A provider is the vendor, merchant, contractor, or other party connected to a transaction. Consistent provider names make data entry faster and improve provider reports and classification rules.
Where providers are used
Providers appear throughout Simple-C:
- Expense and adjustment forms in Manual Entry
- Imported transaction review in the Entry Workflow
- Bulk filters and updates
- Classification Rule conditions and results
- Expenses by Provider reports
- Expenses Analyzer frequent-provider results
Create a provider from Config
Users with access can manage the provider directory from Config → Providers.
- Open Config → Providers.
- Select Add New.
- Enter the provider Name.
- If the form shows a Company selector, choose the company that owns the provider record.
- Save.
Provider names are displayed in uppercase in the management form. Use the recognizable merchant name and avoid adding dates, amounts, or account numbers.
Create a provider while entering a transaction
Provider selectors can search existing names as you type. If the name is not found and the selector offers a create option, create it without leaving the transaction form, then continue entering the record.
Search first. Small spelling differences—“HOME DEPOT,” “THE HOME DEPOT,” and “HOMEDEPOT”—can split one vendor across several report rows.
Search and filter the provider list
The Providers page supports:
- Free-text search
- Company filter when you are authorized to work across companies
- Created-from and created-to dates
- Pagination for large provider directories
The table shows the provider ID, name, company when applicable, and Edit/Delete actions.
Edit or remove a provider
Use Edit to correct a name. Because expenses reference the provider record, updating the name keeps the relationship while improving how it appears across the app.
Delete moves the provider to Trash when your role permits it. From Trash, an authorized user can:
- Restore the provider
- Delete permanently after confirming the provider name
Prefer restore when a provider was removed by mistake. Permanent deletion cannot be undone and may be unavailable when the provider is still required by related data.
Provider naming practices
- Use one stable name per real vendor.
- Remove changing transaction codes from the name.
- Keep location details only when separate branches must be reported separately.
- Do not put card numbers, bank numbers, or other sensitive information in the name.
- Search for an existing provider before creating another.
How providers improve automation
Classification Rules can match a provider and can also assign a provider to matching imported transactions. This is useful when bank descriptions vary but the vendor is known.
After cleanup, run an Expenses by Provider Summary or Detailed report from the Reports overview to confirm that purchases from the same vendor appear together.