SERVICETITAN · PURCHASING

Manage Vendors & Subcontractors

Control scope and manage risk. Set up your vendor list, track subcontractor purchase orders, and keep compliance documents organized.

Jump to:Set Up Your Vendors Manage Orders & Compliance Troubleshoot Vendor Issues Measure Impact

Set Up Your Vendors

Set up your vendor list

a. Go to Settings > Purchasing (or Inventory) > Vendors and click Add Purchasing Vendor.

b. Select the vendor type: Replenishment (for suppliers you source items from), Consignment (for items provided on consignment), or both. Assign default business units and enter the vendor's address and contact information.

c. In the Purchase Order Details section, select the default delivery method, catalog, Vendor Payment Terms, and Default Tax Rate. Add email recipients for PO delivery.

d. Click Save. Repeat for each vendor. New vendors are Active by default.

⚠︎ Vendors cannot be merged once created. Set up vendor records carefully to avoid duplicates.

⚠︎ When adding materials and equipment to Pricebook, a replenishment vendor must be selected for each item.

Set up vendors

Add a subcontractor as a vendor

a. Go to Settings > Purchasing (or Inventory) > Vendors and click Add Purchasing Vendor.

b. Select the vendor type: Replenishment, Consignment, or both. Enter the vendor's address, contact information, and email for receiving POs.

c. In the Purchase Order Details section, select the Default Delivery Method, Vendor Payment Terms, and Default Tax Rate. Add business unit-specific tax rates if needed.

d. Click Save. The vendor appears in your vendor list as Active by default and can be selected when creating purchase orders.

⚠︎ Vendors cannot be merged once created. Verify all details before saving to avoid duplicates.

⚠︎ There is no dedicated "Subcontractor" vendor type in ServiceTitan. Subcontracted vendors are set up using the same Replenishment/Consignment workflow as any other vendor. Use the Memo field on individual POs to note subcontractor-specific details like trade or specialty.

Set up vendors

Import vendor price lists

a. Go to Pricebook > Import/Export and click the Export tab. Click the Export Type dropdown and select Vendor-Material Cost Export.

b. Download the template, then fill it in with the vendor's part numbers, descriptions, and unit costs.

c. Upload the completed file and click Import.

d. Review the import summary for any errors or duplicates. Fix any flagged rows and re-import if needed.

Import and export your pricebook

Manage Orders & Compliance

Manage subcontractor purchase orders

a. Go to Inventory (or Purchasing) > Purchase Orders and click Create New.

b. Select the subcontractor from the Vendor dropdown. Enter the Job #, Business Unit, and Project Labels to link the PO. Select your subcontractor Order Type (see "Set up purchase order types" to create a dedicated subcontractor PO type).

c. Add material or equipment line items, entering quantity and unit cost. Attach relevant documents using the File Attached field.

d. Click Create (Pending status), or send directly to the vendor by selecting the format from the dropdown.

⚠︎ POs can only contain material or equipment items from your pricebook — not free-text service descriptions.

⚠︎ If the subcontractor PO type is set to auto-receive, the PO moves immediately to Received status and you cannot use "Create and send."

Create a purchase order Set up purchase order types

Troubleshoot Vendor Issues

Troubleshoot: Vendor invoice won't export

a. Verify the transaction appears in the Unbatched section at Accounting > Batch/Export Transactions. Invoices only appear when the associated job is completed. Transactions without an assigned date won't show a Batch option.

b. If a batch partially exported, unpost the batch, unbatch the items that failed to export, then post and re-export the batch. This does not create duplicates in your accounting software.

c. For Intacct users, export receipts before associated bills — otherwise receipt details won't appear on bills in Intacct. For QBO users, note that vendor bills and payment records cannot be exported to QBO.

⚠︎ Once a batch is exported, changes to batch items (such as Bill To address) are no longer possible unless the batch is unposted.

⚠︎ ServiceTitan recommends batching, posting, and exporting transactions daily to keep your accounting system current.

Batch, post, and export transactions

Measure the impact

Spend

Total subcontractor costs

Track in Project Financials. Rising subcontractor costs relative to budget signal scope creep or pricing issues.

Open a project > Financials > Budget vs. Actual section ↗

Efficiency

PO approval turnaround time

Slow approvals delay subcontractor mobilization and push out project timelines. Aim for same-day approval on routine POs.

Inventory > Purchase Orders ↗

Compliance

Document coverage rate

Percentage of active subcontractors with current COI and W-9 on file. 100% coverage is the target — gaps create liability.

Settings > Inventory > Vendors > review Documents tab per vendor) ↗

Accuracy

Invoice export success rate

Track failed vendor invoice exports in your accounting integration. High failure rates indicate missing account codes or mapping errors.

Accounting > Batch/Export Transactions ↗