Supply Lens

How do I add a customer, supplier or trading partner?

Add a Party

Create a Party for a business you exchange data with, ready to add the identifiers that let Supply Lens recognise it.

About 3 min

At the end of this guide you will have a Party for a customer, supplier or other trading partner, ready for its identifiers.

Before you start

  • Check the Party isn't already there. Search the Parties list, or press / and type the company name, GLN or VAT number. Large retailers and marketplaces may already exist as shared Parties, shown with a shared party icon. If so, use the shared Party and add your own identifiers to it instead of creating a duplicate.
  • You don't need to add your own business: your organisation party is created automatically.

Steps

  1. Open Settings → Reference data → Parties.
  2. Click + ADD in the top-right to open the Add new party window.
  3. Fill in the form. The name is the company name, not a contact person's name. The Description describes the Party.
  4. Click one of:
    • Create to create the Party and close the window;
    • Create and edit to create the Party and go to the Edit party screen to fill in more details.

After you create a Party you are taken to its page. You can change its default currency later on its Information card.

Check it worked

  • The Party appears in the list on Settings → Reference data → Parties, and in the top-bar search.
  • Next, give it identifiers so Supply Lens can recognise it on Documents. See Add a Party identifier.

If something goes wrong

  • You created a duplicate of a shared Party. Delete your copy from the list or the Party's page, and add your identifiers to the shared Party instead. If something still uses the Party, Supply Lens shows what uses it and where to change it before you can delete it.
  • The Party still isn't recognised on Documents. A Party with no identifiers is just a name. Add the codes the other systems use for it.