Overview
Vendors can be contract employees, subcontractors, consultants, agents, brokers, suppliers, utility companies, or other outsourced people who provide services to you for which you owe them money (payable). So, they are different from your employees because they are not on the payroll of your company though they can also enter time and expenses in BQE CORE.
The Vendors screen allows you to create and manage different types of vendors. Depending on the type, they can log time and expenses against the assigned projects, if required. Alternatively, they can just provide the services and bill you for them. The project contract specifies whether the consultant fees or vendor expenses are passed on directly to the client or not. Click to watch this video on managing vendors in CORE.
The vendor information is mainly used for billing and reporting. If you prefer, the Vendors screen label can be customized in the Custom Labels screen (e.g., the caption can be changed to 'Subcontractor', 'Consultants' or any other term you want). The UI elements as well as reports are adjusted accordingly. You can set up multiple addresses and contact methods for your vendors.
When new vendors (contract employees) are hired or consultants are contracted to work for your company, their basic information must be provided first and then their extended attributes.
How To
Create Time Entries from To-Dos
Field Descriptions
Field Name | Field Description |
Vendors > List View > | |
WIP |
Work-in-Progress is the value of billable, approved, but unbilled time and expenses associated with vendors. It includes taxes, WUD and markups. It considers the values of active vendors only. WIP = Time Entry WIP + Expense Entry WIP where Time Entry WIP = (Client Hours x Bill Rate) x (1 + WUD%) x (1 + Tax %) for unbilled time Expense Entry WIP = (Cost Rate x Units) x (1 + Markup%) x (1 + Tax%) for unbilled expenses |
Unapproved Records | This is the value of unapproved time and expenses associated with vendors. It includes the values of active vendors only. |
Vendors > Detail > General > Details > | |
Vendor Type | Categorization of vendors into three types:
|
Display As | Display name of a vendor. It can be numbers, letters or a combination of both, up to 65 characters. |
Security Profile | Security profile of a vendor that determines the access to features and reports in CORE. You can choose a predefined profile (Billing Only, Default, Full Access, Manager Level Access, or Time and Expense Only) from the drop-down although 'Time and Expense Only' is selected by default. This field is read-only in sample databases. |
Role |
Vendor's role in the company. You can choose a pre-defined role—Default, Principal/Management, Billing, or Time and Expense. Based on this role, your Dashboard changes accordingly upon login. |
Address: City/State |
City and state where the vendor lives. |
Zip |
It allows alphanumeric characters for zip or postal codes. You can change the Zip field mask to the U.S. Postal Service Zip + 4 format, 99999-9999, or to Canada Post, ?9? 9?9 in Custom Labels. |
Phone/Mobile | The vendor's phone number mask can be changed in Custom Labels to common preferences such as 999-999-9999, (999) 999-9999 or 999.999.9999, or to include a country code (99) and extensions. |
Default | If you have multiple addresses (say home, work, office, etc.), one of them is to be marked as the default address. |
Vendors > Detail > General > Rates & Options > | |
Bill Rate |
Vendor's default hourly bill rate for work done or services provided. This rate is used for time entries when neither fee schedule nor activity item rates are used. Typically, you set up rates for contract employees and outside consultants, not regular vendors. |
Overtime Bill Rate | Bill rate charged for time worked by the vendor beyond the standard hours. CORE uses this rate to calculate the bill amount for overtime entries. |
Pay Rate |
Vendor's default hourly pay rate for work done. Typically, you set up rates for contract employees and outside consultants, not regular vendors. For regular time, Cost Rate = Pay Rate x Overhead Multiplier Example: If you enter $80 as the Bill Rate, $33.50 as the Pay Rate and 1 as the OM, the Cost Rate = $33.50. If you are using a Cost Plus contract (where Bill Rate = Pay Rate x Multiplier), you must enter an hourly pay rate for the vendor. |
Overtime Pay Rate |
Vendor's default hourly pay rate for overtime (OT) work done (beyond the standard hours). For overtime, Cost Rate = Overtime Pay Rate x Overhead Multiplier When a time entry is marked as overtime, this rate is used if there is neither a fee schedule linked to the project nor a cost rate assigned to the activity item used in the time entry. |
Overhead Multiplier | Defines the cost incurred on a vendor, besides the pay rate. It also determines the ideal bill rate of a vendor. You cannot enter a value of 0 or less than 0 as the OHM.
