What is a Vendor Information Sheet: Excel Guide and Cleaning

If you're working with vendor information sheets but unsure what they are or how to clean them, you need a clear understanding. 77% of businesses use vendor information sheets, but many don't maintain them properly, leading to data quality issues.

By the end of this guide, you'll know what a vendor information sheet is, its structure, purpose, and how to clean and maintain vendor information sheets in Excel effectively.

Quick Summary

Definition - Document containing vendor details for business records
Purpose - Vendor onboarding, ERP integration, procurement management
Structure - Vendor code, name, contact, address, financial info
Cleaning - Standardize formats, validate data, remove duplicates

What is a Vendor Information Sheet?

Definition

A vendor information sheet is a structured document (typically Excel) that contains essential information about vendors, suppliers, or business partners. It serves as a master record of vendor data used for procurement, accounting, and vendor management.

Purpose

Primary uses:

Vendor onboarding and registration
ERP system integration
Procurement and purchasing
Accounts payable management
Vendor relationship management
Compliance and reporting

When Used

Common scenarios:

New vendor registration
Vendor master data maintenance
ERP system data import
Vendor database updates
Procurement process
Vendor audits

Structure of Vendor Information Sheet

Standard Columns

A typical vendor information sheet includes these columns:

1. Vendor Identification

Vendor Code:

Unique identifier
Format: V-001, VENDOR-001, etc.
Required for system integration

Vendor Name:

Legal company name
Full business name
Standardized format

Tax ID:

EIN, VAT, GST number
Tax identification
Required for compliance

2. Contact Information

Primary Contact:

Contact person name
Email address
Phone number
Job title (optional)

Secondary Contact:

Backup contact (optional)
Alternative email
Alternative phone

3. Address Information

Business Address:

Street address
City
State/Province
ZIP/Postal code
Country

Shipping Address:

Different from business (if applicable)
Same format as business address

4. Financial Information

Payment Terms:

Net 30, Net 60, etc.
Payment conditions
Credit terms

Currency:

USD, EUR, GBP, etc.
Primary currency
ISO currency codes

Bank Details:

Bank name
Account number
Routing/SWIFT code

5. Status and Classification

Vendor Status:

Active/Inactive
Approval status
Vendor type

Category:

Product category
Service type
Industry classification

Common Issues in Vendor Information Sheets

1. Incomplete Information

Problems:

Missing required fields
Incomplete addresses
Missing contact information
Incomplete financial data

Impact:

ERP import failures
Procurement delays
Communication issues
Payment problems

2. Inconsistent Formats

Problems:

Mixed date formats
Inconsistent vendor codes
Mixed text case
Inconsistent address formats

Impact:

Data quality issues
System integration problems
Reporting errors
Lookup failures

3. Duplicate Entries

Problems:

Duplicate vendor codes
Duplicate vendor names
Multiple entries for same vendor
Fuzzy duplicates

Impact:

Payment errors
Duplicate orders
Reporting confusion
Data integrity issues

4. Invalid Data

Problems:

Invalid email addresses
Invalid phone numbers
Invalid tax IDs
Invalid addresses

Impact:

Communication failures
Compliance issues
System errors
Data quality problems

How to Clean Vendor Information Sheets

Step 1: Assess Current State

Understand what needs cleaning.

Review Sheet Structure

Check:

Column names and order
Data completeness
Format consistency
Data quality issues

Identify Problems

Look for:

Missing required fields
Duplicate entries
Format inconsistencies
Invalid data
Outdated information

Step 2: Remove Duplicates

Eliminate duplicate vendor entries.

Find Duplicates

Method 1: Excel Remove Duplicates

Select data range
Data > Remove Duplicates
Check key columns (Vendor Code, Tax ID)
Remove duplicates

Method 2: Formula Detection

=COUNTIF($B$2:$B$1000, B2)>1

Returns TRUE for duplicate vendor codes.

Remove Duplicates

Best practice:

Review duplicates before removing
Keep most complete record
Merge information if needed
Document removals

Step 3: Standardize Vendor Codes

Ensure consistent vendor code format.

Standardize Format

Choose format:

V-001, V-002 (recommended)
VENDOR-001, VENDOR-002
V001, V002
Custom format

Excel formula:

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

Apply:

Insert helper column
Enter formula
Copy down
Paste as values
Delete helper column

Step 4: Normalize Vendor Names

Standardize company name formats.

Normalize Legal Suffixes

Standardize:

Corp → Corporation
Inc. → Incorporated
LLC → LLC (keep)
Ltd. → Limited

Excel formula:

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

Standardize Case

Apply Title Case:

=PROPER(TRIM(A2))

Step 5: Validate Contact Information

Ensure contact data is accurate.

Validate Emails

Check format:

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

Fix invalid:

Remove invalid emails
Flag for follow-up
Contact vendor for correct email

Standardize Phones

Format phone numbers:

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

Step 6: Standardize Addresses

Normalize address formats.

Standardize Street Suffixes

Format addresses:

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

Format ZIP Codes

Standardize ZIP:

=TEXT(A2,"00000")

For 5-digit ZIP codes.

Step 7: Validate Tax IDs

Ensure tax identification is correct.

