How to Create a New Supplier in Merchanter

Adding new suppliers to your Merchanter system is a straightforward process that ensures your purchasing team can quickly set up and manage vendor relationships. This guide walks you through creating a new supplier record, configuring essential details, and adding contacts.

Before You Begin

Ensure you are logged into Merchanter with a user account that has sufficient privileges to create and amend suppliers. If you are unsure whether your role has the correct permissions, speak to your system administrator.

Creating a New Supplier Record

Option 1 - From Suppliers List View

From the main menu, navigate to Contacts → Suppliers to access the suppliers overview page.

In the top right corner of the screen, you will find two options:

Import from Excel – This allows you to bulk upload multiple suppliers using a spreadsheet. This method is covered in a separate guide. Excel fields to Import New Supplier Records 

+ New – This opens a blank supplier record for manual entry. 

For this guide, click the New button.

A new supplier window will open with a series of fields for you to complete. Work through the sections below to set up your supplier.

Option 2 - New Button

from the banner at the top of Merchanter click the +New button and select ‘Supplier’

Option 3 - New Supplier like another

From an existing Supplier record create a copy record to edit to the new supplier details.  See section at the end of this article for details.

General Information

Begin by entering the Supplier’s Name – this is the name your supplier is known by for day-to-day trading. For demonstration purposes, we will use "Test Supplier". This is a required field and must not be left blank.

You can then enter relevant contact details, including:

• Phone number
• Fax number
• Website address
• Date Opened

Supplier Codes

You have two options for the supplier code:

• Create your own – Enter a custom code that matches your internal naming conventions
• Generate – Click the Generate button to create a code automatically based on the supplier name
  • Auto generate will user 3 letters of the first name, 1 letter from the second name and then A. so Test Supplier would be TESSA

This is also a required field.

If your team knows the supplier by an alternative code, you can enter this in the Alternate Supplier Code field for easy reference. 

Status and Outwork Settings

You can set the supplier Live Status to either:

• Live – The supplier is active and available for use
• Archived – The supplier is no longer active but retained for historical reference

There is also a tick box for Outwork Supplier. If this is ticked, the supplier will appear in the outworker dropdown list when setting up an outworking order, keeping them separate from your standard supplier list.

Address Details

The Supplier Home Address section allows you to record the supplier's physical location. Complete the following fields as required:

• Name – A label for the address (e.g., "Head Office", )
• Address Line 1, 2 and 3 – The street address
  • Address line 1 is a required filed.
• Town or City
• County
• Postcode
• Country – Select from the dropdown list
• Additional Phone Number – A secondary contact number specific to this address
• What 3 Words - to help delivery's find the correct address.

If you enter a correct address you will also get a google map of the address displayed to the right of the address fields by clicking the show on map button.

Account Information

This section covers financial and trading details:

• Account Type – Select either Credit or Cash depending on your trading arrangement
• Currency – Choose the currency you trade with this supplier
  • Please note the currency will become locked and you wont be able to edit it once the supplier has been mapped to a suppler in your integrated accounts system e.g. Xero, Quick Books, etc.
• Factored Supplier – If this supplier is factored to another parent supplier, tick this box and 2 new fields appear.
  • Factored (Parent) Supplier - select the parent from the list of suppliers.
• Commission Customer – If you operate commission sales, you can add a commission customer here
• Depot – If this supplier only trades with one of your depots, select it here; this field can be left blank if not applicable
• VAT Code – Select from options including Import Group, Home Purchase, Internal, and Exempt
• Tax Registration Number – Enter the supplier's VAT or tax registration number
• Stock Source Country – Select the country of origin for stock from this supplier
• EDI Code – Enter any Electronic Data Interchange code if applicable
• ISO 9000 Accredited – Tick this box if the supplier holds ISO 9000 accreditation

Trading Information

This section allows you to define the commercial terms and relationships:

• Supplier Type – Select from options including Supplier, Agent, Mill, Haulier, or Shipping Line
• Payment Terms – Choose from a list of options such as Net 2 Months, Net 30 Days, Net 60 Days, or other agreed terms
• Lead Times – Set the expected lead times for orders from this supplier
• Minimum Carriage Payment – Enter the minimum order value required for free or reduced carriage
• Minimum Order Value – Set a minimum purchase value if required
• Supply Type – Select either External or Internal
• Chain of Custody – Add any relevant Chain of Custody certificates if applicable
• Buyer – Select which member of your staff is associated with buying goods from this supplier
• Purchase Invoice Authoriser – Select the staff member responsible for authorising purchase invoices from this supplier

Additional Settings

If you need additional fields in your supplier record that Merchanter does not cater for, you can set up custom attributes (guide: Using Custom Attributes in Customers, Suppliers and Products) , once configured you can select these options in the Custom Attributes section and capture additional information specific to your business.

Please Note: The custom attributes section will not appear in the supplier record if none have been set up and configured.

You can also record Opening Days and Delivery days for trading with this supplier, which can be useful for planning.

Saving the Supplier Record

Once you have completed all the required fields and are happy with the setup, click the Save button. This is available in either the top right or bottom right corner of the screen. The supplier record will now be saved and available for use on a purchase order.

Adding Contacts to the Supplier

After the supplier is set up, you will likely want to add one or more contact people associated with the supplier.

Find the supplier again within your suppliers list, open the record, and navigate to the Contacts tab. From here, you have the following options:

• New – Add a new contact
• Edit – Modify an existing contact
• Mark as Main contact - Default contact
• Archive, Restore, or Delete – Manage existing contacts as required

Click New to open the contact creation window. Complete the following fields:

• Title – Select from Mr, Mrs, Miss, Ms, or Other
• First Name
  • Required field
• Last Name
• Job Title
• Depot – Optional; select if the contact only works with a specific depot
• Phone Number
• Mobile Number
• Email Address

Once you are happy with the contact details, click the Done button to save. You can add as many contacts as required. If you have multiple contacts, you can mark one as the Main Contact using the Mark as Main button.

New Supplier Like Another

In addition to creating a supplier from scratch, Merchanter allows you to copy an existing supplier record and use it as the basis for a new one. This is particularly useful when you are setting up a supplier that shares many of the same details as an existing record—for example, a sister company, an additional depot, or a supplier with similar trading terms.

To use this feature, navigate to the suppliers list and locate the supplier you wish to copy. Open the record and in the top right corner look for the three dots, click on this and then the New Supplier Like This button.

When you select this option, the system creates a new supplier record pre-populated with the details from the existing supplier. You can then edit any of the fields as required to suit the new supplier. This includes changing the supplier name, contact details, address, account information, trading terms, and any other settings that differ from the original.

Once you have made all the necessary changes, click the Save button to create the new supplier record. The original supplier remains unchanged, and the new supplier is added to your list as a separate record.

This approach saves significant time when setting up suppliers with similar profiles, reducing the need to re-enter common information while still allowing you to tailor each record to its specific requirements.

Please be careful to change all the required fields when using this option, or you could end up with the wrong information for the new supplier if you leave a copied field unchanged..

Summary

Creating a new supplier in Merchanter involves completing essential information across several sections:

• Basic details including name, codes, and status
• Physical address and contact information
• Account and financial settings
• Trading terms and commercial arrangements
• Custom attributes and opening times if required

Once the supplier record is saved, you can add contacts to ensure all relevant points of contact are recorded.

Your new supplier is now ready for use in purchase orders and other transactions.

Further Assistance

If you encounter any difficulties during setup, please refer to the relevant guide, Contact your administrator or the Ten-25 support team.

Video Guide