details:
   • Name: Business or individual name
   • DBA (optional): “Doing business as” name
   • Type: Business or Individual
   • EIN/TIN (optional): Employer ID or Tax ID number (stored encrypted)
   • Address: Mailing address
   • Default Expense Account (optional): Account to use when this vendor is linked via rules
3. Click Save

When you save a new vendor, BeeKeeper automatically runs auto-matching in the background (see Auto-Matching below).

Bulk Create

If you need to add several vendors at once, use the bulk create feature:

1. Click Bulk Create from the vendor list
2. Enter multiple vendors in a list format
3. BeeKeeper creates all vendors and runs auto-matching for each one

This is especially useful when setting up a new organization or onboarding at the start of a fiscal year.

Quick Create

You don’t always need to leave what you’re doing to add a vendor. BeeKeeper provides a quick create option from vendor dropdowns throughout the application:

• When creating a journal entry or categorizing a transaction, the vendor dropdown includes a Create Vendor option
• A modal opens where you can enter the vendor name and basic details
• The new vendor is created and immediately selected in the dropdown
• Auto-matching runs in the background

This keeps you in your workflow without navigating away from the current page.

Vendor Suggestions

BeeKeeper analyzes your imported bank transactions and identifies payees that don’t match any existing vendor. These appear as vendor suggestions on the vendor list page.

For each suggestion, you can:

• Add as Vendor: Creates a new vendor using the payee name. BeeKeeper pre-fills what it can from the transaction data and runs auto-matching to link related transactions.
• Skip: Dismisses the suggestion. Skipped suggestions won’t appear again unless new transactions with the same payee are imported.

Vendor suggestions help you build out your vendor list over time without manually reviewing every transaction. They’re particularly useful for identifying recurring payees you may want to track for 1099 purposes.

Editing a Vendor

1. Click the vendor name to view details
2. Click Edit
3. Make your changes
4. Click Save

When you update a vendor’s name, BeeKeeper re-runs auto-matching to catch any transactions that now match the updated name.

Archiving a Vendor

When you no longer work with a vendor:

1. Open the vendor
2. Click Archive
3. The vendor won’t appear in dropdowns but historical data is preserved

Archived vendors can be found using the status filter on the vendor list. They can be restored if needed.

Auto-Matching

One of BeeKeeper’s most powerful vendor features is auto-matching. When you create or update a vendor, BeeKeeper automatically scans your data to link related records.

How It Works

Auto-matching runs in the background whenever a vendor is created or updated. It performs two operations:

1. Journal Entry Matching

BeeKeeper looks at existing journal entries and matches them to the vendor by payee name. If a journal entry’s payee matches the vendor name (or DBA), BeeKeeper links the entry to the vendor. This means:

• Your vendor payment history is populated immediately, even for transactions recorded before the vendor was created
• Vendor reports and 1099 calculations include historical payments
• You don’t need to manually go back and tag old entries

2. Imported Transaction Matching

BeeKeeper also scans pending imported transactions (transactions from your bank feed that haven’t been categorized yet). If a transaction’s payee matches the vendor name:

• The transaction is automatically associated with the vendor
• If the vendor has a default expense account, the transaction is pre-categorized
• This reduces the manual work of reviewing and categorizing bank imports

Matching Logic

Auto-matching uses the vendor’s name and DBA to find matches. The matching is case-insensitive and handles common variations. For best results:

• Use the vendor name as it appears on bank statements
• Set the DBA field when the bank description differs from the legal name
• Create transaction rules for vendors with highly variable bank descriptions

Vendor Detail Page

Each vendor’s detail page shows:

• Contact Information: Name, DBA, address
• Tax Information: EIN/TIN, vendor type
• W-9 Status: Current state of the W-9 workflow
• Payment History: All journal entries linked to this vendor, with totals

Linking Vendors to Transaction Rules

Vendors integrate with [Transaction Rules](transaction-rules.md) for automatic categorization:

1. Create a rule with a pattern matching the vendor’s bank description
2. Select the vendor in the rule’s Vendor field
3. When transactions match, they’re automatically:
   • Assigned to the vendor
   • Named with the vendor’s display name as payee
   • Categorized to the vendor’s default expense account (if no account specified in the rule)

Transaction rules provide more precise matching than auto-matching alone, since they use pattern-based matching against raw bank descriptions. Use rules for vendors whose bank descriptions don’t closely match the vendor name.