Validate EIN Format

Check format:

=IF(LEN(SUBSTITUTE(A2,"-",""))=9, "Valid", "Invalid")

Standardize format:

XX-XXXXXXX
Remove spaces
Ensure proper hyphenation

Step 8: Handle Missing Data

Deal with incomplete information.

Identify Missing Fields

Check for blanks:

Use conditional formatting
Highlight blank cells
Create missing data report
Prioritize required fields

Fill Missing Data

Options:

Contact vendor for missing info
Use "Unknown" or "N/A" for optional
Flag for follow-up
Remove if too many missing required fields

Step 9: Standardize Financial Information

Normalize payment terms and currency.

Standardize Payment Terms

Format:

Net 30, Net 60 (standard)
Remove variations
Ensure consistency

Standardize Currency

Use ISO codes:

USD, EUR, GBP
Consistent format
Validate codes

Step 10: Validate and Export

Final quality check and export.

Quality Validation

Check:

All required fields complete
Formats standardized
No duplicates
Data validated
Ready for use

Export Clean Sheet

Save as:

Excel (.xlsx) for review
CSV for ERP import
Custom format if needed

Real Example: Cleaning Vendor Information Sheet

Before (Messy Sheet):

Issues:

50 duplicate vendors
Inconsistent vendor codes (V-001, V001, V_001)
Mixed company name formats
Invalid email addresses
Incomplete addresses
Missing tax IDs

After (Clean Sheet):

Improvements:

✅ Duplicates removed
✅ Vendor codes standardized (V-001, V-002)
✅ Company names normalized
✅ Emails validated and fixed
✅ Addresses complete and standardized
✅ Tax IDs validated
✅ All formats consistent
✅ Ready for ERP import

Best Practices for Vendor Information Sheets

Do's

✅ Do maintain regularly - Update quarterly minimum
✅ Do validate data - Check formats and accuracy
✅ Do standardize formats - Consistent throughout
✅ Do backup sheets - Keep original copies
✅ Do document changes - Track modifications
✅ Do test imports - Verify before ERP upload

Don'ts

❌ Don't skip validation - Quality matters
❌ Don't mix formats - Consistency required
❌ Don't ignore duplicates - Causes problems
❌ Don't skip backups - Risk data loss
❌ Don't export untested - Verify first
❌ Don't leave missing data - Handle appropriately

Mini Automation Using RowTidy

You can clean vendor information sheets automatically using RowTidy.

The Problem:
Cleaning vendor information sheets manually is time-consuming:

Removing duplicates
Standardizing formats
Validating data
Handling missing information

The Solution:
RowTidy cleans vendor information sheets automatically:

Upload vendor sheet - Drag and drop Excel file
AI analyzes structure - Detects all columns and issues
Auto-cleans data - Removes duplicates, standardizes formats
Validates information - Checks emails, phones, tax IDs
Exports clean sheet - Get cleaned vendor information sheet

RowTidy Features:

Duplicate removal - Finds and removes duplicate vendors
Format standardization - Codes, names, addresses, contacts
Data validation - Emails, phones, tax IDs, addresses
Missing data handling - Flags or fills as appropriate
ERP-ready export - Formats for system import

Time saved: 3-5 hours manual → 10 minutes automated

Clean vendor information sheets automatically with RowTidy. Try RowTidy's vendor sheet cleaning →

FAQ

1. What is a vendor information sheet?

A vendor information sheet is a structured Excel document containing vendor details (codes, names, contacts, addresses, financial info) used for vendor management and ERP integration.

2. What columns should a vendor information sheet have?

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

3. How often should I clean vendor information sheets?

Quarterly minimum, monthly recommended for active vendor management. Clean when receiving updates, after mergers, or when noticing data quality issues.

4. How do I remove duplicates from vendor sheets?

Use Excel Remove Duplicates (Data > Remove Duplicates) checking Vendor Code and Tax ID columns. Review before removing, keep most complete record.

5. Should I standardize vendor codes?

Yes. Standardize to consistent format (V-XXX recommended). Ensures system compatibility and prevents lookup errors.

6. How do I validate email addresses in vendor sheets?

Use formula to check for @ symbol and domain, or use RowTidy for automatic validation. Remove or flag invalid emails.

7. Can I automate vendor information sheet cleaning?

Yes. Use RowTidy to automatically clean vendor sheets: remove duplicates, standardize formats, validate data, handle missing information.

8. What format should I use for vendor codes?

Recommended: V-001, V-002 format. Choose one format and apply consistently. Avoid spaces and special characters except delimiter.

9. How do I handle missing data in vendor sheets?

Identify missing required fields, contact vendors for critical data, use "Unknown" or "N/A" for optional fields, flag for follow-up.

10. Should I backup vendor information sheets before cleaning?

Yes, always. Backup original sheet before any cleaning. Can't recover if mistakes made without backup.

Related Guides

Conclusion

A vendor information sheet is a structured document containing vendor details for business management. Clean vendor information sheets by removing duplicates, standardizing formats (codes, names, addresses, contacts), validating data (emails, phones, tax IDs), handling missing information, and ensuring data quality. Use tools like RowTidy to automate cleaning and maintain clean vendor information sheets.

Try RowTidy — automatically clean vendor information sheets and maintain data quality.