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Vendor Registry — Management and Usage

How to use, maintain, and update the PPM Vendor Registry in Google Sheets — including schema, adding vendors, and performance tracking.

Updated over 3 weeks ago

Vendor Registry — Management and Usage

The PPM Vendor Registry is the single source of truth for all approved vendors. It is used by WF-1/WF-2 to select and dispatch vendors for work orders, and by staff when manual vendor selection is needed.

Systems involved: Google Sheets (Vendor Registry), Buildium, n8n (WF-2)

Registry Location

The Vendor Registry lives in Google Sheets:

  • Sheet ID: 1_1Mo9XYxuyqRrpPwVie8-xQoNU8oWlkv5dZ1fVGCMds

  • Location in Drive: 05_PPM_AI_OS → 02_Architecture

  • Tab name: Vendors

Schema

Each row in the Vendor Registry contains:

  • buildium_id — integer matching the vendor ID in Buildium (primary key; must match exactly)

  • name — vendor company or individual name

  • trade — service category (e.g., plumbing, electrical, HVAC, general)

  • phone — primary dispatch phone number

  • email — dispatch email

  • service_area — geographic coverage (e.g., Jersey City, Newark, Northern NJ)

  • active — TRUE or FALSE; only active vendors are dispatched

  • avg_rating — average performance rating (0–5)

  • notes — any special notes (e.g., "call before 8pm," "preferred for emergencies")

Adding a New Vendor

Before adding a vendor to the registry, ensure the following are complete:

  1. Valid NJ contractor license obtained (where required by trade)

  2. Certificate of insurance (COI) on file naming PPM as additional insured — minimum $1M general liability

  3. W-9 on file in Google Drive

  4. Vendor record created in Buildium: Maintenance → Vendors → Add Vendor — note the buildium_id assigned

  5. Add a new row to the Google Sheets Vendor Registry using the buildium_id as the primary key

  6. Set active = TRUE once all requirements are confirmed

New vendors require Dan's approval before being set active.

Updating or Deactivating a Vendor

To update vendor information: edit the relevant cell in the Google Sheets registry directly. Changes take effect on the next work order dispatch.

To deactivate a vendor: set active = FALSE in the registry. The vendor will no longer be considered by WF-1. Also update the vendor's status in Buildium under Maintenance → Vendors → [Vendor] → Mark Inactive.

Vendor Performance Tracking

The avg_rating field is updated quarterly based on:

  • Response time from dispatch to on-site arrival

  • First-time fix rate

  • Tenant satisfaction (collected via post-repair follow-up)

  • Callback rate (return visits for the same issue)

  • Invoice accuracy vs. estimate

Vendors with an avg_rating below 3.0 for two consecutive quarters should be reviewed with Dan for probation or removal.

Emergency Vendor Fallback

If the primary vendor for a trade does not respond within 30 minutes of an emergency dispatch, WF-1/WF-2 escalates. Staff should:

  1. Try the secondary vendor in the registry for the same trade

  2. If no registry vendor is available, use any licensed and insured vendor available immediately

  3. Log the emergency vendor in Buildium as a one-time entry and notify Dan

  4. Evaluate the primary vendor's reliability and update their rating accordingly

Related Articles
How to Use Buildium for Property Management
PPM Communications Policy
Work Order Intake and Dispatch SOP
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