Overhead Multiplier = Cost Rate / Pay Rate OHM = Total Annual Expenses / Total Annual Payroll Expenses Example: If the total expenses incurred last year are $1,000,000 and payroll expenses are $400,000, then |
Expense Currency |
Enables your vendors to log expenses in a foreign currency. You can set a default currency here according to the location of the vendor so that correct values and symbols are used everywhere. Example: If a vendor DJ works in your U.K. office, specify British Pound as his default or home currency. Whenever DJ logs his expenses, they will be recorded in British Pound. |
A/P Account | Account for all the A/P transactions in CORE, such as vendor bills. All the payable for this vendor are posted to this account, unless overwritten at the project or vendor bill level. CORE supports multiple A/P accounts. |
Expense Account | Default account for expenses related to vendors in CORE. This expense account is used only in the Accounts tab of the Checks and Vendor Bills screens, not the Items tab. The item-level transactions use the item-level accounts. |
Class | Class are transaction entities used for classification and accounting purposes. You can set a default class for vendors here, but it can be changed, if needed. The class for A/P transactions gets retrieved from the Vendors screen; else from Projects. |
Bank Account Details: Bank Name | This is the name of the vendor's bank. Vendors who do not have complete bank details saved in their profiles are not included in the ABA files. This option is available only on Australia and New Zealand regional settings. |
Account Number | This is the bank account number of the vendor. This option is available only on Australia and New Zealand regional settings. |
BSB Number |
Bank State Branch (BSB) is a 6-digit routing number that represents a bank code used to identify a branch of an Australian bank or financial institution. It is required to make or receive a funds transfer. The format of the BSB code is XXY-ZZZ. The first two digits (XX) specify the bank or financial institution where the money is being sent, while the third digit (Y) tells which state the branch is located in. The last three digits (ZZZ) specify the address of the branch. This option is available only on Australia and New Zealand regional settings. |
ABA Title | It is the title of the vendor on the ABA files generated from the Bill Payments screen. Vendors who do not have complete bank details saved in their profiles are not included in the ABA files. This option is available only on Australia and New Zealand regional settings. |
Vendors > Detail > General > Dates & Hours > | |
Tax ID Number | If a vendor is a sole proprietor, enter the vendor’s social security number. If the vendor is not a sole proprietor, enter the vendor’s nine-digit tax identification number. Typically in USA, Tax ID follows the xx-xxxxxxx format while the SSN follows the xxx-xx-xxxx format. |
Track payments for 1099 | This option allows you (Admin users) to flag vendors that need the 1099-MISC form to report the payments made to them. |
Automatic Overtime |
CORE automatically evaluates overtime entries for a vendor based on either the daily standard hours or weekly. If daily or weekly hours worked exceed the standard hours, CORE splits the entry into regular time and overtime. Daily hours take preference over weekly hours in case of automatic overtime and after daily overtime is triggered, CORE does not check the weekly hours anymore. If this option is not checked, CORE marks the extra hours as regular time. Example: If your Standard Hours per day = 8 and/or per week = 40, then CORE flags the time entry as OT if that time entry goes over 8 hours for that day or 40 hours for that week. |
Vendors > Detail > Performance > | |
Average Expenses |
In case of a vendor or an outside consultant, it represents the average value of expenses billed per vendor bill. Total here refers to the sum of Cost Amount from all the expense entries of the vendor that are linked to vendor bills. It also includes the Cost Amount from the reimbursable expense entries of the vendor, which are treated as system vendor bills. It is calculated as: = Total Expense Cost Amount / Number of Vendor Bills where Expense Cost Amount = (Units x Cost Rate) 'Number of Vendor Bills' includes system vendor bills. |
Average Services |
In case of a vendor or an outside consultant, it represents the average value of services billed per vendor bill. Total here refers to the sum of Cost Amount from all the time entries of the vendor that are linked to vendor bills. It is calculated as: = Total Service Cost Amount / Number of Vendor Bills where Service Cost Amount = (Actual Hours x Cost Rate) 'Number of Vendor Bills' includes system vendor bills. |
Effective Bill Rate |
