Documentation Index Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.mathership.com/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
Vendor Contacts Vendor contacts let restaurants save supplier contact details and send orders directly by email.
Use vendor contacts when you order from a supplier that is not connected through the Mathership vendor catalog or vendor relationship system.
A vendor contact is a saved supplier contact for one of your customer companies.
A vendor contact usually includes:
Supplier name
Supplier email address
Active or inactive status
The customer company it belongs to
Vendor contacts are used when creating direct contact orders.
Use vendor contacts when:
The supplier is not available in the vendor catalog
You only need to send an order by email
You want to save frequently used supplier email addresses
You want to reuse supplier contacts instead of typing them again
You order from smaller or external suppliers
Examples:
Supplier Email Use case Local butcher order@butcher-example.com Meat orders Wine supplier sales@wine-example.com Wine orders Bakery bakery@example.com Bread orders Vegetable supplier orders@vegetables-example.com Fresh produce orders
Vendor contacts are different from connected vendors.
Type Meaning Connected vendor A vendor company connected through Mathership Vendor contact A manually saved supplier contact with name and email
Connected vendors can have product catalogs, customer relationships, customer numbers, routes, and vendor-side order management.
Vendor contacts are simpler. They are mainly used to send an order email to a saved supplier address.
To view vendor contacts:
Go to Restaurants
Open your company
Go to Vendor Contacts or the supplier/contact selection in the order flow
Review the saved contacts
The list can show:
Contact ID
Supplier name
Supplier email
Active status
Only active contacts are shown in the normal contact list.
To create a new vendor contact:
Open the vendor contact list
Click Add Contact
Enter the supplier name
Enter the supplier email address
Save the contact
Required fields:
Field Required Example Supplier name Yes Fresh Food Supplier Supplier email Yes orders@supplier.com
A vendor contact needs both a name and an email address. Without both fields, the contact cannot be created.
When you place an order using a supplier name and email, Mathership can reuse an existing vendor contact with the same email address.
If the contact already exists:
The existing contact is reused
The name can be updated
The contact can be reactivated if it was inactive
This avoids duplicate contacts for the same supplier email address.
You can update a saved vendor contact.
You can usually edit:
Supplier name
Supplier email address
Active status
To edit a contact:
Open the vendor contact list
Select the contact
Update the name or email
Save your changes
Example:
Field Old value New value Supplier name Wine Supplier Premium Wine Supplier Supplier email old@supplier.com orders@supplier.com
Updating a vendor contact changes the saved contact for future use. It does not necessarily change old orders that were already sent.
Deleting a vendor contact does not permanently remove it.
Instead, the contact is set to inactive.
This means:
The contact no longer appears in the active contact list
Existing order history can still reference the contact
The contact can be reactivated later if needed
To delete a contact:
Open the vendor contact list
Select the contact
Click Delete
Confirm the action
Vendor contacts have an active status.
Status Meaning Active The contact is available for new orders Inactive The contact is hidden from normal selection
Use inactive status when:
You no longer order from the supplier
The email address is outdated
The supplier is temporarily not used
You want to keep history but clean up the active list
Vendor contacts are used for direct contact orders.
When creating an order, you can either:
Select an existing vendor contact
Enter a new supplier name and email
If you select an existing contact, Mathership uses the saved name and email address.
If you enter a new supplier name and email, Mathership can create or reuse a vendor contact automatically.
A direct contact order needs:
Delivery location
Vendor contact or supplier name and email
At least one product
Quantities
Optional fields can include:
Message
Estimated delivery date
Sending mode
Scheduled sending time
Example order fields:
Field Example Delivery location Main Restaurant Vendor contact Local Butcher Message Please deliver before 10:00 Estimated delivery date 2026-05-12 Mode Send Items Ribeye, minced beef
Order modes Direct contact orders can be handled in three modes.
Mode Meaning Send Send the order email immediately Draft Save the order without sending it Schedule Save the order and send it later
Use Send when the order should be emailed to the supplier right away.
When the order is sent:
The order is created
The vendor contact is linked
The order email is queued or sent
The email status is set to pending first
Saving an order as draft Use Draft when the order should be prepared but not sent yet.
Draft orders are useful when:
You want to review the order later
A colleague should check it first
The order is incomplete
You are not ready to send it
Draft orders can be edited before sending.
Scheduling an order Use Schedule when the order should be sent at a future date and time.
Scheduled orders are useful when:
Orders should go out early in the morning
You prepare orders in advance
You want to align ordering with supplier deadlines
You want to avoid sending an order immediately
The scheduled time must be in the future.
Scheduled sending times must use a valid date and time format and must be in the future.
Estimated delivery date The estimated delivery date is optional.
