Aug 10, 2017 Chris Doxey
A supplier master that lacks discipline and control can cause several inefficiencies in the accounts payable process. One of the common outcomes of an “out of control” supplier master is duplicate suppliers which can create scenarios for duplicate payments to occur.
This blog will provide you with examples of supplier coding standards to consider when setting up new suppliers in your supplier master and when cleaning up your supplier master on an annual basis. We are providing you with coding standards to use when coding your supplier name and when coding your supplier address. And as bonus material, we’re adding the abbreviation tables for streets, U.S. states, territories and Canadian provinces.
Examples of Supplier Coding Standard: Supplier Name
| Standard | Valid | Invalid |
|---|---|---|
| No periods (.), commas (,) or punctuation marks (!) | IBM John T Smith Dr Harry S Smythe MD |
I.B.M. John T. Smith Dr. Harry S. Smythe, M.D. |
| “The” is eliminated in supplier names | Coca-Cola Company | The Coca-Cola Company |
| No spaces should be used before or after special characters or initials | B&B Enterprises AT&T 100% Incorporated @Radical Medical 2+2 Productions |
B & B Enterprises A T & T 100 % Incorporated @ Radical Medical 2 + 2 Productions |
| Keep numeric values used in the name field | 3M Corporation 9 West Club 33 |
Three M Corporation Nine West Club Thirty Three |
| Do not use abbreviations for North, South, East, and West | East Coast Supply North American Van Lines South Florida Fence Co |
E. Coast Supply No. American Van Lines S. Florida Fence Co. |
| No space between last names with 2 words. | McBeth MacDonald Hunter Corp DeYoung |
Mc Beth Mac Donald Hunter Corp De Young |
Examples of Supplier Coding Standard: Supplier Address
| Standard | Valid | Invalid |
|---|---|---|
| A North, South, East, West street address will be abbreviated without period | 120 S Baker | 120 S. Baker |
| Use numbers in street abbreviation versus words | 1st St 49th Ave 100th St |
First Street Forty-Ninth Avenue One-Hundredth Street |
| Spell out North, South, East, and West in city names | North Hollywood West Palm Beach |
N. Hollywood W. Palm Beach |
| Spell out words in city names | Fort Myers Saint Louis |
Ft. Myers St. Louis |
Abbreviations for US State and Canadian Provinces
| State | Abbr. | State | Abbr. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | AL | Montana | MT |
| Alaska | AL | Nebraska | NE |
| Arizona | AZ | Nevada | NV |
| Arkansas | AR | New Hampshire | NH |
| California | CA | New Jersey | NJ |
| Canal Zone | CZ | New Mexico | NM |
| Colorado | CO | New York | NY |
| Connecticut | CT | North Carolina | NC |
| Delaware | DE | North Dakota | ND |
| District of Columbia | DC | Ohio | OH |
| Florida | FL | Oklahoma | OK |
| Georgia | GA | Oregon | OR |
| Guam | GU | Pennsylvania | PA |
| Hawaii | HI | Puerto Rico | PR |
| Idaho | ID | Rhode Island | RI |
| Illinois | IL | South Carolina | SC |
| Indiana | IN | South Dakota | SD |
| Iowa | IA | Tennessee | TN |
| Kansas | KS | Texas | TX |
| Kentucky | KY | Utah | UT |
| Louisiana | LA | Vermont | VT |
| Maine | ME | Virgin Islands | VI |
| Maryland | MD | Virginia | VA |
| Massachusetts | MA | Washington | WA |
| Michigan | MI | West Virginia | WV |
| Minnesota | MN | Wisconsin | WI |
| Mississippi | MS | Wyoming | WY |
| Missouri | MO |
| Province | Abbr. |
|---|---|
| Alberta | AB |
| British Columbia | BC |
| Manitoba | MB |
| New Brunswick | NB |
| Newfoundland | NF |
| Northwest Territories | NT |
| Nova Scotia | NS |
| Nunavut | NT |
| Ontario | ON |
| Prince Edward Island | PE |
| Quebec | QC |
| Saskatchewan | SK |
| Yukon Territory | YT |
