Vendor & supplier records
Every supplier has its own rules for how you can order from them: a minimum order quantity, a lead time, a case or pack size you have to order in multiples of, an order cutoff day or time, and similar parameters. Those rules usually live scattered across an old order confirmation, a line in a price-list PDF, or a reply you got over email two years ago — so when it is time to reorder you either guess or go hunting. This page shows you how to keep one short reference card per supplier in Cash Workspace that holds exactly those ordering constraints as named fields. It is a lookup card, not a price list and not a payment file: you open the supplier's card, read "MOQ 144 units, lead time 3 weeks, order in cases of 12," and place the order with confidence. This is organizational guidance for keeping ordering-rule records tidy — not procurement advice on what to order or how to negotiate terms.
The problem
Ordering constraints are the small facts you only need at the exact moment you reorder — and they are exactly the facts that never sit in one place. Each supplier states them differently and in a different document, so by the time you need them you cannot remember which supplier needs 48 hours' notice and which one will not ship under 100 units. A reference card fixes the lookup, not the buying.
Step by step
The goal is one short, consistent card per supplier that you can read in five seconds before placing an order. Keep it strictly to ordering constraints — leave pricing, your account login, and the supplier's bank details to their own records so each card stays a clean lookup.
Create a record for the supplier inside your vendor folder, named so it sorts and searches well — for example Suppliers / Northwind Packaging / Ordering Terms. One ordering-terms record per supplier; that is the card you will open every time you reorder.
Record the must-know parameters: minimum order quantity (MOQ), minimum order value if there is one, lead time, order increment / pack or case size, order cutoff day and time, and how orders are placed (portal, email, phone). Use the same field labels on every supplier's card so they are scannable side by side.
Add a short line saying where the rule came from and when you confirmed it — e.g. 'MOQ per 2026 price list, effective Jan 1' or 'lead time confirmed by rep email, Mar 2026.' This keeps the card honest: Cash Workspace does not read or extract these figures from your documents, so you type what you have verified.
Attach the order confirmation, price-list page, or emailed term sheet to the record so the card links back to its proof. Cash Workspace stores the attachment as-is; it does not pull numbers out of it for you, so the typed fields stay the single source you read.
Suppliers have quirks that do not fit a tidy field — split shipments, holiday blackout weeks, surcharges under a threshold, a different cutoff in December. Capture these as plain notes on the same card so nothing important lives only in memory.
When a supplier sends a new price list or changes its cutoff, open the card, update the field, refresh the source line and date, and swap the attachment. The card is meant to be edited in place so it always reflects the rules in force right now.
Record structure
These are the ordering-constraint fields worth recording per supplier. Use the ones that apply and keep the labels identical across cards so you can compare suppliers at a glance. Everything here is a reference fact you look up before ordering — not a calculation and not procurement advice.
Example setup
Here is one way to lay the cards out inside a vendor folder. Each supplier gets a short Ordering Terms record; the actual price lists, account logins, and bank details sit in their own siblings so the ordering card stays a clean, fast lookup.
Card fields: MOQ 144 units; min value $500 (free freight over $1,000); lead time 3 weeks; order in cases of 12; cutoff Thursday 12:00 noon; order via portal. Source: 2026 price list, confirmed Mar 2026. Notes: December cutoff moves to Tuesday. Attachment: NorthwindOrderConfirmation-2026-03.pdf.
Card fields: MOQ 1 pallet (mixed allowed); lead time 'ships same day if ordered before 10 a.m.'; order in full-case multiples; cutoff daily 10:00 a.m.; order by email. Source: rep email, confirmed Jan 2026. Notes: no Monday deliveries. Attachment: SierraTermsEmail-2026-01.pdf.
Card fields: MOQ 50 meters per color; lead time 6 weeks (import); order in 5-meter increments; no fixed cutoff (made to order); order by phone or portal. Source: 2026 line sheet, confirmed Feb 2026. Notes: surcharge under 25 meters. Attachment: MapleLaneLineSheet-2026.pdf.
An empty Ordering Terms card with the standard fields pre-labeled (MOQ, min value, lead time, order increment, cutoff, how to order, source & date, notes) that you duplicate each time you add a new supplier so every card looks the same.
Common mistakes
How it helps
Keep each supplier's ordering rules in a single, plainly named record inside a vendor folder, so the card is exactly where you would look when it is time to reorder.
Set up the same labeled fields on every card — MOQ, lead time, increment, cutoff — and type in the values yourself. Cash Workspace does not read or auto-fill them from your documents, which keeps the card a deliberate, trustworthy lookup.
Attach the order confirmation, price-list page, or term-sheet email to the card so each rule links back to where it came from, all in one place.
Save an empty ordering-terms card with the standard fields pre-labeled and duplicate it for each new supplier, so every card across all your vendors looks and reads the same.
Cash Workspace is free, and you can export your supplier records whenever you want a copy outside the workspace.
Related
The reusable per-vendor folder skeleton — agreement, tax, invoices, statements, payment proofs — that your ordering-terms card lives inside; clone it for every new supplier.
Where your identifiers with a supplier belong — account number, customer ID, portal login — kept separate from this ordering-constraints card so each stays a clean lookup.
Store suppliers' standing price lists and rate sheets here; the ordering card points to pricing rather than duplicating it, so prices and ordering rules each have one home.
File the per-deal quotes a supplier sends before a specific purchase, distinct from the standing ordering rules you keep on the reference card.
Keep a supplier's own payment-receiving instructions here — wire and remittance details — well away from the ordering-terms card, which holds no payment data.
The hub for organizing all your business documents, including the vendor and supplier records this ordering card is part of.
FAQ
This page helps you organize the ordering constraints a supplier has stated — minimum order quantity, lead time, order increments, cutoffs — into a per-supplier reference record. It is organizational guidance only, not procurement advice: it does not recommend what or how much to order, or how to negotiate terms. Cash Workspace stores the values you type and the documents you attach; it does not read, extract, or auto-fill figures from those documents, and it does not sync with any supplier system. Always confirm current ordering rules with the supplier before you rely on them.
Start a free Cash Workspace and build a short reference card for each supplier — MOQ, lead time, pack size, cutoff — so the next time you reorder, the rules are right where you need them. It is free to begin, and your records are yours to export anytime.