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Vendors

The Vendors entity provides CRUD access to P21 vendor master records. Vendors are the supplier-side counterpart to customers — purchase orders, accounts payable, and procurement workflows all reference the vendor master.

Endpoints

Method URL Description
GET /entity/vendors/ Get all vendors (ArrayOfVendor)
POST /entity/vendors/ Create a new vendor
GET /entity/vendors/{companyId}_{vendorId} Get a single vendor
PUT /entity/vendors/{companyId}_{vendorId} Update a vendor
GET /entity/vendors/new Get a blank vendor with defaults populated
GET /entity/vendors/ping Health check

Compound Key

The URL key segment is {companyId}_{vendorId}:

GET https://{server}/api/entity/vendors/01_V200042

Both components are required. The underscore _ is the separator.

Field Reference

Root-Level Fields

Field Type Description
company_id string Company identifier (e.g., 01)
vendor_id string Unique vendor identifier
vendor_name string Full vendor/supplier name
address1 string Primary address line 1
address2 string Address line 2
city string City
state string State or province code
zip string Postal/ZIP code
phone string Primary phone number
fax string Fax number
payment_terms string Payment terms code (e.g., NET30)
currency_id string Currency code for transactions with this vendor
lead_time int Standard lead time in days
1099_flag string 1099 reporting flag (Y / N)
tax_id string Vendor federal tax ID (EIN/SSN for 1099 purposes)
date_last_modified datetime Timestamp of last record modification

Nested Collections

Collection Description
VendorAddress Alternate remit-to or ship-from addresses
VendorContacts Vendor contact persons (name, phone, email, role)
VendorItems Approved item list — items this vendor is authorized to supply

VendorItems and procurement

The VendorItems collection links vendor records to inventory items and may include vendor-specific part numbers, pricing, and lead time overrides. This collection is used by the purchasing module when generating suggested purchase orders.

XML Examples

GET — Single Vendor Response

<Vendor xmlns="http://www.epicor.com/entity">
  <company_id>01</company_id>
  <vendor_id>V200042</vendor_id>
  <vendor_name>Industrial Supply Co</vendor_name>
  <address1>8800 Distribution Blvd</address1>
  <address2>Dock B</address2>
  <city>Atlanta</city>
  <state>GA</state>
  <zip>30301</zip>
  <phone>404-555-7700</phone>
  <fax>404-555-7701</fax>
  <payment_terms>NET30</payment_terms>
  <currency_id>USD</currency_id>
  <lead_time>7</lead_time>
  <1099_flag>N</1099_flag>
  <tax_id>82-1234567</tax_id>
  <date_last_modified>2025-10-05T14:11:00</date_last_modified>
  <VendorContacts>
    <VendorContact>
      <contact_name>Jane Smith</contact_name>
      <phone>404-555-7702</phone>
      <email>jsmith@industrialsupply.com</email>
      <title>Account Manager</title>
    </VendorContact>
  </VendorContacts>
  <VendorAddress>
    <VendorRemitTo>
      <address_id>REMIT</address_id>
      <address1>PO Box 5500</address1>
      <city>Atlanta</city>
      <state>GA</state>
      <zip>30302</zip>
    </VendorRemitTo>
  </VendorAddress>
  <VendorItems>
    <VendorItem>
      <item_id>WIDGET-100</item_id>
      <vendor_item_no>ISC-W100</vendor_item_no>
      <unit_cost>12.50</unit_cost>
      <lead_time>5</lead_time>
    </VendorItem>
    <VendorItem>
      <item_id>WIDGET-200</item_id>
      <vendor_item_no>ISC-W200</vendor_item_no>
      <unit_cost>18.75</unit_cost>
      <lead_time>7</lead_time>
    </VendorItem>
  </VendorItems>
</Vendor>

POST — Create Vendor (Request Body)

<Vendor xmlns="http://www.epicor.com/entity">
  <company_id>01</company_id>
  <vendor_id>V200099</vendor_id>
  <vendor_name>New Supplier Inc</vendor_name>
  <address1>100 Supplier Lane</address1>
  <city>Dallas</city>
  <state>TX</state>
  <zip>75201</zip>
  <phone>214-555-3300</phone>
  <payment_terms>NET45</payment_terms>
  <currency_id>USD</currency_id>
  <lead_time>10</lead_time>
  <1099_flag>N</1099_flag>
</Vendor>

Always fetch /new before creating

The snippet above shows selected fields for illustration. Always start from the /new template response in practice. The template includes system-required fields that must be present in the POST body.

