Adding and Managing Vendors

#Creating a Vendor

1. Navigate to Spend management → Vendors

2. Click + Create vendor

3. Enter required information:

   • Vendor Name: Company or individual name
   • Email: Primary contact email
   • Vendor Status: Active or Inactive

4. Add optional details:

   • Description: Notes about the vendor
   • Website: Vendor's website URL
   • Phone Number: Contact phone
   • Country: Vendor location
   • Address: Street, city, state, postal code

5. Click Create

#Vendor Tax Information

Configure tax details for correct bill treatment:

1. Open the vendor

2. Navigate to Tax Information

3. Enter:

   • VAT Number: EU VAT ID (if applicable)
   • Business Registration Number: Company registration ID
   • Tax Classification: If available (affects 1099 reporting)

4. Optionally, mark vendor for 1099 reporting (US contractors only)

5. Click Save

Good to know: Accurate tax information ensures correct GL coding and tax reporting compliance.

#Banking Information

Add vendor banking details for payments:

1. Open the vendor

2. Navigate to Banking Details

3. Choose Bank Account Type:

   • Domestic Account: Local bank account (account number/routing)
   • International Account: IBAN/SWIFT for cross-border payments
   • ACH Account: US ACH payments
   • Check: Mailing address for check payments

4. For bank accounts, enter:

   • Bank Name and Country
   • Account Number (or IBAN)
   • Bank Code (or BIC/SWIFT)
   • Optionally, Secondary Account (if vendor has multiple)

5. For checks, enter Mailing Address

6. Click Save

#Payment Preferences

Configure how this vendor prefers to be paid:

1. Open the vendor

2. Navigate to Payment Preferences

3. Set:

   • Preferred Payment Method (bank transfer, check, ACH, virtual card)
   • Payment Terms (Net 30, Net 60, etc.)
   • Currency: Default payment currency
   • Minimum Payment Amount: Only pay if amount exceeds threshold
   • Scheduled Payment Days: Best days to pay (e.g., "Mid-month")

4. Click Save

Light uses these preferences when scheduling payments.

#Vendor Contacts

Manage multiple contact people at the vendor:

1. Open the vendor

2. Navigate to Contacts

3. Click Add Contact

4. Enter:

   • Contact Name
   • Email Address
   • Phone Number (optional)
   • Role: (e.g., Accounts Payable, Sales, Support)
   • Primary Contact: Toggle if this is the main contact

5. Click Save

When sending bills or payment reminders, Light uses the primary contact by default.

#Entity Assignment

Assign vendors to specific company entities:

1. Open the vendor

2. Navigate to Entity Assignment

3. Click Assign to Entity

4. Select one or more entities

5. Optionally, set Entity-Specific Details:

   • Different default GL account per entity
   • Entity-specific payment terms
   • Entity-specific contact

6. Click Assign

If a vendor is assigned to multiple entities, you'll see their bills grouped by entity.

#Vendor Approval Hierarchy

Configure who must approve bills from this vendor:

1. Open the vendor
2. Navigate to Approval Settings
3. Click Add Approver
4. Select the User or Role
5. Set the Approval Level (1, 2, 3, etc.)
6. Set Approval Limit: Bills up to this amount don't require approval; above require this user
7. Click Add

Repeat for each approval level.

Example:

• Level 1: Manager (approves bills under $5,000)
• Level 2: Finance Lead (approves $5,000-$50,000)
• Level 3: CFO (approves over $50,000)

#Spending Limits

Set maximum spending authority per vendor:

1. Open the vendor

2. Navigate to Spending Limits

3. Set:

   • Annual Spending Limit: Max total spending per year
   • Monthly Spending Limit: Max per month
   • Single Transaction Limit: Max per single bill
   • Rolling Limit: 30-day or other period

4. Optionally, set Notification Threshold (alert at 80% of limit)

5. Click Save

Light prevents bill posting if limits are exceeded.

#Vendor Status and Archiving

Manage vendor lifecycle:

Vendor Statuses:

• ACTIVE: Can receive bills and make payments
• INACTIVE: Cannot receive new bills; historical bills remain
• PENDING: Awaiting approval before becoming active

To archive a vendor:

1. Open the vendor
2. Click Archive
3. Optionally, set Archive Reason (moved, merged, etc.)
4. Archived vendors:
   • No longer appear in active vendor lists
   • Remain accessible for historical billing
   • Can be reactivated by clicking Activate

#Custom Properties

Add vendor-specific custom fields:

1. Open the vendor
2. Navigate to Custom Properties
3. Click Add Property
4. Select property group and label
5. Enter value
6. Click Save

Use custom properties for procurement coding, department tracking, or vendor classification.

#Bulk Vendor Operations

Manage many vendors at once:

1. Navigate to Vendors

2. Click Bulk Actions

3. Select vendors using checkboxes

4. Choose action:

   • Update Entity Assignment: Add/remove entities
   • Update Payment Method: Change preferred method
   • Archive: Deactivate multiple vendors
   • Update Custom Properties: Bulk update a field

5. Review changes and confirm

#Related Articles

• AP overview
• Vendor portal and magic links
• Entering and ingesting bills
• Bill approval workflows