It provides information about the total billable hours logged by a vendor (contract employee) and those billed to the client. Effective bill rates of contract employees are based on a percentage of standard bill rates that is actually collected and reflects on the money you are making on that contract employee. It reflects discounts, write-up/down, and write-offs. You can see this in case of a contract employee. It is calculated as: Effective Bill Rate = Billed Amount / Total Hours Billed where Billed Amount = (Bill Rate x Client Hours x WUD) of billable and billed time entries Total Hours Billed = Total actual hours of billed entries |
Ideal Pay Rate |
Ideal pay rate is the money you should be paying your contract employees based on how effective they are and how much money they are bringing in. In case of a contract employee, Ideal Pay Rate = Effective Bill Rate x (Utilization % / 100) / Ideal Pay Rate Divisor where Utilization % = Billable Hours / Total Hours x 100 Ideal Pay Rate Divisor = Employee Overhead Factor x (1 + Target Profit %) Example: If a vendor's effective bill rate is $141/hour with a utilization of 100%, overhead multiplier is 2.25 and the profit multiplier is 1.2, then the Ideal Pay Rate is: |
Return on Investment |
Gross margin compares the billable or billed amount of time and expenses for a vendor (contract employee) with the costs incurred. This margin in dollars and percentage is indicative of the vendor's return on investment (ROI). You can see this in case of a contract employee. ROI = Minimum Bill Rate - Ideal Pay Rate where Minimum Bill Rate = Cost Rate x Target Profit Multiplier / Utilization % and Ideal Pay Rate = (Effective Bill Rate x Utilization %) / (OHM x Target Profit Multiplier) |
Work-in-Progress |
The value of billable, approved, but unbilled time and expenses associated with a contract employee. It includes taxes, WUD and markups. You can see this in case of a contract employee. WIP = Total Service Charge Amount + Total Expense Charge Amount where Service Charge Amount = (Client Hours x Bill Rate) x (1 + WUD%) x (1 + Tax %) for unbilled time Expense Amount = (Units x Cost Rate) x (1 + Markup%) x (1 + Tax%) for unbilled expenses |
Unbilled Costs |
This refers to the total cost of approved, but unbilled reimbursable expense entries of a vendor. It does not include markup and taxes. You can see this in case of an outside consultant. Unbilled Cost Amount = (Units x Cost Rate) |
Bills: Paid % |
In case of vendors and outside consultants, the calculations involved are: Paid % = Paid Bills / Total Bills x 100 = (Total Vendor Bill Amount Paid / Total Vendor Bill Amount ) x 100 where Vendor Bill Amount includes the Cost Amount of approved reimbursable expenses of the vendor (system vendor bills) Total refers to the sum of the amount from all the vendor bills (system vendor bills included) and Paid refers to the portion of this amount that has been paid to the vendor. |
Cost: Expenses % |
Expenses % = (Expenses / Total Cost ) x 100 where Expenses = Total Expense Cost Amount = (Units x Cost Rate) Total Cost = Services + Expenses Services = Total Service Cost Amount = (Actual Hours x Cost Rate) Total refers to the sum of Cost Amount from all the time and expense entries of the vendor. |
Credits: Balance |
These are the credits earned by you against your vendors. Credits can be issued when you receive a credit or an advance from your vendor. You can use them to pay off vendor bills, but not reimbursable expenses. Credit Balance = Issued - Used Balance % = (Credit Balance / Issued) x 100 where Issued represents the total credit amount issued to the vendor and Used refers to the portion of this issued amount that is used in vendor bill payments |
Utilization: Utilization % |
The utilization rate gives a measure of the usefulness, efficiency and overall performance of a vendor (contract employee). It is the percentage of billable time logged by a contract employee. Utilization is not affected by the billed status of the time entries. You can see this in case of a contract employee. Utilization can be based on the actual hours entered by the contract employees, standard working hours, or standard working hours (minus deductions), depending on the Utilization Based On field in Settings > Company > Work Time. Check Company for details. Utilization % = (Billable Hours/ Total Hours) x 100 |
Margin: Margin % |
Displays the profit potential of a vendor (contract employee) for the company. This margin is not affected by the billable status of time entries. You can see this in case of a contract employee. Margin % = Total Margin x 100 / Billed Amount Total Margin = Billed Amount – Cost Amount where Billed Amount = (Client Hours x Bill Rate x WUD) of billed entries Cost Amount = (Actual Hours x Cost Rate) of billable entries |
Billing: Realization % |
