Vendors overview
The vendor directory is your list of every vendor your organization works with. It is the foundation for vendor matching, invoice processing, and payment routing.
Vendor directory showing realistic vendors with Name, Email, and Active columns.
How vendors get created
Vendors enter Mod AI two ways.
ERP sync (primary)
Vendors sync automatically from your connected ERP. This is the primary way vendors are created and updated. When a vendor is added, changed, or deactivated in your ERP, the change syncs to Mod AI.
Agent-created from invoices
When a new invoice arrives from a vendor that is not in your directory, the agent creates a vendor suggestion. The suggestion requires your confirmation before a new vendor record is created. That prevents accidental duplicates and keeps the directory clean.
Read-only vs. editable fields
Most vendor fields are read-only because they sync from your ERP. Your ERP is the system of record. Mod AI stays in sync.
Read-only (from ERP):
- Vendor name, contact info, addresses.
- Payment terms, tax ID, bank details.
- Status (Active / Inactive).
Editable (Mod AI-specific):
- Priority: Critical, High, Medium, or Low. Influences processing priority so your most important vendors come first.
- Categories: custom tags for grouping vendors (for example, "Office Supplies", "Professional Services", "Utilities"). Useful for filtering and reporting.
Vendor master data lives in your ERP. Mod AI syncs it and layers AI features on top.
The vendor list
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Name | The vendor's business name. |
| Status | Active or Inactive (from your ERP). |
| Priority | The priority you assigned in Mod AI. |
| Category | The tags you assigned. |
| Invoice Count | How many invoices Mod AI has processed for this vendor. |
| Total Invoiced | The dollar total of invoices from this vendor. |
Search, filters, sort, and saved views work the same as other lists. See Searching and Filtering Vendors.
How vendors connect to items
Items sync from your ERP, typically against a specific vendor in your vendor master. That linkage matters in Mod AI for two reasons:
- Line item matching on invoices and POs cross-references the item master so the agent can recognize known items by code or description.
- Price variance detection compares an incoming invoice's unit price against the unit price on the last approved invoice for the same vendor and item. Large swings trigger a price change detected notice.
If your ERP does not maintain item master records for a given vendor (for example, services billed by description only), Mod AI still processes invoices; it just relies more on extraction and less on item-master lookups.