Importable supplier columns reference

This page is the complete lookup for every column the supplier importer reads, plus the validation each one is subject to. It's the reference companion to the task guide Import suppliers from a spreadsheet — read that first for the step-by-step flow; come here to look up a specific column, its accepted values, or an edge case.

Everything below is read straight from the importer, so it's authoritative for what the Import Suppliers dialog accepts.

Before you begin

• Importing requires the suppliers.import permission.
• The five name-lookup columns (warehouse, store, payment term, tax rate, pricing tier) resolve a value to a record that must already exist in your account, matched by name (case-insensitive). Unlike a hard lookup, an unmatched value here is a warning, not an error: the row still imports and that field is left blank. Set the referenced records up first in Settings.

File formats and how columns are read

Aspect	Behavior
Accepted file types	.csv, .tsv, .txt, .xlsx, .xls, or pasted delimited text.
Delimiter	Auto-detected (comma, tab, or semicolon); overridable when pasting.
Header row	Auto-detected; you confirm the First row is a header checkbox before mapping.
Column mapping	Each file column is mapped to a target field via a Maps To dropdown. A header that equals a field's key or label auto-matches (case- and spacing-insensitive); anything else you map by hand or Skip.
Blank cells	A blank cell leaves that field unchanged on an update.
Template	There is no downloadable template for suppliers — build a file with a header row, or start from an export.

Identity and match columns

Column	Required	Type / format	Accepted values	Notes
id	No	Integer	An existing supplier ID	When mapped and non-blank, forces an update-by-ID match. A non-numeric ID, or an ID that doesn't exist, is a row error.
name	Yes	Text	Any	The supplier name and the natural match key — names are globally unique, so a row without id whose Name matches an existing supplier updates it. A blank Name errors the row.
type	No	Text	goods, service	goods = Product Supplier, service = Service Provider. Case-insensitive; any other value errors the row.

Contact and profile columns

Column	Required	Type / format	Accepted values	Notes
company_name	No	Text	Any
primary_contact_name	No	Text	Any	Shown as Contact Name.
email	No	Email	A valid email address	An invalid address errors the row.
purchase_order_email	No	Text	Any	The address purchase orders are sent to.
website	No	Text	Any
timezone	No	Text	An IANA timezone name (for example, America/New_York)

Purchasing default columns

Column	Required	Type / format	Accepted values	Notes
leadtime	No	Integer ≥ 0	Whole days	Non-negative whole number; a decimal or negative value errors the row.
minimum_order_quantity	No	Integer ≥ 0		Non-negative whole number.
target_stock_days	No	Integer ≥ 0		Non-negative whole number.
minimum_purchase_order	No	Number ≥ 0		The minimum purchase-order amount; non-negative number.

Name-lookup columns

Each of these resolves a value to a record that must already exist. The match is by name, case-insensitive. An unmatched non-blank value produces a warning (the field is left blank and the row still imports); a blank leaves the field unchanged.

Column	Resolves to	Notes
default_warehouse	A warehouse	The supplier's default receiving warehouse, by name.
default_store	A store	By name.
default_payment_term	A payment term	By name.
default_tax_rate	A tax rate	The supplier's default tax rate, by name (for example GST 10%).
default_pricing_tier	A supplier pricing tier	Sets the supplier's default pricing tier, which carries its currency — this is how currency is set on import. Matches either the tier's name or its display name (for example Supplier USD (USD)), so a value copied from an export resolves cleanly.

Currency is set through the pricing tier

There is no standalone currency column. A supplier's currency is the currency of its default pricing tier, so import a default_pricing_tier value to set it. See Set tax rate and currency in bulk.

Address columns

These populate the supplier's address. When any are present on a new supplier, an owned address is created for it.

Column	Type / format	Notes
address1	Text	Address line 1.
address2	Text	Address line 2.
city	Text
province	Text	State / province.
province_code	Text	State / province code.
country	Text
country_code	Text
zip	Text	Zip / postal code.
fax	Text

Validation rules at a glance

Field kind	Rule	Blank cell
Text (name, company, address, etc.)	Any value. Name must be non-blank or the row errors.	Left unchanged on update.
type	Must be goods or service (case-insensitive).	Left unchanged.
email	Must be a valid email address when present.	Left unchanged.
Integer (leadtime, minimum_order_quantity, target_stock_days)	Whole number ≥ 0; a decimal or negative value is a row error.	Left unchanged.
Number (minimum_purchase_order)	Number ≥ 0; a negative or non-numeric value is a row error.	Left unchanged.
Name lookups (default_warehouse, default_store, default_payment_term, default_tax_rate, default_pricing_tier)	Matched by name (case-insensitive). An unmatched value is a warning — the field is left blank and the row still imports.	Left unchanged.

Next steps

• Import suppliers from a spreadsheet — the full task flow, update-vs-create, and the tax-rate/currency round-trip.
• Export suppliers — the column-by-column list for exporting suppliers back out, and which columns re-import.
• The suppliers list: columns — which columns you can show and edit inline.