Managing Your Vendor List

How to add vendors, track contact info, trades, license numbers, and insurance status.

Reason for revision: the published body says the button is **Add Vendor** (it is **New Vendor**), tells readers to "note their insurance status" without saying what the app does with it, and implies OwnerDraw verifies insurance. Corrected below against the current page.

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Adding a vendor

1. Open the **Vendors** page.
2. Select **New Vendor**.
3. Type the **Company Name** — the only required field.
4. Add **Contact Name**, **Phone**, **Email** and a **Trade Role**.
5. Add the **License Number** and the **Insurance Expiry** date shown on their certificate.
6. Upload the **Insurance Certificate** and **W-9 Document** (one PDF or image each, up to 5MB).

Add the email while you are there: the **Compliance** tab uses it for **Request Insurance Docs** and **Request W-9 Form**.

For a vendor who will never need documents — a lumber yard, for example — switch on **No W-9 / insurance required** so they stop appearing in compliance warnings.

Why track vendors

  • Contact details in one place when you need to schedule work
  • Insurance and W-9 records to hand when your lender asks
  • Payments tracked by vendor when you pick the record while logging an expense
  • A history to fall back on for warranty claims

What the app checks, and what it does not

Insurance Status is worked out from two things: whether a certificate file is attached, and the expiry date **you type**. **On File** means a file exists. **Expired** and **Expires in 18 days** come from your typed date.

OwnerDraw does not read the certificate, contact the insurer, check policy limits, confirm workers' compensation, or verify a licence with any authority. Read the certificate yourself and confirm the dates and limits — ideally with your own agent.

Directory versus project

Your vendor list belongs to your account and is shared by all your projects. A vendor becomes part of a *particular* project when you assign them to one of its budget lines — directly, or automatically when you push their accepted bid to Budget — or when an expense on that project is linked to their record. That is why a project dashboard may warn about only some of the vendors listed here.

Opening a stored document

Your uploads stay private. **View Insurance Document** and **View W-9 Document** fetch a fresh, short-lived private link each time, so a file uploaded years ago still opens. If a file cannot be found, you get a plain message saying so rather than a broken link.

Archiving

Archiving a vendor hides the record without deleting anything — past expenses and documents stay intact. **Show Archived** lists them and **Restore** brings one back.

> TIP: Confirm general liability and workers' compensation coverage before anyone starts work on your site. If an uninsured worker is injured there, you may be liable.

Full detail: *Managing Vendors and Their Documents*.