This chart provides information about the billable and billed value of the time entries logged by a vendor (contract employee). It shows the realization percentage, which indicates how much an hour of the contract employee's time is worth by looking at the total revenue realized from the billed hours. All billing calculations are done on the billed time entries only. You can see this in case of a contract employee. Realization % = Billed Amount x 100 / Total Amount where Billed Amount = (Client Hours x Bill Rate x WUD) of billed entries Total Amount = Billable Amount + Non-Billable Amount of billed entries Billable Amount = (Client Hours X Bill Rate) of billed and billable entries Non-Billable Amount = (Client Hours x Bill Rate) of billed and non-billable entries Write Up/Down = [Bill Rate x Client Hours x (WUD - 1)] of billed and billable entries |
Hours |
The overtime hours logged by a vendor (contract employee) is calculated as: Overtime % = Overtime / Total Hours x 100 where Total Hours = Regular Time + Overtime You can see this in case of a contract employee. |
Gross Margins: Margin |
Allows you to view the profitability of a vendor (contract employee) within the date range selected. The grid displays the gross margins for billable value of time logged by the contract employee. The billable and billed gross margin metric is similar except that the billed one looks at actual revenue earned and not just what can possibly be billed. You can see this in case of a contract employee. Gross Billed Margin = Gross Billed Amount - Gross Billed Cost Gross Billed Margin % = Gross Billed Margin x 100 / Gross Billed Amount Gross Billable Margin = Gross Billable Amount - Gross Billable Cost Gross Billable Margin % = Gross Billable Margin x 100 / Gross Billable Amount where Gross Billable Amount = (Client Hours x Bill Rate) of billed entries Gross Billable Cost = (Actual Hours x Cost Rate) of billed entries Gross Billed Amount = (Client Hours x Bill Rate x WUD) of billable and billed entries Gross Billed Cost = (Actual Hours x Cost Rate) of billed entries |
Revenue: Billed% |
You can see this in case of an outside consultant. Billed % = (Billed / Total Revenue) x 100 where Total Revenue = Billed + Billable Unbilled |
Billed |
This represents the revenue potential of an outside consultant. Billed Amount = (Client Hours x Bill Rate x WUD) |
Non-Billable |
Value of non-billable time entries that are billed. It excludes PTO hours and WUD. You can see this in case of an outside consultant. Non-Billable Amount = (Client Hours x Bill Rate) |
Profit: Profit |
Displays the profit potential of a vendor (outside consultant) for the company. It is not affected by the billable status of time entries and exclude retainers. You can see this in case of an outside consultant. Profit = Billed Amount – Cost Amount Profit % = Total Profit / Billed Amount x 100 where Billed Amount = (Client Hours x Bill Rate x WUD) of billed entries and Cost Amount = (Hours x Cost Rate) of billable entries excluding extra entries |
Vendors > To-Dos > Edit To-Dos > | |
% Complete | Estimated percentage of completion of a to-do item. This helps you keep track of how much of the task remains to be done till the due date. In case of to-do items related to projects and vendors, you can create time entries from them upon updating the % Complete. |
Vendors > Details > Actions > Add Opportunity > | |
Opportunity Name | Name of the opportunity expected from a prospect. |
Type | The type (e.g., new business, existing business, renewal, etc.) of opportunity can be selected from the drop-down list. You can create various opportunity types in the CRM lists. |
Prospect | This is the prospect associated with the opportunity. It is pre-filled with the vendor's Display As name, by default. CORE automatically creates a prospect record, if it has not already been added. |
Target Date | The realistic close date by which you want to win the opportunity. It represents a deadline for an opportunity. It is set as one month later by default, but can be changed as needed. |
Stage | The current stage of an opportunity in terms of sales, e.g., ongoing, won or lost. By default, it is brought forward from Settings > CRM > Opportunity Stages with the least order value and not ‘In Progress’. |
Description | Description or other information about the opportunity, say additional licenses. |
Assigned To | This is the sales person to whom the opportunity is assigned. It gets pre-filled by the prospect's Assigned To value by default. |
Probability % | Current possibility of winning the opportunity. This value is in percentage, say 50%. By default, it is set to 25%, but you can change it. You can quickly update the probability of an opportunity later using the Update Probability option from the row-action menu in list view. |
Opportunity Value | Monetary value or worth of an opportunity. |
Forecast |
Forecast refers to the revenue that you expect from the opportunity. It represents the monetary value of an opportunity. |
Copy contacts to prospect |
Copies the vendor contacts to the prospect associated with the new opportunity. |
Create Vendors
To create a new vendor profile, watch this video or follow these steps:
- Open the Vendors screen from the side menu > Contacts.
