Documentation/ Master records and catalogues/ Supplier contact details
A supplier's contact details
A supplier's record holds five contact fields. Two of them are not decorative: the main email address and the WhatsApp number are what let you send them a purchase order. Without them, the sending cannot be completed.
Database › Supplier master › edit › the contact block
On this page
The five fields
| Field | What it is for |
|---|---|
| Main email | Where purchase orders sent by email go. |
| Second email | Copied in on the sending. It does not stand in for the main one. |
| Main phone | A voice contact. It plays no part in any sending. |
| Second phone | A second voice contact. |
| The number orders are sent to by messaging. |
The record itself flags which ones do real work: next to the main email it says needed to send orders, and next to the WhatsApp number, needed to send orders by WhatsApp.
The main address and the copy
The main address is the order's actual recipient. The second one travels as a copy, and its typical use is internal: leaving a record in the office, or letting the sales rep who looks after the account know.
A second address does not cover for a missing main one. If the main address is empty, the order cannot be sent by email even with a second address in place.
Use the supplier's orders address rather than one particular person's: personal addresses expire as staff change, and the order is then lost without warning.
The WhatsApp number
This is the number an order is sent to by messaging. Pressing send opens the conversation with that number and the order's text ready for you to look over and send.
The order travels as text. It is the quick route for suppliers who work by messaging and do not read email as often.
The number's format, in detail
The number has to be written in international format, with the country code, as the field itself shows:
+34600111222.
| Written as | Valid | Why |
|---|---|---|
+34600111222 | Yes | Country code, no spaces or separators. |
600111222 | No | The country code is missing, so the number cannot be resolved. |
+34 600 11 12 22 | Avoid it | Spaces cause errors. Write it as one run of digits. |
0034600111222 | No | The country code needs the + sign. |
When importing from Excel
Here is the commonest mistake in the whole supplier import, and the screen warns you about it expressly:
Format the WhatsApp column as text in Excel. Left as a number, the spreadsheet strips the leading
+ and the row is rejected.
It happens with nothing visible in Excel: the cell looks right and the sign only disappears on saving. The check is simple. If the number shows up right-aligned, Excel is treating it as a number.
The import takes five contact columns: email, second email, phone, second phone and WhatsApp. All optional.
The phone numbers
Both phone numbers are there for information: they play no part in any automatic sending. They are for having the contact to hand when you have to ring about a problem, a price difference or a delivery still outstanding.
No format is required. Even so, writing them in international format too saves editing them before dialling from a mobile.
Keeping contacts current
- Finish the contact details as you create the record, not when the first order needs sending. That is when you have the details in front of you.
- Export the master to see in one go which suppliers have no email address or no WhatsApp number.
- Prefer generic mailboxes, orders or accounts, over personal addresses.
- Watch the bounces. An order sent to an address that no longer exists is lost silently as far as the sender is concerned.
Things that come up
| What you see | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| The order cannot be sent by email | The record has no main email address. | Fill it in. The second one does not stand in for it. |
| It cannot be sent by WhatsApp | The number is missing or has no country code. | Write it as +34600111222. |
| Supplier rows rejected on import | The WhatsApp column lost its + because it was formatted as a number. |
Format it as text and import again. |
| The order reaches the wrong person | The main address is an out-of-date personal one. | Replace it with the supplier's orders mailbox. |
| The supplier says nothing arrived | It may have landed in the junk folder, or the address is wrong. | Confirm the address with the supplier and send it again. |