Suppliers

Manage your supplier relationships, track costs, and streamline your purchasing workflow. The Suppliers feature helps you maintain accurate supplier information, monitor performance, and keep product costs up to date.

Plan Requirement: Supplier management is available on Professional and Enterprise plans.

What Are Suppliers?

Suppliers are the businesses you purchase inventory and ingredients from. Tracking suppliers in TypeMenu helps you:

• Centralise contact information - Keep all supplier details in one place
• Track costs - Know what you’re paying for each product
• Monitor performance - Rate suppliers on quality and reliability
• Streamline ordering - Create purchase orders quickly
• Manage relationships - Track payment terms, lead times, and minimum orders

Accessing Suppliers

From the Dashboard

1. Click “Suppliers” in the main navigation
2. View your supplier list with key information
3. Click any supplier to view full details

From Purchasing

1. Go to Purchasing in the navigation
2. Click “Suppliers” to access supplier management

Supplier List Overview

The suppliers list shows:

• Name: Supplier company name
• Type: Supplier category (e.g., Food, Beverage, Packaging)
• Status: Active or Inactive
• Contact: Email and phone number
• SKUs: Number of products linked to this supplier
• Min Order: Minimum order value required

Filtering Suppliers

Use the filters to find specific suppliers:

• Search: Search by supplier name
• Type filter: Filter by supplier category
• Status filter: Show Active, Inactive, or All

Adding a Supplier

Creating a New Supplier

1. Click “Add Supplier” button
2. Fill in the supplier details
3. Save the supplier

Basic Information

Required Fields:

• Name: The supplier’s business name

Optional Fields:

• Type: Categorise the supplier
  • Food supplier
  • Beverage supplier
  • Packaging supplier
  • Equipment supplier
  • Other
• External ID: Your reference code or account number
• Active: Whether this supplier is currently in use

Contact Information

• Contact Email: Primary email address for orders and enquiries
• Contact Phone: Phone number for urgent communications

Business Terms

• Currency: The currency used for transactions with this supplier
• Payment Terms: Payment arrangement (e.g., “Net 30”, “Payment on delivery”)
• Lead Time (Days): Typical delivery time after placing an order
• Minimum Order Value: The minimum order amount required

Additional Information

• Notes: Internal notes about this supplier
• Tags: Custom labels for organisation and filtering

Supplier Details Page

Click any supplier to view their full profile:

Supplier Information

• Type: Supplier category with icon
• External ID: Your reference number
• Lead Time: Expected delivery time
• Currency: Transaction currency
• Payment Terms: Payment arrangement
• Min Order Value: Minimum order required

Contact Information

• Email: Click to send email
• Phone: Click to call

Notes

Internal notes about the supplier, special instructions, or important information.

Tags

Custom labels attached to this supplier for organisation.

Performance Metrics

Track supplier reliability:

• Quality Rating: Score out of 10 for product quality
• On-time Rate: Percentage of deliveries arriving on time

Supplier Variants (SKUs)

Products and variants supplied by this supplier:

• Product/Variant: The item name
• Supplier SKU: The supplier’s product code
• Cost: Price you pay for this item
• Pack Size: Units per pack
• MOQ: Minimum order quantity

Address Information

Supplier’s business address for correspondence and deliveries.

Managing Supplier SKUs

Link your products to suppliers to track costs and create purchase orders.

Accessing SKU Management

1. Open a supplier’s detail page
2. Click “Manage SKUs”

What is a Supplier Variant?

A supplier variant links one of your product variants to a specific supplier, including:

• Which product/variant is supplied
• The supplier’s SKU code
• The cost price
• Pack size
• Minimum order quantity

Adding Supplier SKUs

1. Click “Manage SKUs” on the supplier page
2. Add products this supplier can provide
3. Enter supplier-specific details:
   • Supplier SKU: The supplier’s product code
   • Cost: What you pay per unit
   • Pack Size: How many units per pack
   • MOQ: Minimum order quantity

Why Link Products to Suppliers?