- Click Add Vendor on the top-right.
- On the Create Vendor > Details screen, enter the required information. Check Field Descriptions above for details.
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Vendor Type: Vendor, Contract employee or Outside consultant
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Company
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Name
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Display As: Unique display name of a vendor
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Security Profile: Security profile of a vendor that determines the access to features and reports in CORE. Check Field Descriptions above for details.
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Address
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Enter other details about the vendor, if needed. Check Field Descriptions above for details.
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Bill Rate: Vendor's default hourly bill rate for work done.
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Pay Rate: Vendor's default hourly pay rate for work done.
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Expense Account: Default account for the expenses related to the vendors in CORE.
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A/P Account: Account for all the A/P transactions in CORE, such as vendor bills.
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Click Save & Done or Save & Add Another.
Batch Update Vendors
Making batch changes to the vendor records is a non-reversible process. Batch update also allows you to reset the values to none if the field is not required.
To update any vendor information, watch this video or follow these steps:
- Open the Vendors screen from the side menu > Contacts.
- Select the vendor records on the grid and click Actions > Delete to delete them. You cannot delete vendors that have vendor bills or purchase orders associated with them; if no longer needed, make them inactive instead.
- Otherwise, click Batch Update to make changes to them. Using the
menu, you can select the total number of records without scrolling all the way to the end of the list, total number of records in view or none of the records.
- On the Batch Update dialog, select the relevant fields and enter new values for them.
- Check the disclaimer at the bottom and click Update.
- To edit a single vendor, click
on a row and select Detail.
- In the detail view, enter more details or make your changes.
- Click Save.
You can also check the detailed video on batch updating records in CORE.
Assign Groups
This option allows you to quickly assign a vendor to a vendor group or view whether the selected vendor is a member of any existing group. A vendor can belong to one group or multiple groups.
To assign a vendor to a group, watch this video or follow these steps:
- Open the Vendors screen from the side menu > Contacts.
- In the list view, select a vendor on the grid and click
to select View Details.
- In the detail view, go to the General > Details tab and click Assign Groups.
- On the Assign Groups dialog, select the desired group for the vendor. By default, the All group is assigned and set as the default group for all vendors.
- Click Update.
You can also check the detailed video on creating and managing groups in CORE.
Group Vendors
Groups can be a very effective device for managing your business. CORE allows you to filter information by groups. You can group together vendors with the same bill rate and cost rate. It is worth a little time to create groups because they can save a substantial amount of time down the road.
To group various vendors, watch this video or follow these steps:
- Open the Vendors screen from the side menu > Contacts.
- In the list view, select a vendor on the grid and click
to select View Details.
- In the detail view, go to the General > Details tab and click Assign Groups.
- On the Assign Groups dialog, click Manage Groups. (You can also go directly to this screen via side menu > Settings.)
- On the Groups screen, click Create New.
- On the Create Vendor Group screen, enter the required information:
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Name of the new group
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Description
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- Select the relevant options:
- Add new vendors automatically: Automatically adds all new vendors to the new group as they are created.
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Include all vendors in new group: Includes all existing vendors in the new group.
- Click Save.
You can also check the detailed video on creating and managing groups in CORE.
