> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.dash.fi/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Manage vendors

> Add and configure vendors in Dash.fi before paying bills.

Vendors represent the payees you pay through Bill Pay. Each vendor needs to be active and have a payment method configured before you can submit a bill for ACH payment.

## Add a vendor

1. Go to **Vendors** in the left-hand menu
2. Click **New Vendor**
3. Fill in the vendor details — name, legal name, address, tax ID, and spend category
4. Click **Save**

If your approval policy requires vendor creation approval, the new vendor routes to an approver before becoming active. See [Approval workflows](/spend-management/approval-workflows) for details.

## Bulk import vendors

If you're adding more than a few vendors, use bulk import to create them from a CSV file instead of one at a time.

1. Go to **Vendors** in the left-hand menu
2. Click **Import vendors** in the top-right of the Vendors page
3. Choose **Bulk import (CSV)** from the dropdown
4. (Optional) Download the template — `vendor-import-template.csv` — to start from a pre-formatted file
5. Upload your CSV
6. Map each CSV column to the matching vendor field, then review the preview
7. Confirm to start the import

You can return to past or in-progress imports from the same dropdown by choosing **View imports**.

### CSV columns

| Field                 | Required | Notes                                                                       |
| --------------------- | -------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Vendor name           | Yes      | Display name for the vendor                                                 |
| External ID           | No       | Your own reference (for example, the vendor ID from your accounting system) |
| Currency              | Yes      | ISO 4217 code, e.g. `USD`                                                   |
| Country               | Yes      | ISO 3166 code, e.g. `US`                                                    |
| Contact · First name  | Yes      | Primary contact's first name                                                |
| Contact · Middle name | No       | Primary contact's middle name                                               |
| Contact · Last name   | Yes      | Primary contact's last name                                                 |
| Contact · Email       | Yes      | Primary contact's email                                                     |
| Contact · Phone       | No       | Primary contact's phone number                                              |

You can upload your own export — column headers don't have to match exactly. On the mapping step, pick which CSV column feeds each vendor field. Map every required field before you continue.

### Review and fix rows

After mapping, Dash.fi parses every row and shows a preview table:

* Dash.fi flags rows with validation errors — missing required fields, invalid currency or country codes, malformed emails, and so on.
* Click any row to open it in a side sheet, fix the values inline, then save.
* You can confirm the import even when some rows still have errors. Dash.fi creates the valid rows and skips the flagged ones. Skipped rows stay visible in the import record so you can fix and retry them.

Imports run in the background. Close the page and come back later — the status updates on the **Imports** screen and on the import detail page.

### Approval policy

Imported vendors follow your existing vendor creation policy:

* If vendor creation **doesn't** require approval, Dash.fi creates imported vendors as active and ready to use.
* If vendor creation **does** require approval, each imported vendor lands as **pending** and routes to an approver before it becomes active, exactly like vendors you create through **New vendor**.

See [Approval workflows](/spend-management/approval-workflows) for how approval routing works.

## Add a payment method

Once a vendor is active, add an ACH payment method so bills can be paid:

1. Open the vendor record
2. Go to the **Payment Methods** tab
3. Click **Add payment method**
4. Enter the vendor's bank account and routing numbers
5. Save

If your policy gates payment method changes behind an approval step, the new method routes for review before it's active.

<Warning>
  Adding or changing vendor payment methods may require approval depending on your organisation's policy. This protects against unauthorised changes to payee bank details.
</Warning>

## Map to your accounting platform

If you use QuickBooks, Xero, or NetSuite, match each Dash.fi vendor to its record in your accounting platform. That way card transactions and bill payments post to the right payee in your GL.

Most of the time, Dash.fi creates and links the matching vendor automatically on the first sync. When it can't — usually because the name conflicts with an existing record — link the vendor manually.

You need the **vendor:admin** permission and an active accounting connection to view or change the vendor mapping.

### Check whether a vendor is linked

1. Open the vendor record from **Vendors**
2. On the **General** tab, look for the **QuickBooks / Xero / NetSuite vendor** field at the top of the sheet

What you see tells you the current link state:

| Field state                                 | What it means                                                                                                                     |
| ------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| A vendor name with a chain-link icon        | The vendor is linked to a record in your accounting platform. The name shown is the live name pulled from that platform.          |
| **Link existing \<platform> vendor** button | The vendor isn't linked yet. Either it hasn't been synced, or the automatic create failed and you need to pick a matching record. |
| The button shows a red warning icon         | The last sync attempt couldn't create the vendor in your accounting platform. Link it manually to clear the error.                |

### Link a vendor manually

Use this when the automatic create has failed, or when you want to wire up an existing record before the first sync.

1. Open the vendor record and stay on the **General** tab
2. Click **Link existing \<platform> vendor**
3. Start typing in the search box — Dash.fi searches your accounting platform by vendor name
4. Select the matching record

The link saves immediately. To re-sync any expenses that previously failed with a **Vendor creation failed** error, open the transaction and mark it ready again.

### Relink a vendor to a different record

If a vendor points at the wrong record — a duplicate, or one that's since been merged — you can switch it to a different one.

1. Open the vendor record
2. On the **General** tab, click **Change** next to the linked vendor name
3. Search for and select the correct record

Future syncs use the new mapping. Already-synced transactions aren't rewritten in your accounting platform — adjust those there if needed.

## Update vendor details

Open the vendor record and edit any field directly. Changes to sensitive fields (legal name, tax ID, payment methods) may trigger an approval step depending on your vendor update policy.

## Deactivate a vendor

Open the vendor record and set the status to **Inactive**. Inactive vendors can't be used on new bills. Existing bills already associated with the vendor are unaffected.

## Approval workflows for vendors

Your organisation can require approval for:

* Creating a new vendor
* Updating vendor details
* Adding, updating, or removing payment methods

This is configured in **Company → Policy → Vendor management**. See [Policy Manager](/spend-management/policy-manager) for setup instructions.

## FAQ

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Can I pay a vendor that doesn't have a payment method set up?">
    You can create a bill for an off-platform payment (wire, cheque, etc.) without an ACH payment method. For ACH payments, the vendor must have an active ACH method configured before the bill can be submitted.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why is my new vendor in a pending state?">
    Your organisation's policy requires approval for new vendor creation. The vendor will become active once an approver approves the request.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I have multiple payment methods for one vendor?">
    Yes. You can add multiple ACH accounts to a single vendor and select which one to use when creating a bill.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="A card transaction is stuck on 'Vendor creation failed' — what do I do?">
    Your accounting platform rejected the vendor, usually because one with that name already exists. Open the vendor from the transaction, click **Link existing vendor** on the **General** tab, and pick the matching record. Then re-open the transaction and mark it ready to sync. The **Needs review** tab on **Accounting → Card Transactions** lists every transaction in this state.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Who can link or change the accounting-platform vendor?">
    You need the **vendor:admin** permission and an active QuickBooks, Xero, or NetSuite connection. The linking field is hidden for everyone else.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>