• Accurate costing: Know your true product costs
• Purchase orders: Quickly create orders with correct pricing
• Multi-supplier support: Same product from different suppliers
• Price comparison: Compare costs across suppliers

Managing Supplier Pricing

Track and update costs for products from each supplier.

Accessing Pricing

1. Open a supplier’s detail page
2. Click “Manage Pricing”

Updating Costs

1. Find the product in the pricing list
2. Update the cost price
3. Save changes

Cost Tracking Benefits

• Profit calculations: Accurate margins on menu items
• Price change history: Track cost increases over time
• Purchase order accuracy: Orders use current pricing

Editing a Supplier

1. Open the supplier’s detail page
2. Click “Edit”
3. Update any fields
4. Save changes

What You Can Edit

• Basic information (name, type, external ID)
• Contact details (email, phone)
• Business terms (currency, payment terms, lead time, minimum order)
• Notes and tags
• Active status

Deleting a Supplier

1. Open the supplier’s detail page
2. Click “Delete”
3. Confirm the deletion

Warning: Deleting a supplier removes all associated data including:

• Supplier variant links
• Pricing information
• Historical records

Consider setting a supplier to Inactive instead of deleting to preserve history.

Supplier Types

Categorise suppliers by type for easier management:

Type	Use For
Food	Fresh produce, meat, dairy, dry goods
Beverage	Drinks, alcohol, soft drinks
Packaging	Containers, bags, boxes, utensils
Equipment	Kitchen equipment, furniture
Other	Miscellaneous suppliers

Performance Tracking

Quality Rating

Rate suppliers on product quality:

• Scale of 0-10
• Consider: freshness, consistency, packaging condition
• Update periodically based on recent deliveries

On-time Delivery Rate

Track delivery reliability:

• Percentage of on-time deliveries
• Helps identify unreliable suppliers
• Use for supplier comparisons

Using Performance Data

• Supplier selection: Choose reliable suppliers for critical items
• Negotiations: Use data in pricing discussions
• Risk management: Identify suppliers who need backup alternatives

Best Practices

Setting Up Suppliers

• Complete all fields: More data means better insights
• Use consistent naming: Makes searching easier
• Add notes: Record special instructions or preferences
• Set accurate lead times: Helps with purchase planning

Maintaining Supplier Data

• Update costs regularly: Keep pricing current
• Review performance: Check ratings quarterly
• Clean up inactive suppliers: Set to Inactive or delete
• Verify contact details: Ensure information is current

Managing Multiple Suppliers

• Use tags: Organise by region, specialty, or priority
• Compare pricing: Track cost differences across suppliers
• Maintain backups: Have alternatives for critical items
• Document relationships: Note account managers or contacts

Permissions

Access to suppliers requires appropriate permissions:

Permission	What It Allows
View Suppliers	See supplier list and details
Create Suppliers	Add new suppliers
Edit Suppliers	Modify supplier information
Delete Suppliers	Remove suppliers
Manage Supplier Addresses	Add/edit supplier addresses
Manage Supplier Variants	Link products and update pricing

Contact your administrator if you need supplier access.

Troubleshooting

Supplier Not Appearing

• Check status filter: Ensure you’re viewing “All” or “Active”
• Check permissions: Verify you have view access
• Clear search: Remove any search filters

Can’t Create Purchase Order

• Check supplier variants: Ensure products are linked to the supplier
• Verify active status: Supplier must be active
• Check permissions: Verify purchase order permissions

Costs Not Updating

• Save changes: Ensure you saved after editing
• Check the right supplier: Products can have multiple suppliers
• Refresh the page: Clear cached data

Related Guides

• Inventory - Stock management and tracking
• Purchasing - Creating purchase orders
• Products - Product setup and variants

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Effective supplier management helps control costs, maintain quality, and streamline your purchasing process. Keep supplier information up to date and regularly review performance to build strong supplier relationships.