Available On: Premium, Professional, Enterprise
Overview
Vendors is now Providers & Network. Your external specialists now live in a unified home alongside full work order history, compliance tracking, and built-in chat — all in one place. With recent quality-of-life updates, you can also mark Preferred Providers for quick identification and create new Providers inline without breaking your workflow.
Note: Providers and Customers are reference records — they aren't user seats in your UpKeep account.
Key Capabilities
My Providers Tab: Your existing Vendor list, reimagined with a tile view that surfaces contact info and compliance status at a glance.
Preferred Providers: Star indicators in Provider list components and star badges on the My Providers page let you quickly flag and identify your go-to external specialists.
Provider Profile Page: One place for everything on a given provider: full work order history, built-in Chat for availability/quotes/permits, Compliance review and approvals with automatic expiration emails, and profile essentials.
How to Add a Provider
Providers include external contractors, suppliers, and service specialists. Manufacturers can also be added as Providers — once added, they appear in the Manufacturer field when managing assets. You can add them via the Providers tab or inline while editing assets.
Option 1: Add a Provider via the Providers Tab
Navigate to the Providers tab.
Click Create Provider in the top right.
Fill out the provider's information (contact details, location, additional information).
Click Create Provider. The new provider appears in your My Providers list.
Option 2: Add a Provider Inline (Inline Provider Creation)
Navigate to any asset and click Edit (or click Create Asset).
Scroll to the Manufacturer field.
Type the name of the new Provider or Manufacturer directly into the field.
Click the dropdown option to create the new Provider directly. This adds them to your global Providers database without breaking your current workflow.
Using the Provider Profile Page
Each provider has a single profile that consolidates everything you need for that relationship:
Work Orders — Full activity history with this provider.
Chat — Built-in messaging to align on availability, quotes, permits, and more.
Compliance — Review, approve, or reject compliance requirements. Upcoming expiration emails fire automatically so nothing lapses quietly.
Profile Essentials — Contact info, skills, and certifications always at hand.
How to Edit Providers
Select the desired Provider and click View Profile.
Click Edit.
Make your changes.
Click Save Changes.
💡 Need to make a bulk update? Use the import/export functions — see Learn How to Import Providers and Customers.
Best Practices
Star your preferred partners. Flag your go-to vendors using star badges to help coordinators and managers select the correct provider instantly during assignment.
Create inline to save time. Use Inline Provider Creation during asset updates so you don't break your data entry flow when cataloging a new manufacturer.
Onboard before on-site. Add new providers and approve compliance documents before their first work order so nothing blocks a job.
Use Chat for the paper trail. Keep availability, quote, and permit conversations on the provider profile so audits are a search, not a fire drill.
Use Cases
Preferred vendor identification — A facility coordinator can identify preferred suppliers instantly by searching the Providers list and spotting star indicators.
On-the-fly manufacturer entry — A technician cataloging equipment in the field can add a new manufacturer inline, ensuring data remains complete and structured.
Compliance-first onboarding — Approve insurance and certification documents on the Provider Profile before issuing the first work order.
FAQ
What happened to the Vendors tab?
Vendors has been renamed and expanded into Providers & Network. Your existing vendor list is now My Providers, with the same records you had before plus a new tile view, profile pages, chat, and compliance tooling.
How do Preferred Provider stars work?
You can click the star indicator on a provider's card or list entry to mark them as a Preferred Provider. A star badge will also display on your My Providers page and list components for easy visual sorting.
Are Providers users in UpKeep?
No — Providers are reference records used across Work Orders, Purchase Orders, and reporting. They aren't user seats in your UpKeep account.
Can I create a Provider from any field?
Inline Provider Creation is specifically built for the asset Manufacturer field, allowing you to add new vendors/manufacturers as you are working with your asset records.