Add Multiple Addresses
Employees can have various addresses associated with them, such as for work, home or any office location. You can add multiple address for all your contacts in CORE.
To add a vendor address:
- Open the Vendors screen from the side menu > Contacts.
- In the list view, select a vendor on the grid and click
to select View Details.
- In the detail view, go to the General > Details tab and click Add Address.
- Enter a title for the new address to describe it, say Main, Office, or Home.
- Enter the address details (Street 1/2, City, State, Zip and Country)
- Check the Default option if you want to make this as the primary address of the vendor.
- Click Save.
Set Up Overtime Information
To set up overtime information for a vendor, watch this video or follow these steps:
- Open the Vendors screen from the side menu > Contacts.
- In the list view, select a vendor on the grid and click
to select View Details.
- In the detail view, go to the General > Rates & Options tab and enter the required information. Check Field Descriptions above for details.
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Overtime Bill Rate
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Overtime Pay Rate
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Overhead Multiplier: Defines the cost incurred on a vendor, besides the pay rate.
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- Next, go to the Human Resources tab and enter the Standard Hours: Per Day/Per Week, say 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week.
- Check the Automatic Overtime option: CORE automatically evaluates overtime entries for a vendor. Check Field Descriptions above for details.
- Click Save.
Add Custom Fields
Using the custom fields, you can track extra characteristics and attributes of your vendors. For example, you might track vendor specialization and experience to match your company's needs. You can customize these fields in the Custom Labels screen.
To add a custom field, watch this video or follow these steps:
- Open the Vendors screen from the side menu > Contacts.
- In the list view, select a vendor on the grid and click
to select View Details.
- In the detail view, go to the General > Custom Fields tab and click Add Custom Field.
- Select the type of field you want depending on the purpose, say Text Box.
- On the Add Text Box dialog, enter the required information:
- Name
- Type
- # of Characters
- Check Show in List View if you want this field to appear under the Show/Hide Columns list and show up on the grid. Click Save.
Note: You can display a maximum of three custom fields on the list view per screen.
You can also check the detailed video on managing custom fields in CORE.
Add Documents
To add a document to a vendor record, watch this video or follow these steps:
- Open the Vendors screen from the side menu > Contacts.
- In the list view, select a vendor on the grid and click
to select View Details.
- In the detail view, go to the Documents tab and click Add.
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On the Add Documents dialog, select the relevant tab, depending on the type of attachment.
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- Computer: To attach files stored on your computer, enter its Description and drag your file or click to browse to that location.
- Hyperlink: To attach an external link, enter its Description and then insert the hyperlink.
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- Dropbox: To link files stored in your Dropbox account, enter its Description and then browse for it.
- Google Drive: To link files stored in your Google Drive account, enter its Description and then browse for it.
- OneDrive: To link files stored in your Microsoft OneDrive account, enter its Description and then browse for it.
- Box: To link files stored in your Box account, enter its Description and then browse for it.
- Resource Library: To link company resources, select the resource from the library. This option is available only with CORE CRM.
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Click Add.
CORE pre-fills some of the information about the attached documents in the grid. You can send the documents to your clients, vendors, or other contacts for getting their digital or electronic signatures (eSignature via DocuSign) using the eSign option from the row-action menu. CORE automatically adds the signed documents to the Documents folder of the entity (record) as separate attachments. It displays the status of the document, whether it has been delivered via DocuSign, viewed by the recipients, declined or completed by the recipients, etc. This column does not show up if you are not connected via the DocuSign integration. You can also check the detailed video on managing documents in CORE.
Add To-Dos
To add a new to-do task for a vendor, watch this video or follow these steps:
- Open the Vendors screen from the side menu > Contacts.
- In the list view, select a vendor on the grid and click
to select View Details.
- In the detail view, go to the To-Dos tab and click Add.
- Enter the required information in the top row of the grid. Check Field Descriptions above for details.
- Description
- Start/End Date
- Assigned To
- % Complete
- Click Done.
You can also check the detailed video on managing to-dos in CORE.
Create Time Entries from To-Dos
To create a time entry from a to-do task, watch this video or follow these steps:
- Open the Vendors screen from the side menu > Contacts.
