Adding and Editing Vendors

For a quick overview of where vendors come from and what the Vendors page is for, start with Introduction to Vendor Management.

Add a vendor

The Add button is available when your company uses HWIT Invoicing, because Home Watch IT maintains that vendor list.

1. Open Vendors from the side menu.
2. Select Add.
3. Enter the vendor’s name and available company, contact, and address details.
4. Add insurance and internal notes if you have them.
5. Save the vendor.

The new vendor can then be selected when you record a vendor bill. You can also link the vendor to customers and, on the vendor’s own Customers section, override that customer’s default markup just for this vendor. See Can I set a default markup? for how the customer-level default and the per-vendor override work together.

If your company uses QuickBooks Online or Zoho Books, there is no Add button. Create the vendor in that accounting system and wait for the next sync.

Edit a vendor

1. Open Vendors.
2. Search for the vendor or use a filter.
3. Select the vendor to open its details.
4. Change the fields available to you, then save.

QuickBooks and Zoho vendors

The vendor’s core identity is read-only in Home Watch IT. This includes the name, company, phone, email, address, and active status. Those fields are shown as managed by the connected accounting system because a sync can overwrite local changes.

Change those details in QuickBooks or Zoho instead. They will update in Home Watch IT after the next sync.

The following Home Watch IT fields remain available for office management:

• Whether the certificate of insurance has been received.
• COI expiration date.
• Whether your company is an additional insured.
• Notes.
• Whether to exclude the vendor from the bill picker.
• Default expense item — the item this vendor’s bills post against in your accounting system, overriding the company default from Settings. Leave it blank to use the company default. The dropdown only lists items that are purchasable in your accounting system; if it is empty, the office has not done the one-time expense item setup yet.

HWIT Invoicing vendors

The complete vendor record is maintained in Home Watch IT, so the vendor’s identity, contact details, address, insurance information, notes, and picker exclusion can be edited here.

The vendor’s tabs

Opening a vendor shows four tabs:

• Info — the vendor’s details, insurance, notes, notification preferences, and the customer markup settings described in Add a vendor above.
• Reports & Tasks — every report or task assigned to this vendor.
• Actions — every Action linked to this vendor. Only shown for companies using Home Watch IT’s built-in reporting — see below.
• Bills — every vendor bill recorded for this vendor, across all of your customers.

Selecting a report, task, or bill from its tab opens it directly so you can review or edit it.

Vendor insurance details

Open a vendor’s Info tab and record the COI information as soon as you receive it. The COI expired filter on the Vendors page helps you find vendors whose coverage needs review. Tracking the expiration does not replace your normal insurance review process; it gives your office a visible reminder before assigning a vendor to a customer’s property.

Notify a vendor of new work

On the vendor’s Info tab, under “Notify this vendor of new tasks,” turn on By SMS and/or By Email. From then on, whenever you assign this vendor a new report or task, they get a text and/or an email letting them know — no need to call or message them yourself.

Both are off by default, and turning one on only affects assignments made from that point forward — nothing is sent for work already assigned before you turned it on.

Let a vendor see and act on their own assignments

Also on the Info tab, under Vendor portal, select Send portal link to email the vendor a link where they can see their own assigned work, mark it complete, leave you a note, and upload their own invoice or receipt — no login required. See The Vendor Portal for exactly what a vendor can see and do there.

Reports & Tasks and Actions linked to a vendor

The Reports & Tasks tab lists every report or task assigned to this vendor, with a filter for Open, Closed, or All. Select Create Task to turn this vendor into a scheduled visit right away — pick the customer, fill in the details, and save; the vendor is already filled in for you.

The Actions tab lists every Action (a follow-up item, like a repair that needs attention) linked to this vendor:

1. Open Vendors and select the vendor.
2. Open the Actions tab to see what is already linked to them.
3. Select + Add Action to create a new one for this vendor. Fill in a title and any other details, then save.

The Actions tab is only available for companies using Home Watch IT’s built-in reporting. Companies using MonitorQA or SafetyCulture manage their issues in that other system instead, so it will not appear for them.

Bills for a vendor

The Bills tab lists every vendor bill recorded for this vendor, across every customer — not just one property’s worth. Use the search box to find one by customer name or invoice number, then select it to open and review the bill.

See Vendor Bills and Receipt Charges for how to record and charge for a bill in the first place.

Frequently asked questions

Can I change a QuickBooks or Zoho vendor’s name in Home Watch IT?

No. Change it in the accounting system and wait for the next sync. Local changes to those mirrored fields would be overwritten.

What happens if I exclude a vendor?

The vendor remains in the list and on historical bills, but it is hidden from the normal vendor picker. Use the Excluded filter to find it and clear the exclusion.

Can I set a default markup while editing a vendor?

Not a single global value for the vendor, no — markup is set per customer. A customer can have its own default markup, and a vendor’s Customers section can override that default just for that pairing. See Can I set a default markup? for both levels. A default or override fills new bills only; it does not change bills already saved.

How do I set a default expense item for one vendor?

Open the vendor and choose an item in Default expense item. Only QuickBooks Online and Zoho Books companies see this field, because only their bills post to an accounting system. Bills for this vendor then post against that item instead of the company default in Settings. Most companies never need it — the company default covers every vendor — but it is useful when one contractor’s costs belong in a different account from the rest.

If the dropdown is empty, no item in your accounting system is purchasable yet. See Before your first bill for the one-time setup.

Can I create a Task for a vendor directly from their page?

Yes. Open the vendor’s Reports & Tasks tab and select Create Task. Pick the customer and fill in the details — the vendor is already attached, so nobody has to look it up again.

Can I notify a vendor automatically when I assign them work?

Yes. On the vendor’s Info tab, turn on By SMS and/or By Email under “Notify this vendor of new tasks.” See Notify a vendor of new work above.