Suppliers are the businesses you buy parts from — factors, dealers, distributors. Adding them in Pistonlog means a part on a jobcard can carry a supplier link, which feeds into ordering, the parts returns flow, and your activity log.
Supplier fields
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Name | Trading name |
| Email(s) | One or many, each with an optional label |
| Phone | Their direct line |
| Website | Their portal, if any |
| Account number | Your account number with them |
| Notes | Anything internal |
| Active | Inactive suppliers are hidden from pickers |
Where suppliers show up
- Part rows on a jobcard — pick a supplier when ordering
- Parts catalogue — set a default supplier per catalogue entry
- Parts returns workflow — returns are grouped by supplier
- Sidebar — Settings → Suppliers admin page
Per garage
Suppliers are per-garage, just like the parts catalogue. The supplier list at your Bristol branch doesn't automatically appear at Bath. See Multi-garage scoping.
Deactivating a supplier
Don't delete — deactivate. A supplier you've ordered from in the past is still referenced on historical jobcards, and deleting would break those links. Deactivating just hides them from pickers going forward.