Vendor Classes
Vendor Classes are a catalog you use to group your vendors by type or segment (for example: "Wholesalers", "Distributors", "Manufacturers", "Services"). Each Vendor can be assigned a class from its record, and that class then lets you filter and organize vendor reports and lookups by segment.
What is it and what is it for?
It's a simple catalog: each record is a required, unique Name, with an optional reference Accounts Payable Account and free-form notes.
Once you create a Vendor Class, it becomes available on the Vendor Class field of every Vendor's record. That way you can, for example, mark one group of vendors as "Wholesalers" and another as "Distributors", so you can then:
- Filter and group vendor reports and lookups by class.
- Find vendors faster in autocomplete controls (for example, in dashboard panel filters).
- Organize your vendor base internally by type of business relationship.
How to use it
- Open the catalog. Go to the Vendor Classes list, where you'll see every class you've already created, sorted by name.
- Create a new class. Use the add button, type the name and, if you want, pick a reference Accounts Payable ledger account and add notes.
- Save. AdmCloud checks that the name isn't empty and that no other class already uses the same name.
- Assign it to a vendor. Open a Vendor's record and pick the class on the Vendor Class field.
- Review or edit an existing record. Click the name on the list to see its read-only detail, and use the edit button if you need to correct the name, the linked account or the notes.
Main capabilities
- Alphabetically sorted list, with a read-only detail screen per record.
- Link a reference Accounts Payable ledger account to the class, if your company uses it for review or reporting purposes.
- Available in autocomplete controls (for example, dashboard panel filters) to find classes quickly.
- Separate permission levels for browsing, adding, editing and deleting, controlled by the user group.
Key fields
| Field | What it is for |
|---|---|
| Name | Identifies the Vendor Class. Required, can't exceed 200 characters and can't repeat. |
| Accounts Payable Account | Optional reference ledger account associated with the class. |
| Notes | Optional free text to clarify the class's use or scope. |
Validations when saving
- Name is required and can't repeat between Vendor Classes.
- The name can't exceed 200 characters.
Deleting
A Vendor Class can't be deleted while it's in use: AdmCloud checks whether any Vendor has it assigned, and shows you the list of vendors using it so you can assign them another class (or none) before trying to delete it again.
Availability, plans and conditions
- This feature is available from the Standard plan up (Standard, Premium, Premium Plus, Premium Plus Payroll and Enterprise). It is not available on the Billing, Start or Basic plans. If it isn't available on your plan, the screen shows a "not available on this edition" message. If you need it, contact your AdmCloud account executive to upgrade your plan.
- To view, create, edit or delete records you need the "Vendor Classes" permission (AP module) at the matching level (View, Add, Edit or Delete).
Tips and common mistakes
Think in segments, not individual vendors. Classes like "Wholesalers", "Distributors" or "Manufacturers" are more useful long-term because they group many vendors and make it easier to review and analyze your vendor base by type.
"A record with that name already exists". This message appears if you try to create or rename a class with a name already used by another record in the catalog; pick a different name.
You can't delete it while it's in use. Before deleting a Vendor Class, check the error message: it tells you which vendors have it assigned, so you can assign them another class first.