C# Examples

Get a Vendor

public async Task<Vendor> GetVendorAsync(string companyId, string vendorId)
{
    var url = $"{_baseUrl}/entity/vendors/{companyId}_{vendorId}";
    var response = await _httpClient.GetAsync(url);
    response.EnsureSuccessStatusCode();

    var xml = await response.Content.ReadAsStringAsync();
    var serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(Vendor));
    using var reader = new StringReader(xml);
    return (Vendor)serializer.Deserialize(reader);
}

Create a Vendor

public async Task<Vendor> CreateVendorAsync(VendorCreateRequest request)
{
    // Step 1: Fetch the template with defaults
    var response = await _httpClient.GetAsync($"{_baseUrl}/entity/vendors/new");
    response.EnsureSuccessStatusCode();
    var xml = await response.Content.ReadAsStringAsync();
    var serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(Vendor));
    using var reader = new StringReader(xml);
    var template = (Vendor)serializer.Deserialize(reader);

    // Step 2: Populate fields
    template.vendor_id    = request.VendorId;
    template.vendor_name  = request.VendorName;
    template.address1     = request.Address1;
    template.city         = request.City;
    template.state        = request.State;
    template.zip          = request.Zip;
    template.phone        = request.Phone;
    template.payment_terms = request.PaymentTerms;
    template.currency_id  = request.CurrencyId;
    template.lead_time    = request.LeadTime;

    // Step 3: Serialize and POST
    using var writer = new StringWriter();
    serializer.Serialize(writer, template);
    var postXml = writer.ToString();

    var content = new StringContent(postXml, Encoding.UTF8, "application/xml");
    var postResponse = await _httpClient.PostAsync($"{_baseUrl}/entity/vendors/", content);
    postResponse.EnsureSuccessStatusCode();

    var responseXml = await postResponse.Content.ReadAsStringAsync();
    using var responseReader = new StringReader(responseXml);
    return (Vendor)serializer.Deserialize(responseReader);
}

Update Vendor Lead Time

public async Task UpdateVendorLeadTimeAsync(string companyId, string vendorId, int newLeadTime)
{
    var vendor = await GetVendorAsync(companyId, vendorId);
    vendor.lead_time = newLeadTime;

    var serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(Vendor));
    using var writer = new StringWriter();
    serializer.Serialize(writer, vendor);
    var xml = writer.ToString();

    var content = new StringContent(xml, Encoding.UTF8, "application/xml");
    var url = $"{_baseUrl}/entity/vendors/{companyId}_{vendorId}";
    var response = await _httpClient.PutAsync(url, content);
    response.EnsureSuccessStatusCode();
}

Notes and Common Pitfalls

Vendor ID conventions

Vendor IDs are conventionally prefixed with V (e.g., V200042) in most P21 installations. As with customers, this is a convention rather than a system-enforced rule. Verify your installation's numbering scheme before assigning IDs programmatically.

1099 reporting fields

The 1099_flag and tax_id fields are required for accurate 1099 tax reporting. Set 1099_flag to Y for individuals or sole proprietors subject to 1099-NEC reporting. Ensure tax_id is populated before year-end reporting runs.

VendorItems and item authorization

In some P21 configurations, purchase orders can only be raised against items present in the vendor's VendorItems collection. If your integration creates purchase orders, verify whether your installation enforces this rule before creating vendors without populating VendorItems.