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How to Find a Vendor List: Excel Extraction and Cleaning Guide

Learn how to find vendor lists in Excel files, extract vendor data from various sources, and clean extracted vendor lists. Discover methods to locate and prepare vendor lists for use.

RowTidy Team
Nov 27, 2025
12 min read
Vendor List, Excel, Data Extraction, Data Cleaning, Vendor Management

How to Find a Vendor List: Excel Extraction and Cleaning Guide

If you need to find vendor lists in Excel files or extract vendor data from various sources, you need effective methods. 78% of businesses have vendor data scattered across multiple files, making it difficult to locate and consolidate.

By the end of this guide, you'll know how to find vendor lists in Excel, extract vendor data from different sources, and clean extracted vendor lists for use.

Quick Summary

  • Search Excel files - Use Find function to locate vendor data
  • Extract from multiple sources - Consolidate vendor data from various files
  • Identify vendor columns - Recognize vendor-related data structures
  • Clean extracted lists - Standardize and validate found vendor data

Where to Find Vendor Lists

Common Locations

1. Excel Workbooks

Typical files:

  • Vendor master files
  • Supplier databases
  • Procurement spreadsheets
  • Accounts payable files
  • Vendor information sheets

File names:

  • vendor_list.xlsx
  • supplier_master.xlsx
  • vendor_database.xlsx
  • vendor_info.xlsx
  • vendors.xlsx

2. Multiple Sheets

Within workbooks:

  • Separate vendor sheets
  • Vendor tabs
  • Multiple vendor lists
  • Historical vendor data

3. Embedded Data

In other files:

  • Purchase order files
  • Invoice files
  • Payment files
  • Contract files

How to Find Vendor Lists in Excel

Method 1: Search Within Excel File

Use Excel's Find function to locate vendor data.

Search for Vendor Keywords

Steps:

  1. Open Excel file
  2. Press Ctrl+F (Find)
  3. Search for:
    • "Vendor"
    • "Supplier"
    • "Vendor Code"
    • "Vendor Name"
  4. Review results
  5. Navigate to found locations

Search for Vendor Codes

Pattern search:

  1. Press Ctrl+F
  2. Search for: "V-" or "VENDOR-"
  3. Use wildcards if needed
  4. Find all vendor codes
  5. Identify vendor list location

Method 2: Review Sheet Structure

Examine Excel structure to identify vendor data.

Check Sheet Names

Look for:

  • Sheets named "Vendors", "Suppliers", "Vendor List"
  • Tabs with vendor-related names
  • Multiple vendor sheets

Review Column Headers

Identify vendor columns:

  • Vendor Code
  • Vendor Name
  • Supplier Name
  • Vendor ID
  • Company Name
  • Tax ID

Check Data Patterns

Recognize vendor data:

  • Unique vendor codes
  • Company names
  • Contact information
  • Address data
  • Tax IDs

Method 3: Extract from Multiple Files

Consolidate vendor data from various sources.

Identify Source Files

Locate files:

  • Search file system for vendor-related files
  • Check shared drives
  • Review email attachments
  • Check document management systems

Consolidate Data

Methods:

  • Copy data from multiple files
  • Use Power Query to combine
  • Import from multiple sources
  • Merge vendor lists

How to Extract Vendor Data

Step 1: Identify Vendor Columns

Recognize vendor-related data.

Common Vendor Columns

Identification:

  • Vendor Code
  • Vendor ID
  • Supplier Code
  • Vendor Number

Company Information:

  • Vendor Name
  • Company Name
  • Supplier Name
  • Business Name

Contact Information:

  • Contact Email
  • Contact Phone
  • Contact Person
  • Primary Contact

Address Information:

  • Address
  • City
  • State
  • ZIP Code
  • Country

Financial Information:

  • Tax ID
  • Payment Terms
  • Currency
  • Bank Details

Step 2: Extract Vendor Data

Copy or extract vendor information.

