Adding Suppliers

Adding your suppliers and their product lists helps Sammy use your actual costs in estimates. This means more accurate pricing and easier reconciliation with your real purchases.

Accessing Suppliers#

1. Click Settings in the sidebar navigation
2. Select the AI Settings tab
3. Click Suppliers management

Or navigate directly to Settings > Suppliers from the sidebar.

Adding a Supplier#

Manual Entry#

1. Click Add Supplier
2. Fill in the supplier details:
   • Name (required) – The supplier's business name
   • Contact Name – Your contact person
   • Email – Supplier email address
   • Phone – Supplier phone number
   • Address – Supplier location
   • Notes – Any additional information
3. Click Save

Uploading Supplier Product Lists#

The real power comes from uploading your supplier's product lists with pricing. This gives Sammy access to your actual costs.

Preparing Your File#

Your supplier list should be a CSV or Excel file with columns like:

The file should include:

• Item name or description – What the product is
• SKU (optional) – Supplier product code
• Price – Your cost
• Unit – How it's measured (each, box, metre, m², etc.)

GST — prices are stored ex GST#

Sammy stores all supplier prices excluding GST — the same way your estimate line prices work. GST is added once, on the estimate total, so it's never counted twice.

• If your file's prices are ex GST (most trade price lists), nothing changes — they import exactly as they appear.
• If your file's prices include GST, choose "Yes — prices include GST" on the import screen and Sammy will remove the GST for you (price ÷ 1.1). Sammy has a guess based on your column headings, but always check it matches your file.
• For PDF price lists, Sammy reads the document and picks the ex GST price when both are shown. If only a GST-inclusive price is printed, Sammy removes the GST automatically.

Uploading the File#

1. Click on the supplier you want to add products to
2. Click Upload Product List
3. Drag and drop your file or click to browse
4. Wait for the file to be processed

Reviewing Imported Items#

After upload, you'll see a preview of the imported items:

1. Review each item to ensure it was parsed correctly
2. Fix any issues (wrong prices, incorrect units, etc.)
3. Click Apply to save the items to your supplier

Tip: If your file format isn't recognised, try simplifying the spreadsheet to just the essential columns: name, price, and unit.

PDF and Photo Uploads — the Review Queue#

PDF price lists and photos take a few minutes to process, and you don't need to wait on the page. When processing finishes, the extracted suppliers go into a review queue:

• On the Suppliers page you'll see an amber banner: "You have suppliers waiting to be reviewed". Click it to open the review screen.
• For each extracted supplier, choose Create New, Update Existing (if it matched one of your suppliers), or Skip.
• Skip doesn't delete anything. A skipped supplier stays in your review queue so you can decide later — the banner stays until you import or delete it.
• To permanently delete extracted suppliers, use Discard all extracted suppliers at the bottom of the review screen. Sammy asks you to confirm first, because that can't be undone. Your existing suppliers and items are never touched — if you delete by mistake, just upload the file again.
• If a price list sits unreviewed for a few days, Sammy sends you a reminder email with a link back to the review screen.
• Items with no price are left out. If a line in your price list has no price (for example "POA" or "call for price"), Sammy imports everything else and tells you which items were left out — in the pop-up when processing finishes, and in an amber note at the top of the review screen. Add those items to the supplier by hand if you need them. Sammy never imports an item at $0, because a $0 price could end up in one of your estimates.
• Prices that look wrong are pointed out. If most of a list's prices are over $10,000, or the list uses placeholder prices like $999,999, Sammy imports it as it is but tells you so in the pop-up (and on the review screen). This usually means the price column was read with extra zeros. Check the file and re-import it. Sammy won't use a placeholder price, or a price that's 100 times a quote line's own price.
• If Sammy can't find any supplier or pricing information in the file (for example a drawing or photo uploaded by mistake), you'll see an "Import failed" message saying so. Nothing is added, so just upload the right file.

If Your Price List Doesn't Name the Supplier#

Some price lists never say who they're from, like a special pricing sheet with only your account code on it, or a photo of a price board. Sammy still imports every item.

• If you uploaded the file from inside a supplier, the items go to that supplier.
• Otherwise Sammy names the supplier after your file. On the review screen you'll see a Supplier name box on that supplier. Type the right name, then click Continue Importing.
• If you leave the box as it is, you can rename the supplier later from the Suppliers page.

If an Import Fails#

When a file can't be imported, a red notice stays at the top of the Suppliers page until you deal with it. It tells you which file failed, what went wrong in plain words, and what to try. You don't need to have been watching the page when it happened.

• Upload the file again and the notice clears itself once the import goes through.
• Click Dismiss if you don't need that file any more.
• If the same file fails more than once, the notice tells you how many times. Email the file to support@withsammy.ai and we'll load it for you.

Two things that often cause a failed import:

• The file was renamed. Changing the end of a file name from .docx to .pdf doesn't turn a Word file into a PDF. Upload the original file, or open it and choose Save as PDF.
• The file has a password. Save a copy without the password and upload that.

Managing Supplier Items#

Viewing Items#

Click on any supplier to see their product list. You can:

• Search for specific items
• Edit prices or details
• Delete items you don't need

Updating Prices#

When supplier prices change:

1. Re-upload an updated product list, or
2. Edit individual items manually

Keeping prices current ensures your estimates remain accurate.

When you re-upload a list into a supplier you already have, choose Update Existing on the review screen. Sammy matches each item by its name and pack size, so "Ceiling paint 15L" updates the 15L tin you already have rather than adding a second one. A 4L tin of the same paint is a different item and is added alongside it.

Searching Across Suppliers#

When you have multiple suppliers, you can search across all of them to find products. This is useful when:

• Checking if you already have a product
• Comparing prices between suppliers
• Finding the right item to match in reconciliation

How Sammy Uses Supplier Data#

Once you have supplier items loaded:

1. As of 21 July 2026, Sammy prices from your lists automatically as he builds an estimate, matching material lines to your products and using your real costs where he's confident
2. You can also reconcile estimates by hand any time to review, change, or add matches
3. Matched items use your real costs instead of Sammy's estimated pricing
4. Your takeoff reports show actual products to order

Best Practices#

• Upload regularly – Get updated price lists from your suppliers quarterly
• Name items clearly – Use descriptive names that Sammy can match to estimate items
• Include all items you use – The more products in your database, the better matching works
• Add multiple suppliers – Having all your regular suppliers gives you flexibility

What's Next?#

Now that you have suppliers set up, learn how to Reconcile Estimates with Supplier Items for accurate costing.