Vendor Editor

A vendor is anyone who supplies your organization with goods or services that need to be reimbursed. You will log the vendor invoices in Projector, assign them to a billable or non-billable project, and issue reimbursement. These expenses can also be passed onto a client. Vendors are most often used for subcontracted work, supplies purchased for implementation of a project, and company paid credit cards,

In addition to these common vendor scenarios, we treat each resource in your installation as a "resource vendor." A resource vendor is someone who paid an expense out of their own pocket. In essence they are a virtual vendor that needs to be reimbursed just like any subcontractor vendor or supplier.

This form is reached from the Administration Tab | Job Accounting Subsection | Vendors and clicking edit.

Permissions and Settings

You can only view this area if you have the cost center permission Maintain Vendors for at least one cost center. If you have that permission then you can create new vendors for that cost center. You can also view and edit any existing vendors in that cost center.

Vendor invoices are created on the expense browser.

Resources can indicate that an expense was paid by a vendor in Expense Entry. Management Portal users can do the same via the Expense Document Editor.

Manage Vendors

Manage vendors.

Add 

Click the Create New Vendor button. This opens the vendor editor. See below to learn how to fill out the fields.

Edit

Double click on any existing vendor.

Delete

Right click on a vendor and choose Delete Vendor. A vendor that has been used for any vendor invoices cannot be deleted for audit trail purposes. You should inactivate them instead.

Inactivate

Edit the vendor and tick the Inactive checkbox. An inactive vendor is inaccessible for assignment to new vendor invoices. Existing vendor invoices will continue to use the vendor.

Vendor Editor

The vendor editor is launched when you create a new vendor or edit an existing one. See the table below for an explanation of each control.

FieldDescription
Vendor NumberThis should match the vendor number in your accounting package.
Vendor NameThis is the name that is shown in dropdown lists and reports
InactiveAn inactive vendor cannot be used for future expense documents, but will remain in place for all past documents.
Disbursing Cost Center

Which cost center is associated with reimbursing this vendor. When a vendor is assigned to a cost center it is simultaneously associated with that cost center's company and currency. You cannot switch vendors between currencies. If you find that you need to reimburse a vendor in a different currency, you should create a second vendor profile.

For resource vendors this field cannot be edited. That's okay! We don't actually use the cost center specified here. We use the one specified on the resource's profile at the time of expense document creation.

Vendor Reconciliation G/L Account

When resources submit expenses against this vendor, the vendor may require reimbursement prior to all expenses being approved. The reconciliation account is used to track this balance. For example:

  • Sally charges $1000 to the company credit card and asks to be reimbursed
  • The credit card vendor sends you a bill for the $1000
  • You've only approved $800 so far, but the credit card company is not going to wait until the remaining balance is approved
  • The reconciliation account keeps track of that extra $200 until it is approved.

See Vendor Reconciliation and Vendor Reconciliation MP.

Enable Vendor for

You have four options here.

  • Subcontractor invoices - this vendor is reimbursed based on the number of hours their people log in Projector. For example, Jim and Terry log 20 hours in Projector at $100 per hour. Projector creates an invoice for them in the amount of $2000.
  • Vendor invoices - this vendor is reimbursed based on an invoice given to you. For example, a vendor agrees to deliver services and materials for $1000. They send you an invoice for $1000.
  • Expense reports for - this vendor is reimbursed based on expense reports. Typically used with company issued credit cards. For example, Jane charges $500 to the company credit card. When choosing this option, you can optionally limit the credit card to all resources, a group of resources, or an individual resource. If each resource has their own credit card, make sure the vendor is limited to just them.
  • Direct payment for resource expense reports - this vendor is reimbursed when your subcontractors incur expenses. This vendor should be paid rather than the subcontractor themselves.

Recall that there are two types of vendors tracked in Projector. Vendors you set up, and resource based vendors. Vendors you set up can be enabled/disabled for all four options above. Vendors created automatically by Projector don't let you edit these values.

In Practice

Here are some practical examples of using vendors.

Company Credit Card

Many organizations leverage company credit cards. If each resource has their own credit card, then you'll want to set up a vendor for each resource. In the screenshot below I have created an American Express card for Barry Franklin. Notice how in both the name and in the bottom section I have made sure that only Barry Franklin can use this credit card.

When Barry fills out his expense reports, he will see the American Express card as an option in addition to Paid by me.

 

Subcontractor Time

If your organization uses subcontractors then you'll need to set them up in Projector. Subcontractors can be paid through Subcontractor Invoices or Vendor Invoices. Use the first when your vendors enter time in Projector. The second is when they do not.


Subcontractor and Credit Card Expenses

If a resource is never reimbursed directly, but reimbursed through a vendor (perhaps a company credit card or a subcontracted employer) you can force all expense reports to be paid directly to a vendor instead of through a resource. To set this up edit a resource and on the info tab set Pay expense reports directly to vendor