Is there a way to categorize vendors?

Hello there, cipgifts!

I'm glad to see you in the Community! I have some details to share with you about creating vendor reports in QuickBooks Online. 

I see you've tagged this question as QuickBooks Online, but currently, the program doesn't have a specific field where you can enter a category when creating vendors. You're only able to categorize the customers by type. 

To ensure we are on the same page, are you referring to the expenses incurred under those vendors? Any additional information or screenshots you can provide will help us figure out which report we need to run. 

For your second concern, you can run the Vendor Contact List report to view the phone numbers of your suppliers. However, there isn't a way to sort them by category. 

Here's how you can pull up the report:

1. Go to Reports in the left navigation panel.
2. Scroll down to the Expenses and Vendors section. 
3. Locate and open the Vendor Contact List report. 
4. If there is other information you need, click the Customize button.
5. Then, choose Run Report.

I've added an article below for more details on how to customize reports:

How to customize reports 

That should do it for now!

Please keep in touch with me here so I can address all of your concerns. Thanks for coming to the Community, wishing you continued success in all that you do

I want to see the vender and the category   sometimes  I add a vender and do not use it for another year  and I forget what category i used before  is there a way I can print the vendor and their category 

 [email address removed]

Good day, ruthjb.

You can pull up and print the Expenses by Vendor Summary report in QuickBooks Online (QBO). This report will show you the last categories used for a specific vendor.

Here are the steps:

1. Go to Reports.
2. Enter Expenses by Vendor Summary in the search field and click on it to open.
3. Set the date under the Report period.
4. Then, click on Run report.
5. Locate the vendor and click on the amount to open the Transaction Report page.

I've attached some screenshots for reference.

I'm linking an article that will help you in the future: Vendors overview.

Reach out to me if you have any follow-up questions. I'm here to help further. Have a great day.

Why doesn’t Intuit just add this feature. It would be so simple - a new field called category that you can put in the reports when you customize them. I am now using Divisions and tagging every invoice to a Division to be able to see my check runs by category, but now I can’t use divisions for what it was meant to be used for. Sometimes software companies really surprise me when they don’t see how a simple change can be so helpful to their users.  Since we all pay monthly, Intuit has no incentive unless we change vendors. Is that what we need to do? Further, the report that is being suggested is not useful except in the limited instance where you forgot how you coded a transaction in the first place. That “should” be a rare instance, because the invoice tells you how to code it, not the vendor. 

I appreciate your feedback, @MEREP75.

Letting us know what works best for you will show our developers what they need to consider in future product updates. 

That said, I'm here to help pass this along in my end.

In the meantime, you can visit our QuickBooks Online Blog to get the latest news and updates about QBO and what our Product Team is working on.

I'll be around to keep helping if you need anything. Have a nice day.

true... that field is very useful.pls let me know if you found any method to upload the category

Hello there, vishmin.

I understand that you need this kind of feature in QuickBooks Online. You can use the Class tracking feature if you need this option for tracking purposes only. That way, you can create a list of categories for your vendor and assign one when creating a transaction. First, you'll need to turn on class tracking in QuickBooks Online. Then, we can now create a list of the category:

1. Go to the Gear icon and then All Lists.
2. Select Classes and click New. Give this class a name.
3. Select Save.

You can also refer to this article: Create and manage classes in QuickBooks Online. When you create a transaction, you'll see the Class drop-down where you can select the appropriate category.

QuickBooks Online has reports by the class you can pull up to see the data you need. Check this link for more details: Run reports by class.

I'm always here to assist if you need more help. Have a wonderful day!

Hi Alex, 
Many thanks for your quick response.. Actually i have already utilized ''class'' option to track cost center wise expenses. (So i can put the relevant cost center when  icreate a PO) . If you can please tell me other available options to categorize vendors... 

Hello vishmin,

Aside from the Divisions and the Class tracking features, we can also set up sub-accounts to keep track of your transactions. You can use these sub-accounts when creating your expenses.

For the detailed steps on how to create the sub-accounts, you can follow this link: Create subaccounts in your chart of accounts in QuickBooks Online.

Once you've transactions associated to the sub-accounts, you can pull up the Transaction List by Accounts report. From there, you can customize the report to get the accurate data.

We'll be right here if you have additional questions on how to keep track of your transactions. Have a great day!

We are looking for a 'Vendor Type' field.  Such as Bank,  Utilities, Credit Card, Retail Store, Subcontractors.  This comes in very handy when trying to create Workers Compensation or General Liability Audit Reports.  Why this field does not flow over from Desktop to Online is beyond me.

I appreciate you for joining the thread, Jean.

I can see the importance of categorizing your vendors in QuickBooks Online and enter the details on the Vendor Type field. The option is not yet available at this time. The good news is, you can utilize the workaround provided above to use classes to categorize your vendors' transactions.

On the other hand, you can also add the vendor type details on the Notes field on the Vendor Infomation window. Here's how:

1. Click on Expenses at the left pane, then click on Vendors.
2. Add a new vendor or modify the existing vendor's information.
3. Input the vendor type under Notes.
4. Hit Save.

When running your reports, you can add the Notes column and see the vendor types from there.

I'll make sure to take note of your request and pass them along to our product developers. Rest assured they're working nonstop to enhance the product to deliver the best experiences for all QuickBooks users. 

For more tips about handling your reports and vendor's information, you can check out these articles:

• Create and manage reports
• Enter expenses, pay bills, write checks, and manage suppliers

On the other hand, you can also visit our blog to stay current with the latest QuickBooks news and feature enhancements. Here's the link: The QuickBooks Blog.

