Vendors

The vendor directory

Your vendors are the people and companies you hire: plumbers, electricians, cleaners, landscapers, and other service providers. The directory at Accounting → Vendors keeps each vendor's details in one place, ready to attach to an expense or a work order when you need them.

Contacts & categories

Each vendor can hold the information you actually reach for in the field:

• Contacts — multiple people per vendor, so you have the right phone number and email for dispatch, billing, or emergencies.
• Categories — group vendors by trade (plumbing, electrical, HVAC, cleaning) so you can find the right one fast and assign work by type.

Adding a vendor

Build out your directory from Accounting → Vendors :

1. Create the vendor. Choose Add Vendor and enter the business name and category.
2. Add contacts. Record the people you deal with, with their phone and email.
3. Capture details. Add address, notes, and any account or reference numbers you use with them.
4. Save. The vendor is now available to attach to expenses and work orders.

Compliance tracking

For many trades you need proof of insurance, WSIB coverage, licences, or other certificates before they set foot on a property. TenantBuddy tracks each vendor's documents against your compliance requirements, so you can see at a glance who is current and who has something expiring or missing. To set this up:

1. Define what you require under Settings → Compliance Requirements (for example liability insurance and WSIB).
2. Open a vendor and review which requirements apply to them.
3. Collect the documents: upload them yourself, or send the vendor a portal link (below).
4. Watch the compliance status and expiry dates so coverage never lapses unnoticed.

The vendor compliance portal

Rather than chasing certificates over email, you can send a vendor a secure link to a compliance portal where they upload their own documents directly against your requirements. The documents land on the vendor's record and the compliance status updates on its own.