Vendor Terminology and Vendor Tables

Vendor - A vendor can be an employee, an individual, a business, a not-for-profit entity, government, or an educational institution that sells services or materials to the State. The vendor is responsible for complying with all applicable federal, state and local statutes or other applicable legal requirements.

Vendor Number - Many STARS transaction codes require a valid Vendor Number. Vendor Numbers consist of nine alphanumeric characters. See the 1099MISC and the Workers’ Compensation chapters for more information regarding vendor number requirements. The Vendor Number can be an individual’s Social Security Number (SSN), an Employer Identification Number (EIN), or an alpha sequence assigned by the SCO (used for foreign vendors and petty cash custodians).

Vendor Suffix - The two-character suffix number is required when entering a transaction that requires a vendor number. A vendor with several office locations may use one EIN with different suffix numbers to indicate the different office locations. Vendor suffix numbers are two alphanumeric characters. SCO assigns suffix numbers to make the Vendor Number unique for a particular location.

Vendor Name - The Vendor Name is used when submitting the 1099 Miscellaneous Information Tax Return to the IRS. The Vendor Number/Suffix combination looks up the forty-character Vendor Name from the Vendor Edit Table (S021). The name/number combination must match either the IRS or SSA records.

The SCO uses the IRS interactive TIN matching service to verify the name/number combination prior to adding or changing a vendor on STARS. If you use a transaction code that does not require the vendor number for a payment, you must manually enter the Vendor Name.

Vendor Type - The following vendor types are used in STARS:

• 6 - old value, replaced with 'I'
• I – Individual/sole proprietor.
• C – Corporation. Inc. or Corp. is usually in the name.
• P – Partnership. Non-corporation businesses that are identified either in the name or on the Substitute Form W9 as being a partnership.
• G – Government. Federal, State, and Local Governments.
• N – Non-profit. Non-profit organizations.
• O – Other. Miscellaneous organizations that do not fit any of the other listed classification.
• E – Idaho State Employee (must match EIS information).
• Z - Generic vendors (like PCARD0000)
• D - EIS Deductions. D is used on the vendors set up for EIS. 

Vendor Status

• 0 - Active
• 1 – Inactive
• 3 -  Garnishment or lien

Vendor Edit Table

The Vendor Edit Table (S021 or “VE”) is used to record and store all of the needed vendor information. The VE table maintains the vendor name and address and other pertinent information used in warrant writing, remittance advice preparation, and 1099-MISC reporting. Each fiscal year the SCO automatically purges vendors from the Vendor Edit Table if the Last Paid Date is 2 years old or older, and the Last Process Date is 2 years old or older. Vendors that have been purged will not be found in STARS.

The VE table also contains direct deposit banking information and information about participation in the remittance advice on the Web program. The Authentication Indicator determines the remittance advice delivery to the vendor:

• Blank - No access to web. Paper remittance advice printed and mailed.
• 0 - Web access to view only one vendor suffix.
• 1 - Web access to view all vendor suffixes.

Vendor Payment File

The Vendor Payment File (VP) maintains detailed transaction level information about expenditure and disbursement payments sorted by vendor. Not all payment transactions post to the Vendor Payment File. Vendor Payment File information can be used when responding to queries from vendors or to research possible duplicate payments. In addition, the 1099 system extracts this information for use when submitting the 1099 Miscellaneous Information Tax Return the IRS.

Requests for Changes to a Vendor

Agencies should use the Web-based Vendor Maintenance application to request changes to vendor information on STARS. SCO will then maintain vendor information including the following processes:

• Add a Vendor
• Change a Vendor
• Inactivate a Vendor
• Purge a Vendor

Before you request a change to a vendor, verify that the information you are changing is not already recorded on the Vendor Edit Table.
 

Always check the Vendor Table 21 for any comments indicating that a vendor is inactive because the name/number combination did not match the IRS or SSA records (IRS Match Error), or that a new vendor number has been assigned.

Request to Inactivate a Vendor

Inactivating a vendor number/suffix will stop all future payments to the vendor under that number and suffix. When you request an inactivate status, you should also provide an explanation of why you are requesting the inactivation. SCO will enter your agency number as the Change Agency on the Vendor Edit Table.
 

Vendors may be inactivated from IRS notifications. Twice each year the IRS notifies the SCO that some of the name/number combinations on the 1099 Miscellaneous Information Tax return do not match IRS or SSA records. After receiving the notification, the SCO inactivates the vendor (status 1) and notes ‘IRS Match Error Need W9’ in the Contact Name field. A new completed W-9, signed by the vendor, is required to activate the vendor.

Further payments to the vendor will not resume until the W9 is received and the new information verified with the IRS interactive TIN matching service.

Automatic removal (purge) of vendors from the Vendor Edit Table

Each fiscal year, the SCO automatically purges, or removes, vendors from the Vendor Edit Table. The vendor edit purge process is:

1.  If the Last Paid Date is zeroes or spaces (blank), the Last Process Date copied to the Last Paid Date.

2. If the Last Paid Date is a valid date and is 2 years old or older, the Last Process Date is checked. If the Last Process Date is 2 years old or older, the record is purged.
 

The Last Paid Date is the last time the Vendor was paid by the State of Idaho – not by any specific agency. State employees will not be purged until two years after becoming inactive.

Search For a Vendor Name or Vendor Number in STARS

Before submitting a request to add a vendor, you should verify that the vendor is not already recorded in STARS. Use the STARS screens S02A, S02N, or the S021 to see if a vendor has already been added. You can also search for agency employees using S0EA or S0EN screens. Vendors that have been purged will not be found in STARS.