Let me know how else I can help you with handling your vendors in QuickBooks. I'm here to provide additional assistance. Keep safe!

I would like to add my voice to this chorus:  THIS IS NECESSARY. Companies need to categorize types of expenses across all classes and all vendors so we can identify similar expenditures across the entire business. If the different classes are spending money in a specific way to different vendors - like rent to different landlords or similar equipment from different vendors or different outside electricians providing repeated services, a simple report should identify that expense for the whole company - not just by individual vendor or individual class. This is a basic need that bookkeeping should provide - not a frill.

I agree that the ability to add vendor type is necessary. I just had a client  as me to do something that I have done in QB Desktop in the past using the Vendor Type field. Hard to believe it can't be done in QBO. QBO even has a Supplier Type field where we can choose individual or business. Why not just allow the option to add custom choices in that field? I hope you add this feature soon. The workarounds suggested are not viable. I already use classes for other purposes. It would be far too time consuming to tag every invoice and there is a high risk of error - forgetting to do it or choosing the wrong tag. And while the notes are a workaround, it is not a good option since I can't choose from a drop-down list - risk of error. Plus I use the notes for other things. 

We're taking notes of your feedback and suggestion, @ReneeB2.

I can see how beneficial for you and your company to have the ability to add a vendor type field. Please know that all suggestions are being considered by our product engineers based on the volume of requests and their influence on the user interface before they are implemented.

For now, I suggest submitting feedback directly to our product engineers. They may look into this suggestion and consider adding the option in the future update. To send feedback, you can go to the Gear icon and select Feedback. Then, enter your product suggestion and submit it.

You might want to review all your recorded vendor transactions. This article will help you run and customize a report based on your business needs: Customize reports.

I'm still open to your replies, @ReneeB2. Keep in touch if you need any more assistance managing vendors. I've got your back.

I don't understand why you would have Customer Type but not able to add Vendor Type.  

Yes pretty please add vendor categories.  I'm in construction and if I want to get bids from a plumber, I can filter for all plumbers rather than scroll through my vendor list. Please add ASAP. Thanks! 

Thanks for the solution, but this is not the same as being able to organize vendors into the category for which they belong. For example, plumbers, electricians, framing, banking, mortgage broker, etc. etc. Please add.

Thank you for joining the thread, @mrmo.

Learning that adding vendor categories will help you perform your work accurately.

I recommend sending feedback to our software engineers. This will allow them to have an idea about our next product update.

You can refer to the steps below:

1. In your QuickBooks Online account, go to the Gear icon.
2. Select "Feedback."
3. Type in your suggestion and click "Next."

If you want to be in the loop of the new features and product updates, you can visit this link: QuickBooks Online Blog.

You can read this article if you want the same settings of the customized report to be available for future use: Create, access, and modify memorized reports.

 questions about vendor reports, don't hesitate to reply to this post. Keep safe!

Thanks for your response, but I do not see where I can submit a report to developers.  There's no such link in the blog page. 

Thank you but where is there a link foe developer feedback.  The blog does not have anything relevant. 

Let me clarify where you can submit feedback, @mrmo.

In your QuickBooks Online account, simply proceed to the Settings menu. Let me show you how:

1. Click the Gear icon at the top. 
2. Select Feedback.
3. Enter your comments or product suggestions.
4. Then choose Next to submit feedback.
   
   

Your relevant feedback goes to our Product Development team to help heighten your experience in QuickBooks Online (QBO). You can track feature requests through the QuickBooks Online Feature Requests website.

You may also want to learn tips on how to manage, personalize and memorize your reports in QuickBooks. I've attached articles that you can utilize for your reference: 

• Common custom reports in QuickBooks Online
• Memorize reports in QuickBooks Online

Thank you for your patience while we work on this. Feel at ease to get back to this thread if you have other concerns with generating reports in QuickBooks. I'll be more than happy to help. Please take care. 

Since QBO has this "new feature" different from Desktop where you can add "tags" to all of your transactions, it seems like doing the same for customers and vendors should be a quick and easy addition! If Intuit cannot quickly create a custom field such as "Vendor Type", In theory, linking "tags" to customers and vendors WITHOUT NEEDING TO ADD THE TAG TO EVERY TRANSACTION, seems like a viable solution that Intuit should make a priority!

This thread is nearly five years old and Intuit has not managed to add  a basic and critical feature such as this is absurd.  I did notice that there are custom fields but those can only be added to transactions except for in Online Advanced where they can also be applied to customers and vendors.  Custom fields for customers and vendors should not be something that is only limited to Advanced.  Advanced with its 25 users is for large companies with more complex needs. Custom fields for customers and vendors is something that most small businesses would need for basic day to day operations.  This feature should be available at the essentials level or at a minimum plus level. 

Hi there, JL386. 

I recognize how categorizing vendors will benefit your business, especially when pulling up vendor reports. 
 

Thus, I recommend directly providing feedback to our product engineers so that they can look into this suggestion and consider including it in a future update. Here's how:
 

1. Go to the Gear icon at the top.
2. Select Feedback.
3. Enter your comments or product suggestions.
4. Then click Next to submit.

Your valuable input goes to our Product Development team in order to improve your QuickBooks Online (QBO) experience. You can keep track of feature requests by using this link: Customer Feedback for QuickBooks Online.

I've added this article to learn more about common custom reports in QuickBooks Online. It includes a few ways you can personalize reports to fit your specific needs.

I'll be here to provide additional assistance if you still have other concerns about vendors and reports.