Use it when you want to record when the supplier is expected to deliver.
The date should use the format: YYYY-MM-DD
Example: 2026-05-12
The estimated delivery date is not the same as the scheduled sending time. The estimated delivery date describes when the goods are expected to arrive.
Editing draft or scheduled orders Draft and scheduled contact orders can be edited before they are sent.
You can usually update:
Delivery location
Message
Estimated delivery date
Scheduled sending time
Order items
When updating items, the item list is replaced with the new list.
Only draft or scheduled orders can be edited. Orders that were already sent cannot be edited in the same way.
Sending a draft or scheduled order now You can send a draft or scheduled order immediately.
When you send it now:
Email status changes to pending
Scheduled sending time is cleared
The order email is sent to the vendor contact
Use this when:
A draft is ready
A scheduled order should be sent earlier
You no longer want to wait for the scheduled sending time
Updating the delivery date You can update the delivery date of an order after creation.
Use this when:
The supplier confirms a delivery date
The expected delivery date changes
You want your order history to reflect the actual planning
The delivery date should use the format: YYYY-MM-DD
Example: 2026-05-12
Orders can be archived when they are no longer relevant in the active list.
Archiving does not delete the order.
Use archiving when:
The order is completed
The order no longer needs attention
You want to clean up the order list
You want to keep the order for history
Archived orders are removed from normal active order views but remain available for history.
Downloading an order PDF Orders can be downloaded as a PDF file.
Use this when:
You want to save a copy outside Mathership
You need to forward the order manually
You want to print the order
You want to keep a document for internal records
The PDF can include:
Supplier name
Customer company
Delivery location
Order items
Quantities
Prices if available
Message
Order details
Retrying a failed order email If an order email fails, it can be retried.
Retry is usually available when the email status is:
When retrying:
The email status is reset to pending
The previous email error is cleared
The email sending task is started again
Use this when:
The supplier email was temporarily unavailable
There was a technical sending issue
You fixed an email address problem and want to resend
Common workflow A typical vendor contact workflow looks like this:
Create or select a customer company
Add products to your own company product list
Create a vendor contact with supplier name and email
Create an order using that contact
Add products and quantities
Send, draft, or schedule the order
Review the order history
Archive completed orders
You want to save your local butcher as a contact.
Field Example Supplier name Local Butcher Supplier email orders@local-butcher.com Status Active
You can now select this contact when sending meat orders.
You want to send a direct email order to your bakery.
Field Example Vendor contact City Bakery Delivery location Main Restaurant Estimated delivery date 2026-05-12 Message Please deliver before 8:00 Mode Send
Mathership creates the order and sends the email to the saved bakery contact.
Example: Schedule an order You want to prepare an order today but send it tomorrow morning.
Field Example Vendor contact Vegetable Supplier Delivery location Main Restaurant Mode Schedule Scheduled time Tomorrow morning Estimated delivery date 2026-05-12
The order is saved and sent later at the scheduled time.
Best practices Keep supplier emails clean Use the email address where orders should actually be sent.
Avoid using general addresses if the supplier has a dedicated ordering address.
Good examples:
Use clear supplier names Use names your team can recognize quickly.
Examples:
Less clear Better Supplier 1 Local Butcher Wine Premium Wine Supplier Bread City Bakery
If you no longer order from a supplier, set the contact inactive instead of keeping it in the active list.
This keeps the order flow clean.
Check before sending Before sending an order, check:
Correct supplier contact
Correct delivery location
Correct products
Correct quantities
Correct message
Correct delivery date
Use drafts for review Use drafts when another person should check the order before it is sent.
This helps avoid wrong quantities or wrong supplier emails.
Common problems Check that:
The contact belongs to the selected customer company
The contact is active
The correct company is selected
The contact was not deleted or deactivated
Check that:
Supplier name is entered
Supplier email is entered
The email address is valid
You are working in the correct customer company
Order cannot be sent Check that:
A delivery location is selected
At least one item is included
A vendor contact is selected
Or supplier name and supplier email are entered
The sending mode is valid
Scheduled order fails Check that:
The scheduled time is in the future
The scheduled time is a valid date and time
The order still has items
The vendor contact email is correct
Wrong supplier received the order Check that:
The correct vendor contact was selected
The supplier email is up to date
Old contacts were deactivated
The order was not created with a manually typed wrong email
Related pages
Placing Orders Learn how to create and send orders.
Order Drafts and Scheduling Save orders as drafts or schedule them for later sending.
Order History Review sent, draft, scheduled, and archived orders.
Order Attachments Understand PDFs, CSV files, and order email attachments.
Manage Vendors Manage connected vendors and supplier relationships.
Vendor Catalog Discover public vendors and follow them.
