Introduction to Vendor Management
Important: This is an early-release feature and is subject to change. You are free to use it now and provide your feedback to Home Watch IT, but there may still be small hidden bugs in the product. Once it is considered stable and “General Release,” this message will be removed.
What Vendor Management is for
Section titled “What Vendor Management is for”Vendor Management gives your office one place to keep track of the companies and contractors you use at customer properties. From the Vendors page you can search the list, review a vendor’s details, check insurance information, and decide whether that vendor should appear when someone records a Vendor Bill.
Vendor records also support Vendor Bills and Receipt Charges. When a vendor hands you an invoice or receipt, you can select the vendor, record the cost, attach the receipt, and optionally pass the charge to the customer with a markup.
A vendor’s page opens to four tabs — Info, Reports & Tasks, Actions, and Bills — so you can see at a glance every report, task, action, and bill connected to that vendor, and optionally have it notified by SMS or email whenever you assign it new work. See Adding and Editing Vendors for how each tab works.
Where the vendor list comes from
Section titled “Where the vendor list comes from”Your connected accounting system determines who owns the basic vendor information:
| Accounting setup | How vendors are managed |
|---|---|
| QuickBooks Online | Vendors are created in QuickBooks and pulled into Home Watch IT. |
| Zoho Books | Vendors are created in Zoho Books and pulled into Home Watch IT. |
| HWIT Invoicing | You create and maintain the vendor list in Home Watch IT. |
| No accounting system | There is no vendor list; type a vendor name directly on a receipt charge. |
For QuickBooks and Zoho, the vendor’s name, company, contact details, address, and active status are managed by that accounting system. Changes made there appear after the next sync. Home Watch IT manages the operational information that accounting systems do not provide, such as COI details, notes, and whether the vendor is excluded from pickers.
Vendor list filters
Section titled “Vendor list filters”The Vendors page includes search and these filters:
- Active — vendors currently available for selection.
- COI expired — vendors whose certificate of insurance has expired.
- Excluded — vendors hidden from the vendor picker.
- Inactive — vendors no longer active in the source list.
Recommended starting point
Section titled “Recommended starting point”If you need to create or change a vendor, continue to Adding and Editing Vendors. If you need to record a vendor invoice or receipt, read Vendor Bills and Receipt Charges. If you want to let a vendor see their own assignments and act on them directly, read The Vendor Portal.
Frequently asked questions
Section titled “Frequently asked questions”Why can’t I add a vendor?
Section titled “Why can’t I add a vendor?”If your company uses QuickBooks or Zoho Books, vendors must be created in that accounting system so duplicate records are not created. They are pulled into Home Watch IT during the next sync. Add is available on the Vendors page for companies using HWIT Invoicing.
What is a COI?
Section titled “What is a COI?”COI means certificate of insurance. Vendor Management lets you record whether you have the certificate, its expiration date, and whether your company is named as an additional insured. Use the COI expired filter to find records that need attention.
Why is a vendor still visible after becoming inactive?
Section titled “Why is a vendor still visible after becoming inactive?”An inactive vendor is removed from normal pickers but remains visible on existing vendor bills so historical records remain understandable.