How To Import Vendors Into QuickBooks Pro
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The great thing about accounting software is that you can have all of your company information in one place—even information about your vendors. If you’ve already read our How To Import Customers Into QuickBooks Pro post, importing your vendors will be a piece of cake.
If you haven’t read it yet, don’t worry. We’ve broken this process down into seven easy-to-follow steps.
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Import Your Vendors
To import your vendors, begin by going to Vendors>Vendor Center>Excel>Import from Excel.
Note: QuickBooks Pro recommends creating a backup company file before importing your vendors.
Step 1: Select Vendors
You’ll be taken to screen that asks if you’re importing “Customers,” “Vendors,” or “Products I sell.”
Click “Vendors.”
You should then be taken to a screen that looks like this:
Note: If your Excel file is already formatted like QuickBooks Pro’s Vendor Import template, skip this step and click the “Advanced Import” section on the right-hand side of the screen to complete your import.
If this is your first import (or if you haven’t disabled this message), you’ll see a popup box warning that you can’t undo imported information. Don’t worry. Simply click “yes” to continue importing your vendors.
Step 2: Copy and Paste Your Vendor Data
Next, you’ll need to copy the data from your existing Excel file (ours is on the right) and paste it into the QuickBooks Excel template file (on the left).
If you hover over a cell, QuickBooks Pro will give you instructions on what type of information should be included there. You’ll also find an example of how to format each cell above the column headings.
You can save the following vendor information in QuickBooks:
- Company Name
- Mr./Mrs.
- First Name
- M.I.
- Last Name
- Display As
- Street 1
- Street 2
- City
- State
- Zip
- Phone
- Fax
- Alternative Phone
- Account Number
Step 3: Resolve Any Issues
Before you complete the import process, make sure there are no errors in your file. If there is an issue, QuickBooks Pro will put a message in the error box on the top left-hand side of the file and will put a red warning triangle in the corner of the problematic cell.
Even if there is an error, QuickBooks will tell you what’s wrong and how to fix it.
Step 4: Click “Add my Data Now”
Once all of your data is entered correctly, click the “Add My Data Now” Button.
Step 5: Save Changes
Since we haven’t saved the changes we made to our QuickBooks Excel template, we’ll need to save them now. Click “Save & Add My Data Now.” (If you click “I’ll Add My Data Later” you will lose your progress.)
Then you’ll need to save the file on your computer.
Step 6: Select the Appropriate File
After you save the document, the saved document should automatically appear in the box below. If not, click “Browse” and select the appropriate file.
Step 7: Import Your File
Click the blue “Add My Data Now” button on the bottom of the screen.
You should then be taken to a screen that looks like this:
Now your vendors have been successfully imported! You can view your vendor list or go back to the Vendor Center to see the proof for yourself.
If you have any troubleshooting issues, check out the QuickBooks Community or call QuickBooks directly. Don’t forget to check out the rest of our QuickBooks Desktop Pro 101 Series to learn how to add vendors, import customers, import items, and more.
Overwhelmed by QuickBooks Pro? Maybe it’s time to switch to QuickBooks Online. QBO is easy to use, cloud-based, and affordable. Best of all, you can easily import your QuickBooks Desktop data into QuickBooks Online.
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Chelsea Krause
Content Strategist - Accounting & eCommerce
Chelsea Krause is a writer who has specialized in accounting for over three years and is a QuickBooks Certified User. She has a BA in English & Creative Writing from George Fox University and studied at the University of Oxford as well. She has been quoted in Forbes and her work appears in Startup Nation, Small Business Bonfire, and Women on Business.
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Hi Chelsea,
Thanks for your input.
I have a unique scenario….I want to add a unique identifier to each of my vendors. A unique identifier such as a 6 digit numeric value (546325, 846379,etc)
How do I do this? Should I be using the Account NO.? What would be the best way to upload various numerical identifiers to vendors that are already in my QB?
Andrew
Hi Andrew,
Great question! Adding an Account NO. could definitely work for your scenario. If you go into the Vendor Center>New Vendor>Add Multiple Vendors, you should see a button in the top right that says “Customize Columns.” This is where you can add an account number so that you can import your vendors correctly.
Best wishes,
Chelsea Krause
Chelsea – I admit that I haven’t dug too deep into this, but I don’t see it mentioned that you can import the tax ID #? Do you happen to have a quick answer on that? Long story, but bottom line is I would like to be able to import the tax id’s (I have a list), instead of typing them individually.
Thanks in advance!
Hi Susan,
Great question! You absolutely can import the tax IDs of your vendors. However, tax ID is not part of the default vendor import data list. So in order to do this, you’ll need to hit the “Customize Columns” button in the top right-hand corner of the Vendor Center. You’ll then be taken to a menu where you can select “Tax ID.” I’ve included a picture below to show how this works.
I hope this helps and best of luck!
-Chelsea Krause