Copy Data

Simple method:

  1. Select vendor data range
  2. Copy (Ctrl+C)
  3. Paste to new sheet
  4. Organize columns
  5. Clean extracted data

Use Power Query

Advanced method:

  1. Data > Get Data > From File > From Workbook
  2. Select source file
  3. Choose vendor sheet
  4. Transform data
  5. Load to Excel

Step 3: Clean Extracted Vendor List

Clean and standardize extracted data.

Remove Non-Vendor Data

Filter out:

  • Headers from other sections
  • Non-vendor rows
  • Summary rows
  • Blank rows

Standardize Structure

Organize columns:

  • Vendor Code (first column)
  • Vendor Name (second column)
  • Contact information
  • Address information
  • Financial information

Cleaning Found Vendor Lists

Step 1: Remove Duplicates

Eliminate duplicate vendor entries.

Find Duplicates

Method:

  1. Select data range
  2. Data > Remove Duplicates
  3. Check Vendor Code, Vendor Name, Tax ID
  4. Remove duplicates

Verify Removal

After removal:

  • Check count
  • Verify no important data lost
  • Confirm uniqueness

Step 2: Standardize Vendor Codes

Ensure consistent vendor code format.

Standardize Format

Apply format:

="V-"&TEXT(VALUE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(A2,"V-",""),"V_","")),"000")

Steps:

  1. Check current format
  2. Choose standard format
  3. Apply to all codes
  4. Verify uniqueness

Step 3: Normalize Vendor Names

Standardize company name formats.

Normalize Names

Apply:

=PROPER(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(A2,"Corp.","Corporation"),"Inc.","Incorporated"),"LLC.","LLC"),"Ltd.","Limited"))

Ensure:

  • Legal suffixes standardized
  • Case standardized
  • Extra spaces removed

Step 4: Validate Contact Information

Ensure contact data is accurate.

Validate Emails

Check:

=IF(AND(ISNUMBER(SEARCH("@",A2)), ISNUMBER(SEARCH(".",A2, SEARCH("@",A2)))), "Valid", "Invalid")

Standardize Phones

Format:

="("&LEFT(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(A2,"(",""),")",""),"-",""),3)&") "&MID(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(A2,"(",""),")",""),"-",""),4,3)&"-"&RIGHT(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(A2,"(",""),")",""),"-",""),4)

Step 5: Standardize Addresses

Normalize address formats.

Standardize Street Suffixes

Format:

=SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(A2,"St.","Street"),"Ave.","Avenue"),"Rd.","Road"),"Blvd.","Boulevard"),"Dr.","Drive")

Step 6: Handle Missing Data

Deal with incomplete information.

Identify Missing

Find blanks:

  • Use conditional formatting
  • Filter for blanks
  • Create missing data report

Fill Missing

Options:

  • Contact vendor for missing required fields
  • Use "N/A" for optional fields
  • Flag for follow-up

Step 7: Final Validation

Quality check extracted and cleaned list.

Validation Checklist

Verify:

  • No duplicates
  • Vendor codes standardized
  • Names normalized
  • Contact info validated
  • Addresses standardized
  • Missing data handled
  • Ready for use

Real Example: Finding and Cleaning Vendor List

Scenario: Vendor data in multiple files

Step 1: Find vendor lists

  • Searched file system for vendor-related files
  • Found 5 Excel files with vendor data
  • Identified vendor sheets in each file

Step 2: Extract vendor data

  • Copied vendor data from each file
  • Consolidated into one sheet
  • Identified vendor columns

Step 3: Clean extracted list

  • Removed 150 duplicates
  • Standardized vendor codes
  • Normalized vendor names
  • Validated contact information
  • Standardized addresses
  • Handled missing data

Result:

  • Clean vendor list: 2,000 unique vendors
  • All formats standardized
  • Data validated
  • Ready for use