1. On the STARS Main Menu, type ‘T’ for Table Maintenance in the FUNCTION field and press ENTER.

2. Type either 2A or 2N.

• 2A VENDOR SORT SEQ. INDEX sorts vendors by Sort Sequence name and 2N VENDOR NUMERIC INDEX sorts vendors by vendor number. 

Example of the STARS Table Maintenance Menu:

3. Type EA or EN to search for your agency’s employees (other agency’s employees will not be displayed).

• You can enter the SSN using the EN lookup in order to verify a name and/or address, but Social Security numbers will not be displayed for security purposes.

Search by the Sort Sequence ‘name’ (S02A)

1. Type ‘2A’ in the FUNCTION field and ENTER.

2. Type ‘R’ in the FUNCTION field.

3. Type the 10 character name (‘Sort Sequence’) in the SORT SEQ field and then press ENTER.

• For individuals, type the last name. If you are not sure how a name is spelled, type just the first few characters and then press ENTER. For example, to locate the Office of the State Controller, search using the key word ‘Controller’ or even ‘Contr’.

4. If necessary, type an N in the FUNCTION field to scroll to the next page of or list of vendors.

5. When you locate the vendor, press TAB to move the cursor to the column left of the vendor number.

6. Type S or X in the column next to the vendor number and press ENTER to view the details of the vendor record.
 

Search by Vendor Number (S02N)

1. Type ‘2N’ in the FUNCTION field and press ENTER.

2. Type ‘R’ in the FUNCTION field.

3. Type the vendor number in the VENDOR # field (do not use a suffix), and then press ENTER. If you are not sure of the vendor number, type just the first few numbers and then press ENTER.

4. When you locate the vendor, press TAB to move the cursor to the column left of the vendor number.

5. Type S or X in the column next to the vendor number and press ENTER to view the details of the vendor record.

Make sure the vendor number is correct and make sure the two-character suffix number is blank.  

Select multiple vendors from the search results

From the search results of the S02A or S02N screen, you may select more than one vendor at a time. NOTE: You cannot do multiple selections if you have used the interrupt to the S02A or S02N screens. In addition, you can only select up to a maximum of 18 vendors.

1. Type an S or an X in the column left of a vendor number and. (See illustration below).

2. Repeat for each vendor you want to select.

3. When finished, press ENTER.

4. The S021 Vendor Edit Table will open. Press F3 to advance through the vendor records you have selected.

Search for Vendors on the Vendor Edit Table

1. From the STARS main menu, enter Type 21 in the FUNCTION field and press ENTER.

2. Type R in the FUNCTION field.

3. Type the vendor number you are searching for and press ENTER. If you are not sure of the vendor number, type just the first few numbers and then press ENTER

4. If necessary, press F8 to scroll through vendor records in alphabetical order of the SORT SEQUENCE field. To scroll in order of the vendor number, type ‘N’ in the FUNCTION field and press ENTER.

Search for a Vendor While Entering a Transaction

When entering transaction in, for example, the General Data Entry screen S501, you can Interrupt to the 21, 2A, 2N screens to search for vendors:

1.  On the Data Entry screen, press HOME, then press SHIFT+TAB to go to the INTERRUPT field

2. In the INTERRUPT field, type the number of the screen you want to interrupt to - 2A or 2N.

3. Type R in the FUNCTION field.

4. Search for a vendor, depending on which screen you are using, as described above. For example, if using the S02A screen, type the last name in the SORT SEQ field.

5. Press TAB to place the cursor next to the vendor name or number, then type X to select it.

6. Press F4 to return to the Data Entry screen and the vendor information will be automatically copied to the Data Entry screen. NOTE this technique will not work using the EA or EN screen.

State Employees on the Vendor Edit Table

The SCO Division of Statewide Payroll adds new employees to the Vendor Edit Table. STARS automatically receives an employee’s address and SSN from the Statewide Payroll Employee Information System (EIS) through a nightly file download. State employees will be set up on STARS with a vendor type of ‘E’ and a suffix of 'SE'. You will see the words STATE EMPLOYEE in the NAME 2 field on the STARS data entry screen. In certain circumstances, a state employee with a vendor suffix SE can be added as a vendor with the suffix 00. See the Fiscal Policy Manual which describes Independent Contractor vs. Employee.

Agency personnel with appropriate STARS security will be able to look up employee names in the Vendor Edit table in order to process reimbursements. They will be able to view employee name and address; however, the vendor number (Social Security Number) will not be displayed. The vendor number will be replaced with asterisks. Up to five agencies that an individual employee has worked for will be stored in the Vendor Edit table to assist in processing of reimbursement vouchers.

When entering a transaction on the General Purpose Transaction Entry screen S501, you can look up the vendor (employee) by interrupting to the 2A Screen, locating the vendor, and pressing F4 to automatically fill in the Data Entry Screen with the vendor information, as described above. If you enter just the vendor number directly on the S501 screen, press F5 to automatically fill in the vendor name and address that is available from STARS tables.

To update the employee’s address, contact the Division of Statewide Payroll. STARS twill get updated information automatically from EIS. If an employee record is missing from the Vendor Edit Table, contact the STARS helpline to have it added from the EIS State Payroll information. Employee records will not automatically purge until the employee has been inactive for two years or more.

Sort Sequence Name, State, and Regions

See also the USPS web site for official state abbreviations.