The Vendor Upload feature allows you to add or update vendor records in bulk using a standardized CSV template. This improves data accuracy across procurement, inventory, and reporting by enforcing required fields, formatting rules, and valid country/state combinations.
Use this guide to understand the template, field requirements, upload steps, and how to troubleshoot validation errors.
Overview
Manually entering vendor information or importing loosely structured data often leads to inconsistencies and downstream data quality issues. The Vendor Upload tool streamlines vendor onboarding by:
Providing a standardized CSV template
Enforcing required fields
Validating country and state/province combinations
Restricting formatting for phone, email, dates, and URLs
Preventing invalid or incomplete data from being imported
This upload flow matches the same user experience and validation approach used for Customer Uploads.
Template Fields & Validation Rules
Each column in the CSV corresponds to a vendor attribute. The sections below outline which fields are required, optional, and how each must be formatted.
Required Fields
Vendor Name (or DBA)
Must be provided for every row
Upload will fail if blank
Optional Fields
Vendor ID
Free-form identifier; optional.
Contact Name
Phone Number
If provided, must follow a valid phone number format.
If provided, must be a valid email format.
License Number
License Expiration Date
Must be a valid date in YYYY-MM-DD format.
Address
Address Line 2
City
Country
Allowed values: US, CA, TH, NL, NZ, PT, ZA, AU
Must be blank or one of the allowed values
Any other value results in a validation error
State / Province
Allowed values depend on the selected Country:
United States (US)
Use 2-letter state abbreviations:
AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Canada (CA)
AB, BC, MB, NB, NL, NS, NT, NU, ON, PE, QC, SK, YT
Australia (AU)
ACT, NSW, NT, QLD, SA, TAS, VIC, WA
Thailand (TH), Netherlands (NL), New Zealand (NZ), Portugal (PT), South Africa (ZA)
Only the country code itself is accepted as the State/Province value.
Postal Code
Website URL
If provided, must follow a valid URL format.
Notes
Min Lead Time
Numeric only
Blank values allowed
Min Lead Time Unit
Dropdown options:
Days
Weeks
Months
If provided, must match one of the allowed values.
3. Uploading Your Vendor CSV
Open the Vendor Upload page.
Select Choose File and upload your completed CSV.
The system validates each row before saving any data.
If issues are found, error messages will list:
The row number
The specific column
The reason for the validation failure
Fix the issues in your CSV, then reupload.
Once all rows pass validation, the system will create or update vendor records.
4. Common Validation Errors
| Error Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Missing Required Field | Vendor Name is blank |
| Invalid Country | Country not in allowed list |
| Invalid State/Province | Does not match valid values for the selected Country |
| Invalid Date Format | License Expiration Date not formatted as YYYY-MM-DD |
| Invalid URL | Website URL does not match standard formatting |
| Invalid Email/Phone | Formatting does not meet validation rules |
| Non-numeric Lead Time | Min Lead Time contains text or special characters |
Each error message identifies the exact row and column to fix.
5. After a Successful Upload
When the upload completes without errors:
Vendor records are created or updated automatically
The Activity Log records the upload event
The log includes:
Upload date/time
User who uploaded
Number of vendors created or updated
Vendor names included in the upload