Best Practices for Finding Vendor Lists

Do's

✅ Do search systematically - Check all likely locations
✅ Do consolidate data - Merge from multiple sources
✅ Do verify completeness - Ensure all vendors included
✅ Do clean extracted data - Standardize and validate
✅ Do document sources - Track where data came from
✅ Do backup originals - Preserve source files

Don'ts

❌ Don't assume single source - Check multiple files
❌ Don't skip cleaning - Extracted data needs cleaning
❌ Don't ignore duplicates - Remove from consolidated list
❌ Don't mix formats - Standardize after extraction
❌ Don't lose source files - Keep originals
❌ Don't skip validation - Verify extracted data

Mini Automation Using RowTidy

You can find and clean vendor lists automatically using RowTidy.

The Problem:
Finding and cleaning vendor lists manually is time-consuming:

  • Searching multiple files
  • Extracting vendor data
  • Consolidating lists
  • Cleaning extracted data

The Solution:
RowTidy helps find and clean vendor lists:

  1. Upload vendor files - Multiple files or consolidated
  2. AI identifies vendor data - Detects vendor columns and data
  3. Auto-extracts vendors - Consolidates vendor information
  4. Auto-cleans data - Standardizes formats, validates data
  5. Exports clean list - Get cleaned, consolidated vendor list

RowTidy Features:

  • Vendor data detection - Identifies vendor columns and data
  • Data extraction - Consolidates from multiple sources
  • Format standardization - Codes, names, addresses, contacts
  • Data validation - Emails, phones, tax IDs
  • Duplicate removal - Finds and removes duplicates
  • Missing data handling - Flags or fills as appropriate

Time saved: 4-6 hours manual → 15 minutes automated

Find and clean vendor lists automatically with RowTidy. Try RowTidy's vendor list extraction and cleaning →

FAQ

1. How do I find vendor lists in Excel files?

Search for vendor keywords (Ctrl+F), review sheet names and column headers, check for vendor codes, examine data patterns. Look in vendor master files, supplier databases, procurement files.

2. Where are vendor lists typically stored?

Vendor master files, supplier databases, procurement spreadsheets, accounts payable files, vendor information sheets. May be in multiple files or sheets.

3. How do I extract vendor data from multiple files?

Copy data from each file, use Power Query to combine, import from multiple sources, consolidate into one sheet, then clean extracted data.

4. Should I clean vendor lists after finding them?

Yes, always. Extracted vendor data needs cleaning: remove duplicates, standardize formats, validate data, handle missing information. Don't use without cleaning.

5. How do I consolidate vendor lists from multiple sources?

Copy vendor data from each source, paste into consolidated sheet, remove duplicates, standardize formats, validate data, create master vendor list.

6. Can I automate finding and cleaning vendor lists?

Yes. Use RowTidy to automatically identify vendor data, extract from multiple sources, consolidate lists, clean data, and create master vendor list.

7. What if vendor data is in different formats?

Standardize after extraction. Apply consistent formats to vendor codes, names, addresses, contacts. Use Excel formulas or RowTidy for automatic standardization.

8. How do I handle duplicates when consolidating vendor lists?

Use Excel Remove Duplicates checking Vendor Code, Tax ID, Email. Review before removing, keep most complete record. RowTidy automatically removes duplicates.

9. What columns should vendor lists have?

Minimum: Vendor Code, Vendor Name, Tax ID, Address, Contact Email. Optional: Phone, Payment Terms, Currency, Bank Details, Status.

10. Should I backup original files before extracting vendor data?

Yes, always. Backup original files before any extraction or modification. Can't recover if mistakes made without backup.

Related Guides

Conclusion

Find vendor lists by searching Excel files for vendor keywords, reviewing sheet structures, and identifying vendor columns. Extract vendor data from multiple sources and consolidate into one list. Clean found vendor lists by removing duplicates, standardizing formats (codes, names, addresses, contacts), validating data, and handling missing information. Use tools like RowTidy to automate finding, extracting, and cleaning vendor lists.

Try RowTidy — automatically find, extract, and clean vendor lists from multiple sources.