---
title: "Vendors"
description: "Vendors in J2Commerce represent the suppliers or companies whose products you sell in your store. You can create a vendor profile for each supplier, link it to a Joomla user account, and then assign…"
url: "https://docs.j2commerce.com/v6/catalog/vendors"
markdown_url: "https://docs.j2commerce.com/v6/catalog/vendors.md"
last_updated: "2026-10-23T01:49:34+00:00"
version: "J2Commerce 6"
breadcrumbs:
  - title: "Home"
    url: "https://docs.j2commerce.com/"
  - title: "J2Commerce 6"
    url: "https://docs.j2commerce.com/v6"
  - title: "Catalog"
    url: "https://docs.j2commerce.com/v6/catalog"
  - title: "Vendors"
    url: "https://docs.j2commerce.com/v6/catalog/vendors"
---

# Vendors

Vendors in J2Commerce represent the suppliers or companies whose products you sell in your store. You can create a vendor profile for each supplier, link it to a Joomla user account, and then assign products to that vendor. This makes it easy to filter and organize your catalog by supplier.

## Accessing Vendors

There are **two** ways you can access Vendors.

**Option A:** Go to the **J2Commerce** icon at the top right corner **-> Catalog -> Vendors**

**Option B:** Go to **Components** on the left sidebar **-> J2Commerce -> Dashboard -> Catalog -> Vendors**

![Adding new options](https://docs.j2commerce.com/images/docs/shared/vendor.webp)

Select **New** to create a new Vendor.

## Understanding the Vendors List

![](https://docs.j2commerce.com/images/docs/shared/vendor-config1.webp)

Each row in the list represents one vendor.

**Status:** Whether the vendor is published (green) or unpublished (red). Click to toggle.

**Vendor:** The company or brand name. Click to open and edit.

**City:** The vendor's city from their address record.

**Country:** The vendor's country.

**Zone / State:** The vendor's state or province.

**ID:** The internal vendor ID number.

## Toolbar Actions

![](https://docs.j2commerce.com/images/docs/shared/vendor-config2.webp)

**New:** Opens the form to create a new vendor.

**Actions:** Only activates as a dropdown when at least one vendor is selected

- **Publish:** Publishes the selected vendor.
- **Unpublish:** Unpublishes the selected vendor.
- **Trash:** Moves the selected vendor to the trash.

**Options:** Opens the global J2Commerce configuration settings.

**Help:** Opens the J2Commerce documentation.

## Searching and Filtering

Type in the search bar to find vendors by **username**, **company name**, or **city**.

To search by an exact vendor ID, type `id:` followed by the number (e.g., `id:5`).

Click **Search Tools** to show additional filters:

![](https://docs.j2commerce.com/images/docs/shared/vendor-config3.webp)

**Select Status:** Show only Published, Unpublished, or Trashed vendor.

**Select Country:** Show only vendors from a specific country.

## Creating a Vendor

1. Click **New** in the toolbar.
2. Fill in the vendor details (see field descriptions below).
3. Click **Save & Close** to save and return to the list, or **Save** to stay on the form.

![](https://docs.j2commerce.com/images/docs/shared/vendor-config.webp)

#### Contact Information

**Vendor Name:** The brand or company name. This is the only required field and is what appears in product dropdowns and storefront filters.

**First Name:** Contact person's first name (optional).

**Last Name:** Contact person's last name (optional).

**Joomla User:** The Joomla user account linked to this vendor. Required — select from your existing Joomla users.

**Email:** Contact email address (optional).

**Phone:** Primary phone number (optional).

**Phone 2:** Secondary phone number (optional).

**Fax:** Fax number (optional).

**Tax Number / VAT ID:** The manufacturer's tax or VAT registration number (optional).

#### Address

**Address Line 1:** Street address.

**Address Line 2:** Apartment, suite, or unit number.

**City:** City name.

**ZIP / Postal Code:** ZIP or postal code.

**Country:** Select from the countries list. Selecting a country automatically loads the available states or provinces below.

**Zone / State:** State, province, or region — loaded automatically based on the selected country.

#### Status (sidebar)

**Status:** Set to **Published** to make the manufacturer active in product dropdowns and storefront filters, or **Unpublished** to hide it.

> **Tip:** Only the **Vendor Name** and **Joomla User** fields are required. You can fill in the address details later if needed.

## Publishing and Unpublishing Vendors

![](https://docs.j2commerce.com/images/docs/shared/vendor-config6.webp)

An unpublished vendor does not appear in product filter dropdowns on the storefront or in the admin product filter. Products assigned to an unpublished vendor are not affected — they remain visible in the catalog.

**To toggle a single vendor:** Click the status icon in the **Status** column.

**To toggle multiple vendors:** Check their boxes and click **Publish** or **Unpublish** in the toolbar.

## Deleting Vendors

Vendors must be trashed before they can be permanently deleted.

![](https://docs.j2commerce.com/images/docs/shared/vendor-config4.webp)

**Step 1 — Trash the vendor:**

1. Check the box next to the vendor.
2. Click **Trash** in the toolbar.

**Step 2 — Permanently delete:**

![](https://docs.j2commerce.com/images/docs/shared/vendor-config5.webp)

1. Filter the list by **Status: Trashed**.
2. Check the box next to the vendor.
3. Click **Delete** in the toolbar.
4. Confirm when prompted.

> **Tip:** Deleting a vendor does not delete or unpublish any products assigned to it. Those products simply lose their vendor assignment.

## Assigning Vendors to Products

Once a vendor is created, you can assign it to products from the product edit screen.

- Go to **J2Commerce -> Catalog -> Products**.

![](https://docs.j2commerce.com/images/docs/shared/manuf-products1.webp)

- Click a product name to open it.
- Go to the **J2Commerce** tab **-> General** tab and find the **Vendor** field.
- Select the vendor from the dropdown.
- Click **Save**.

![](https://docs.j2commerce.com/images/docs/shared/vendor-product.webp)

You can also filter the products list by vendor using the **Vendor** filter in **Search Tools**.

## Tips

- The **Vendor Name** field is what appears in the product filter on your storefront. Use the supplier's full company name for clarity.
- Linking a vendor to a Joomla user is required, but the user does not need any special permissions. You can create a standard Registered user account for each vendor if you want them to log in.
- Use the **Country** filter in the vendors list to quickly view all vendors from a specific country — useful when managing international suppliers.

## Troubleshooting

### A vendor does not appear in the product Vendor filter

**Cause:** The vendor may be unpublished.

**Solution:**

Go to **Vendors**, find the vendor, and check the **Status** column. If the circle is red, click it to publish the vendor. Published vendors appear in all product filter dropdowns.

### The Zone / State dropdown is empty after selecting a country

**Cause:** No zones have been configured for that country in J2Commerce.

**Solution:**

Go to **J2Commerce** -> **Localization** -> **Zones** and add the required zones for that country, then return to the vendor and select the zone.

### I cannot save a vendor — it says a required field is missing

**Cause:** The **Vendor Name** or **Joomla User** field is empty.

**Solution:**

Both fields are required. Enter the company name in **Vendor Name** and select a user from the **Joomla User** field, then save again.