> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.assetinfinity.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Vendors

> Contractors and suppliers — approving them, what they can do, and whether they are still allowed on site.

The companies you buy from and send work to.

<img src="https://mintcdn.com/assetinfinity/95UxrhuglB-erOSy/images/commercial/vendors.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=95UxrhuglB-erOSy&q=85&s=87784db9b8c9abb5f109115c4178c88e" alt="The vendor list" width="2880" height="1800" data-path="images/commercial/vendors.png" />

## Vendor states

A vendor is approved before they can be used, and can be stopped afterwards.

| Status               | Meaning                                             |
| -------------------- | --------------------------------------------------- |
| **Prospective**      | Being considered. Cannot be sent work               |
| **Pending Approval** | Submitted for approval                              |
| **Approved**         | Usable                                              |
| **Suspended**        | Temporarily stopped — a lapsed insurance, a dispute |
| **Blacklisted**      | Permanently stopped                                 |
| **Inactive**         | No longer used, without prejudice                   |

Allowed moves:

```text theme={null}
Prospective ──Submit──→ Pending Approval ─┬─Approve──→ Approved
                                          └─Return for information──→ Prospective

Approved ─┬─Suspend────→ Suspended ─┬─Reinstate──→ Approved
          │                         └─Blacklist──→ Blacklisted
          ├─Blacklist──→ Blacklisted
          └─Deactivate─→ Inactive
```

**Approve**, **Reinstate** and **Blacklist** require approval — they change who is allowed on your
site.

## Columns

| Column                    | Notes                                          |
| ------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------- |
| **Vendor number**         | Your identifier                                |
| **Name**                  | Click to open                                  |
| **Type** and **Category** | From [commercial settings](/config/commercial) |
| **Status**                | As above                                       |
| **Compliance**            | Whether their documents are current            |
| **Contracts**             | How many are live                              |

## Compliance leads

A vendor whose public-liability cover has lapsed is not a vendor with a footnote — they are a vendor
nobody may send. The compliance state is shown before anything else, on the list and on the vendor.

## Adding a vendor

**New** on this screen, or **New → Create Vendor** in the header. A vendor needs a number, a name, a
type and a category. Everything else — contacts, sites, capabilities, rates, compliance documents —
is added on the vendor itself.

<Card title="Inside a vendor" icon="handshake" href="/commercial/vendor-detail">
  Contacts, sites, capabilities, contracts, work, performance, rates and compliance.
</Card>


## Related topics

- [Role reference](/setup/roles.md)
- [Inside a vendor](/commercial/vendor-detail.md)
- [Vendor and contract settings](/config/commercial.md)
- [Administered lists](/config/administered-lists.md)
- [The work order lifecycle](/work/lifecycle.md)