In Ply, an email address is required to create a vendor. However, this doesn’t mean the vendor needs to actually use email or receive purchase orders.
This article explains how to add a vendor even if they don’t have a real email address, and how Ply behaves in that scenario.
Why Ply requires an email
The email field is mandatory because it’s used for sending Purchase Orders. Even if you don’t plan to email POs, the system still requires a value in that field to create the vendor. The good news: the email does not have to be a real, monitored inbox.
How to add a vendor if they don’t have an email
If your vendor doesn’t have an email address, you can still create them by using a placeholder email.
Step-by-step
- Go to Suppliers in Ply
- Click Add Supplier
- Enter the vendor name and any other details you want to track
- In the email field, enter a placeholder email, for example:
vendorname@noemail.comorders@vendorname.localvendorname@placeholder.com
- Save the vendor. The vendor will be created successfully.
Can you update the email later?
Yes. You can edit the vendor at any time and replace the placeholder with a real email address if you decide to start emailing POs from Ply.
Common use cases
This setup is commonly used when:
- Vendors only accept orders by phone or in person
- Orders are placed through a vendor portal
- You’re still setting up your account and don’t have full vendor details yet
- Ply is being used for inventory and purchasing tracking only
Using a placeholder email lets you keep your vendors, materials, and purchasing workflows organized in Ply, even when email isn’t part of the process.
If you have questions about vendor setup or best practices, our Support team is happy to help 🙂