If you are processing a spending request in Sugar, sometimes the vendor you need is not already in Sugar. While we encourage programs to choose preferred or approved vendors, sometimes there will be situations where a new vendor is needed. Here are the steps on how complete that process:
**Please note that for all vendors you will want to confirm they are a reputable business before proceeding with any QI spending. One great way to do this for any contractor, is to check that they are not on the SAM.gov list of excluded parties, which is The System for Award Management (SAM). This is a Federal Government owned and operated free website that can be used to search for government business information to make sure the Vendor you wish to use is not putting out false advertising or inaccurate products. You can also check with your local Better Business Bureau or similar agency for other types of businesses.
When do I enter a new vendor?
When a provider is entering a spending request in ecConnect, they get to select their vendor. If they need to use a vendor that is not on the existing list (read more about the different types of vendors in the Vendor Definitions article), they need to do the following in ecConnect:
Select the payable to type as "Request to Use Other Vendor". They should then enter the vendor details (including name, address, and contact person if applicable) into the "Special Instructions" box. They can then complete the rest of the request as usual.
How to add a new vendor in Sugar
First, make sure that the vendor the provider requested isn't already in Sugar. You can do this from the Spending request in Sugar under the "Payable to Account" field. If the vendor doesn't show up, then you can follow the process outlined below:
Make sure the "Type" field is set to "Vendor" on this account record you create!
Once you save the new vendor record, it should populate in your Spending request where you started this process.
This vendor now exists in Sugar, and can be easily selected in other spending requests when working in Sugar. Remember that for most new vendors, you will have to work with them directly and manually since there are no workflows set up in Sugar for things to happen automatically like with preferred or marketplace vendors.