Vendor Header Fields

Related topics

Set up a vendor

Enter a vendor's beginning balance

Review a vendor's status

Display a vendor Event Log

Set up and use custom fields

Change a vendor ID

Perform other accounts payable tasks

Read the vendor setup overview

Use Write Letters

Exclude Inactive Records from Lists

Vendor header fields are located above the folder tabs of the Maintain Vendors window. This is where you enter lookup information about the vendor such as the vendor ID, name, and status.

Vendor ID: Use this field to create a unique internal ID for this vendor. If you leave the ID field blank, Sage 50 will create an ID based on the Name you enter (provided this option is selected in Global Options.) When entering transactions, you can use this field to call up information for the vendor. Or, you can use it to sort and filter reports.

Think of IDs as a shorthand way to refer to vendors. You should use a consistent and logical system for IDs. While you can use up to 20 characters, the ID should probably be shorter in most cases. Below is an example of a good coding system:

smith ent

Smith Enterprises

smith ind

Smith Industries, Inc.
smith, john John Smith

Here, the first name of the company name or an individual's last name begins the ID. In this case, where you have multiple "Smiths," an abbreviation is used for the next word in the company name; for an individual, the first name is used. Be as brief as possible to uniquely identify the vendor.

The code is not case sensitive; consequently, codes A1 and a1 are seen as the same Vendor IDs. Numbers sort before letters, and letters sort alphabetically irrespective of case. You cannot use *, ?, or + in the code.

Name: Enter the name of the new vendor (up to 39 alphanumeric characters) here. This name prints on checks and reports. This can be a company name or an individual's name.

Inactive:Select this checkbox to make this vendor inactive. Inactive vendors can be purged if they don't have any outstanding transactions. This helps to clean up your database. You can still create transactions for inactive vendors, but you'll get warnings when you do so. You can exclude inactive records from lists. This setting is in Global Options. You can use the Write Letters functionality to send letters specifically to your inactive vendors; for example you may want to see if they'll give you a discount if you start buying from them again.

Tip: If you want to make multiple vendors inactive, you can go to the Data Maintenance section of the System Navigation Center and click Make Records Inactive.