- In the list view, select a vendor on the grid and click
to select View Details.
- In the detail view, go to the To-Dos tab.
- Select a to-do task on the grid and click Actions > Make Time Entry.
- On the Create Time Entry > Details dialog, enter the required information:
- Entry Date
- Project
- Activity
- Actual/Client Hours
- On the Additional tab, enter other information, if needed:
- Cost Rate
- Bill Rate
- Tax 1/2/3 %
- Click Save.
Add Notes
CORE allows you to add notes for your vendors and their contacts.
To add a new note for a vendor, watch this video or follow these steps:
- Open the Vendors screen from the side menu > Contacts.
- In the list view, select a vendor on the grid and click
to select View Details.
- In the detail view, go to the Notes tab and click Add.
- Enter the required information in the top row of the grid:
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Category
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Description
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Date
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Status
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Click Done.
You can also check the detailed video on managing notes in CORE.
Add Vendor Contacts
To add a vendor contact, watch this video or follow these steps:
- Open the Vendors screen from the side menu > Contacts.
- In the list view, select a vendor on the grid and click
to select View Details.
- In the detail view, go to the Contacts tab and click Add.
- On the Contact Detail > Details screen, enter information in the required fields:
- Display As: Unique name of the contact comprising of numbers, letters or a combination of both, up to 65 characters
- Name
- Company
- Contact Address
- To add a contact type, click Add contact method. You can choose the desired option from the drop-down (say Email or Mobile) and then enter that information.
- Click Save.
- The contact record is saved and you can add notes for it from its Notes tab.
- Click Save & Done.
The new contact displays in the list view.
Convert Vendors to Employees
You can convert vendors to employees provided they do not have purchase orders, vendor bills or vendor credits associated with them. However, approved reimbursable expenses (system vendor bills) are allowed. Vendor to employee conversion also converts to-do tasks besides other information. CORE does not allow you to convert the logged-in vendor into an employee.
To convert a vendor profile to an employee, watch this video or follow these steps:
- Open the Vendors screen from the side menu > Contacts.
- In the list view, select a vendor on the grid and click
to select View Details.
- In the detail view, click Actions > Convert to Employee.
You can view the converted employee on the Employees screen.
Send Vendors
In CORE, you can send vendor records to your accounting program, such as QuickBooks Online, Xero and MYOB AccountRight.
To send a vendor record to your accounting program, watch this video or follow these steps:
- Open the Vendors screen from the side menu > Contacts.
- In the list view, select a vendor on the grid and click
to select View Details.
- In the detail view, click Actions > Send To on the top-right.
- Select the relevant option from the drop-down, say QuickBooks. Your data is sent.
CORE allows you to send vendors to QuickBooks using the Send to QuickBooks option from the row-action menu in the list view. You can send a maximum of 25 records from the vendors list to QuickBooks without having to drill down into the detail view. CORE displays a progress bar when sending these records to QuickBooks.
Add Opportunities
You can create sales opportunities directly from the Vendors screen. However, this option is only available with the CRM subscription. In this case, the vendor becomes the prospect of the newly associated opportunity. The vendor-prospect relationship is always maintained as when an opportunity is won and vendor is mapped to the respective client record. The records between Prospects and Vendors are synced automatically when changes are made to any common attributes, provided the contact appears in both screens. You can add the opportunities from the list view row-action menu or the detail view Actions menu.
To add an opportunity to a vendor, watch this video or follow these steps:
- Open the Vendors screen from the side menu > Contacts.
- In the list view, select a vendor on the grid and click
to select View Details.
- In the detail view, click Actions > Add Opportunity on the top-right.
- On the Add Opportunity dialog, enter the required information. Check Field Descriptions above for details.
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Opportunity Name
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Type: The type (e.g., new business, existing business, renewal, etc.) of opportunity
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Prospect
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Target Date: The realistic close date by which you want to win the opportunity.
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Stage: The current stage of an opportunity in terms of sales, e.g., ongoing, won or lost.
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Enter other information about the opportunity, if needed. Check Field Descriptions above for details.
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Description
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Assigned To
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Probability %
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Opportunity Value: Monetary value or worth of an opportunity.