Vendor Reports

BeeKeeper includes vendor-specific reports under Reports:

• Vendor Payment Summary: Total payments per vendor over a date range
• Vendor Payment Detail: Itemized payments per vendor
• Form 1099-NEC: Vendors paid $600+ requiring tax reporting

See [Financial Reports](financial-reports.md) for details.

W-9 Management

BeeKeeper tracks W-9 forms through a structured workflow so you always know where each vendor stands.

W-9 State Machine

Each vendor’s W-9 progresses through clear states:

W-9 Workflow

Requesting a W-9:

1. Open the vendor detail page
2. Click Request W-9
3. The vendor’s W-9 status moves to “Requested”
4. You can track which vendors have outstanding W-9 requests

Receiving a W-9:

1. When the vendor returns the W-9, open the vendor detail page
2. Upload the W-9 document
3. Enter or confirm the vendor’s EIN/TIN from the form
4. The status moves to “Received”

Verifying a W-9:

1. Review the uploaded W-9 for completeness and accuracy
2. Confirm the EIN/TIN matches the document
3. Click Verify W-9
4. The status moves to “Verified”

Why W-9 Tracking Matters

For nonprofits, W-9 compliance is critical:

• 1099-NEC Filing: You need each vendor’s TIN to file 1099s for payments of $600 or more
• Audit Readiness: Having W-9s on file demonstrates proper financial controls
• IRS Requirements: Organizations can face penalties for filing 1099s with incorrect TINs

The W-9 status is visible on the vendor list, making it easy to identify vendors with missing or unverified W-9s before tax season.

Import and Export

Importing Vendors

Bulk import vendors from a CSV file:

1. Go to Vendors
2. Click Import
3. Upload a CSV with vendor name, type, address, and other fields
4. Review the import preview
5. Confirm to create all vendors

Exporting Vendors

Export your vendor list from the Vendors page. The vendor payment data is also available through vendor reports.

Tips

• Add vendors early: Set up vendors before creating transaction rules
• Include EIN/TIN: Required for 1099-NEC reporting
• Set default accounts: Saves time when creating rules and auto-matching transactions
• Review annually: Archive vendors you no longer use
• Use suggestions: Regularly review vendor suggestions to keep your vendor list current
• Check W-9 status: Before year-end, filter for vendors missing W-9s and request them
• Use DBA for matching: If a vendor’s bank description differs from their legal name, add the bank description as the DBA to improve auto-matching

Limitations

• Vendor names must be unique within your organization
• EIN/TIN is stored encrypted and cannot be viewed after entry
• Cannot merge vendors (must manually update transaction references)
• Auto-matching runs asynchronously; results may take a moment to appear
• Vendor suggestions are based on imported transaction payees only

Common Questions

Do I need to create a vendor for every payee? No. Vendors are most useful for recurring payees, especially those you may need to issue 1099s to. Use vendor suggestions to identify which payees are worth tracking.

What’s the difference between vendor name and DBA? Name is the legal entity name. DBA (“doing business as”) is an alternate business name, useful when the bank description differs from the legal name. Both are used for auto-matching.

Can I export vendor data? Vendor payment data is available through vendor reports. The vendor list itself can be exported from the Vendors page.

What happens when I create a vendor from a suggestion? BeeKeeper creates the vendor and immediately runs auto-matching. Past journal entries with that payee are linked to the vendor, and any pending imported transactions with that payee are associated and pre-categorized.

How does quick create differ from the full vendor form? Quick create captures the essentials (name, type) so you can stay in your current workflow. You can always edit the vendor later to add address, EIN/TIN, and other details.

Can I undo skipping a vendor suggestion? Skipped suggestions are dismissed permanently for the current set of transactions. However, if new transactions with the same payee are imported later, the suggestion will reappear.