Managing vendors well is the backbone of a healthy purchasing process. When your vendor data is organized, accurate, and easy to access, everything else – from paying bills on time to building strong vendor relationships – falls into place. That’s exactly what Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central (BC) is designed to help you do.
In our webinar, “Business Central Purchasing Basics: Managing Vendors,” Sr. GP Consultant, Cheryl Waswick walked through the essentials of managing vendors in BC. Here’s a recap of what was covered and why it matters for your business.
Why Centralized Vendor Management Matters
Business Central provides a centralized Vendor Card that supports purchasing, invoicing, payments, and reporting all in one place.
The benefits go far beyond convenience:
- Fewer navigation steps and improved visibility across vendor activity
- More efficient cash flow management and on-time payments
- Streamlined processes that reduce data errors
- Stronger vendor relationships built on accuracy and reliability
- Instant view of liabilities so you always know where you stand
Setting Up a Vendor Card
Getting a new vendor into Business Central is quick and straightforward. There are three ways to navigate to your vendor list:
- Search “Vendors”
- Use the Vendors ribbon
- Pin Purchasing for fast access
From there, open the Vendor List and click New.
You can apply a template (similar to vendor classes) to speed up the setup, or even merge duplicate records with the Merge With option (a built-in vendor combiner).
Vendor Card Options at a Glance
Each Vendor Card is organized into clear sections so you can manage every aspect of the relationship:
- General – put vendors on hold, add posting groups
- Address and Contact – keep communication details current
- Invoicing – set up 1099 or EFT preferences
- Payments – create invoices and payments directly from the vendor card
- Receiving – add dimensions and ACH bank info for EFT
1099 Vendor Form Box Setup
For U.S. tax reporting, BC makes 1099 setup simple.
Just click New or Edit List, then enter the year, vendor, and select the Form No. and Box No. Your 1099 data stays organized and ready when tax season hits.
Analyzing Vendor Data with Filters and Copilot
One of the most powerful features in BC is the ability to query vendors, save filters, and use Copilot to analyze your list. Whether you want to see all vendors in a specific state, those with balances over $10K, or all 1099 vendors, the filtering tools (plus Copilot’s AI assistance) make it fast and intuitive.
Mass Updates with “Edit in Excel”
Need to update a lot of vendor records at once?
The Edit in Excel feature lets you:
- Export vendor data to a spreadsheet
- Mass update vendor information (for example, change all zip codes from 31772 to 31722)
- Use Copilot to filter or update vendors right inside Excel
- Add or remove vendors in the list
- Publish your changes back to BC
It’s a huge time saver for bulk cleanups and updates.
Key Takeaways
Business Central’s vendor management tools are designed to help you:
- Centralize vendor information in one card
- Streamline purchasing processes
- Strengthen vendor relationships
- Manage vendors quickly and easily
- Apply strong controls for better decision-making
What’s Next in the BC Purchasing Basics Series?
There are more sessions coming your way:
- Transactions and Payments
- EFT for Payables
Have Questions or Need Help?
Consulting: support@iscorp.biz
Sales: sales@iscorp.biz
Author: Cheryl Waswick – Implementation Specialists
