Vendor supplier, searched as one phrase, is usually somebody trying to work out whether the two words mean different things and whether it matters for their records. The distinction is real in supply chain terminology, it matters in manufacturing and distribution, and for a small business keeping a list of the companies it pays, what matters is using one word consistently.
The everyday definition
A vendor is any company or person your business pays for goods or services. That is the whole of the working definition, and it deliberately includes the utility, the software subscription, the accountant and the company that services the air conditioning. Anything narrower produces a vendor list with gaps in it, and the gaps are always the suppliers nobody remembered.
The supply chain distinction, and its limits
In supply chain language a supplier provides inputs you transform or resell, while a vendor sells a finished good or service to the end buyer. The distinction is real and it matters in manufacturing and distribution, where the two relationships genuinely differ in contracts, lead times and quality management. For a business buying for its own use, nothing turns on it.
What to standardise instead of the noun
Legal entity name, owner, category, status, documents with expiry dates, and the contract with its notice date. Those are the fields you will actually search and sort by. Picking one word and using it everywhere matters far more than picking the right word, because two words for one row is how a list ends up split across two spreadsheets.
Questions people ask about vendor supplier
Who counts as a vendor?
Anyone your business pays for goods or services. Utilities, software subscriptions, professional advisers and contractors all count, and leaving them out is how vendor lists end up missing the suppliers that cause the surprises.
Is a contractor a vendor?
For record-keeping purposes yes: they are paid, they may hold data or site access, and they need the same file. Their employment status is a separate question with its own rules and is not settled by what your vendor list calls them.
Does the word we use change the paperwork?
No. A W-9, insurance where it is warranted, verified bank details, a signed agreement and a named contact are what you need from any of them, and the diligence is sized by what they touch.