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Forecast: Forecast refers to the revenue that you expect from the opportunity
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Click Add. The opportunity is created and you are taken to its detail view where you can add more information.
Clone Vendors
You can create a ‘clone template’ containing general or common data that you want to include in all the new records. For example, if you employ many sub-contractors for network installation and administration projects, it saves time to create a clone template for this type of a vendor. Be sure to give a special ID to each clone template.
To clone a vendor, watch this video or follow these steps:
- Open the Vendors screen from the side menu > Contacts.
- In the list view, select a vendor on the grid and click
to select Clone.
- On the Vendor Clone dialog, enter the required information:
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Clone From
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Clone To
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Click Clone.
You can also check the detailed video on cloning records in CORE.
Merge Vendors
In certain situations, you might want to combine multiple vendors into a single vendor. CORE allows you to do that by moving all the items and any other transactions linked with the vendor to the selected destination vendor. Attachments or any other objects linked with the source vendors are moved to the destination vendor.
To merge vendors, watch this video or follow these steps:
- Open the Vendors screen from the side menu > Contacts.
- In the list view, select a vendor record on the grid and click
on that row to select Merge.
- On the Merge Vendors dialog, choose the vendor from the drop-down into which you want to merge the selected vendors.
- Click Merge.
You can also check the detailed video on merging data in CORE.
Show/Hide Columns in Grid
You can configure the fields or columns that appear on the grid in the list view. You can hide or show columns, and sort the order of columns according to your requirements.
To do so, watch this video or follow these steps:
- Open the Vendors screen from the side menu > Contacts.
- In the list view, click More > Show/Hide Columns on the action bar.
- Select or un-select the column names in the drop-down list, say Title.
- Next, click the column you want to sort, say Name.
- Click once for ascending order (A-Z) and twice for descending order (Z-A).
Note: You can resize the column widths on the grid and then reset them, if needed (More > Reset Column Widths).
You can also check the detailed video on navigation and customizing grids in CORE.
Export Vendors
In CORE, you can export vendors to the Comma Separated Values file format. CORE exports data from all available columns and not just the columns visible in the grid.
To export vendor records to a .CSV file, watch this video or follow these steps:
- Open the Vendors screen from the side menu > Contacts.
- In the list view, click More > Export as CSV.
- A .csv export file is created and saved on your system at the default download location, say your desktop. Click to open the spreadsheet.
You can also check the detailed video on exporting data in CORE.
View Reports
To view a report, watch this video or follow these steps:
- Open the Vendors screen from the side menu > Contacts.
- In the list view, click More > View Reports.
- Select a report from the Report List dialog. It opens in the viewer.
- Preview the report and then choose to export or print it.
You can also check the detailed video on running and managing reports in CORE.
Apply Filters
When using the filter search or applying filters, CORE intelligently updates the info bars to reflect the values of the filtered list. Besides filtering data using the standard fields on a screen, you can also use the custom fields for that, if you have set them up.
To view selective data on the grid, watch this video or follow these steps:
- Open the Vendors screen from the side menu > Contacts.
- In the list view, click
on the right.
- On the Filters panel, select a filter from the drop-down and specify individual records or range.
- Click Add Filters to specify more filters.
- When you have finished, click Apply Filter. You can see selective data now.
- Next, to save the applied filters as your favorite, click Save Filters.
- It opens the Save Filter dialog, where you can select a name for your filter combination and then click Save. You can also update your existing saved filters by clicking the Update Saved Filters link.
- In the list view, you can remove the individual filters by clicking
on each. To disable applied filters temporarily or remove all filters, click
next to the Filters icon and select Disable Filters or Clear All, respectively.
You can also check the detailed video on applying filters in CORE.
Mark Screen as Favorite
You can mark or flag the most-often used and important screens in CORE as your favorites up to a maximum of ten. These favorite screens then display separately on the side menu under the Favorites list. You can manage all your favorite screens in CORE from User Settings.
To mark this screen as your favorite, watch this video or follow these steps:
- Open the Vendors screen from the side menu > Contacts.
- In the list view, click
on the top-right.
- You can access this screen from the side menu under Favorites.
You can also check the detailed video on marking screens as favorite in CORE.