Suppliers

What is it?

The Suppliers page is your professional address book for everyone who sells you products. Whether it’s the butcher, the vegetable wholesaler, the packaging supplier, or the cleaning products company: everyone is listed here with their contact details and prices.

Think of it as a well-organized directory where you can find your fish delivery person’s phone number in 3 seconds, compare flour prices between two suppliers, or grab the email address to place an urgent order. That’s exactly what it is.

What is it for?

• Centralize all your supplier information in one place
• Compare prices for the same product across different suppliers
• Place orders more easily (products and prices are pre-filled)
• Keep contact details (phone, email, address) always at your fingertips
• Know which default supplier to use for each product
• Never lose an important reference or contact

How does it work?

The supplier list

When you open the page, you see a table with all your suppliers. For each supplier, you can see:

• The company name (for example “Metro”, “Dupont Butchers”)
• The main contact (the name of the person you usually call)
• The phone number
• The email address
• The physical address
• The number of products linked to this supplier
• The status (active or archived)

Search and filter

Have a lot of suppliers? No problem. Use the filters to quickly find the one you’re looking for:

• Search by name: type the first few letters of the company name
• Search by contact: type the name of the person you’re looking for
• Search by email: type part of the email address
• Filter by status: see only active suppliers or archived ones

Tip

Search works in real time. As soon as you start typing, the list filters automatically. You don’t need to press “Enter”.

Adding a supplier

1. Click + New Supplier

2. Fill in the basic information:

   • Company name (required): for example “Dupont Butchers” or “Metro”
   • Main contact: the name of the person you usually call
   • Phone: the number for placing orders
   • Email: the address for sending purchase orders
   • Address: the supplier’s physical address

3. Add additional information (optional):

   • Notes: useful remarks (“delivers on Tuesdays and Thursdays”, “minimum order 100 euros”, etc.)
   • Customer account number: your reference with this supplier

4. Click Save

Tip

Add notes about delivery days and order conditions. It’s very handy when someone other than you needs to place an order. For example: “Order before 2 PM for next-day delivery” or “Free shipping from 200 euros”.

Editing a supplier

Information changes? A supplier has a new phone number or a new email address? No worries:

1. Click on the supplier in the list
2. Click Edit
3. Change the necessary information
4. Click Save

Archiving or deleting a supplier

No longer working with a supplier? Rather than deleting them, archive them. Archiving hides the supplier from the active list, but they remain in your history. This is important for keeping track of your past orders and previous prices.

Caution

If you delete a supplier instead of archiving them, you lose all the order and price history linked to that supplier. Always prefer archiving.

The supplier profile

When you click on a supplier, you see their complete profile with two main sections:

Information

All the supplier’s contact details:

• Company name
• Main contact
• Phone and email
• Address
• Notes and remarks
• Customer account number

You can edit this information at any time by clicking Edit.

Products & Prices

This is the list of all the products this supplier sells you, with the following for each product:

• The product name
• The supplier reference: the code the supplier uses in their own catalog
• The unit price: the price at which you buy this product from this supplier
• The packaging: how the product is sold (box of 6, 25 kg bag, per unit…)
• Default supplier: a checkmark indicating whether this supplier is the primary choice for this product

Note

When a product is linked to multiple suppliers, the “default” supplier is the one that will be automatically selected when you create an order for this product.

Linking a product to a supplier

To tell Capnio that a specific supplier sells a specific product:

1. Open the supplier profile
2. Go to the Products & Prices tab
3. Click + Add a Product
4. Select the product from the list
5. Enter the unit price at this supplier
6. Enter the supplier reference (optional, but useful for orders)
7. Indicate the packaging (optional)
8. Check Default supplier if this is your primary supplier for this product
9. Click Save

Tip

You can also link a supplier from the product profile, in the “Suppliers” tab. It’s the same thing, just from the other direction. Use whichever path feels most natural to you.

Setting the default supplier

Each product can be sold by multiple suppliers, but only one is the default supplier. This is the one that will be automatically suggested when you create an order.

To change the default supplier for a product:

1. Open the profile of the supplier you want to set as default
2. Go to the Products & Prices tab
3. Find the relevant product
4. Check the Default supplier box
5. The previous default supplier is automatically unchecked

Comparing prices

If the same product is sold by multiple suppliers, you can compare prices in two ways:

• From the product profile (Suppliers tab): you see all suppliers and their price for this product, side by side. This is the most practical view for comparing.
• From the supplier profile (Products & Prices tab): you see all of this supplier’s prices for all their products.

Price comparison helps you:

• Find the cheapest supplier for a product
• Spot price increases from a supplier
• Negotiate with concrete data (“Your competitor offers the same product at 10% less”)

Caution

Remember to update prices when your supplier sends a new price list. Up-to-date prices ensure reliable cost calculations in technical sheets and orders.

Buttons and options

Button	What it does
+ New Supplier	Add a new supplier to your directory
Search	Search for a supplier by name, contact, or email
Edit	Change a supplier’s information
Archive	Hide a supplier you no longer use (without deleting them)
+ Add a Product	Link a new product to this supplier with its price
Default Supplier	Set this supplier as the primary choice for a product
Export	Download the supplier list as an Excel or CSV file

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I have multiple suppliers for the same product? Yes, and it’s actually recommended. For example, if you buy flour from Supplier A and Supplier B, add both with their respective prices. You can then choose the cheapest one when ordering, or keep a backup supplier in case one of them runs out.

What is the “default supplier”? It’s the supplier that will be automatically suggested when you create an order for a product. If your flour usually comes from Supplier A, set them as the default supplier. You can always change it when placing the order if you want.

How do I delete a supplier? Rather than deleting, use Archive. The supplier disappears from the active list but remains in the history of past orders. This is important for keeping track of your previous transactions.

The supplier changed their prices. How do I update? Go to the supplier profile, Products & Prices tab. Click on the price you want to change, modify it, and save. Future orders will use the new price. Orders already placed keep the old price.

Can I send an order directly to the supplier from Capnio? Yes. When you create an order in the Orders module and click “Send”, Capnio can generate a purchase order as a PDF that you send by email to the supplier.

What is the “supplier reference”? It’s the code your supplier uses in their catalog to identify a product. For example, your T55 flour might have the reference “FLR-T55-25K” at your wholesaler. By noting this reference, your purchase orders are clearer and delivery errors are reduced.

Can I import a list of suppliers? For now, suppliers are added one by one. If you have many suppliers to add, start with the 5 or 6 you use most often, then add the others as you go.

Pro Tip

Once a quarter, take 30 minutes to compare the prices of your 10 most-used products across your different suppliers. Ask for quotes from one or two new suppliers for those products. Sometimes, switching just one supplier for a product you buy frequently can save you hundreds of euros per month. Always keep at least two possible suppliers per product: it protects you if one runs out, and it gives you negotiating power.