Merge duplicate vendors

The same supplier is sometimes in your list twice, for example as "Amazon EU S.à r.l." and as "AMAZON EU SARL". Merge the two: one vendor stays, it takes everything from the other, and the other leaves the list.

You find your vendors in the web app under Expenses → Vendors.

Find duplicates

Below your vendors, Norman shows Possible duplicates when vendors share a VAT number, an IBAN or a name. The suggested vendors follow in the same table. Capital letters, punctuation and the legal form do not count for the name.

If the vendors in a row are different companies, click Not a duplicate. The row leaves the list and does not come back. The vendors and their bookings stay unchanged.

Merge vendors

There are three ways:

1. From the possible duplicates: click Merge in the row.
2. From the list: select two or more vendors with the box at the start of the row and click Merge 2 vendors. The number shows how many you selected.
3. From one vendor: open the vendor and click Merge into another vendor at the bottom. Use this also when a vendor with bookings cannot be deleted.

Then pick the vendor to keep and confirm. For each vendor you see the vendor number, VAT number, IBAN, country and the number of bookings and documents. Norman preselects the vendor with the most bookings. A merge cannot be undone.

What the vendor you keep takes

• the bookings, bills and rules of the other vendors
• their names as further names for bank statements and receipts, so that Norman assigns new documents correctly
• the IBAN, VAT number and contact details, if its own are still empty

Its own name, VAT number and bank details stay as they are.

What happens to the vendor number (Kreditor)

The number of the merged vendor is free again. The next new vendor gets the lowest free number, so no gaps remain.

There is one exception: bookings that your tax advisor already has in a DATEV file. They stay on the old number, so nothing changes in those months. Norman then tells you, for example, "2 bookings stay on Kreditor 70034". Norman gives this number to no other vendor. Your list still shows only one vendor.

Finalized bookings and closed years

Norman does not change finalized bookings or bookings in a closed year. A merge skips them, and Norman tells you how many it skipped. These bookings stay with their vendor, so this vendor stays in your list and keeps its number. All its other bookings move to the vendor you keep.

Connect an own vendor to a suggestion

Under Suggested vendors, Norman shows well-known businesses with their logo. If one of them is already in your list under another name, click I have this vendor on the suggestion and pick your vendor.

Your vendor takes the logo and the suggestion disappears. The name, VAT number, bank details and vendor number of your vendor stay unchanged. When Norman finds the matching suggestion itself, it also appears under Possible duplicates.

Read more about the files for your tax advisor in Changes since the last DATEV file.