Vendor Contractor Management

Vendor & Contractor Management

What it is: External management.

Overview

Works out the smallest useful Vendor & Contractor Management setup for the business in front of it, then builds it only when asked. The default output is a short recommendation, not a spreadsheet. Artifacts - CSV, SQL DDL, JSON Schema, Notion mapping - are produced on request, from one field list so they cannot drift apart.

Layer: Layer 8: Operate. Fits: Scale stage. Table code: n/a.

When to Use This Skill

• vendor management
• supplier tracker
• contractor register
• vendor database

Also use it when the user says "external management", or describes the same process happening in a spreadsheet, a document or someone inboxes.

Do not use it for: payroll calculation, tax filing, or legal advice. This skill produces empty templates only - it never holds or processes real employee or customer data.

How It Works

Follow the shared execution contract. The module-specific rules below define only domain fields, decisions, calculations, and safety constraints.

Step 1 - Identify intent

Read the request and pick the intent before asking anything.

• "set up" or "build" or "create" -> the user wants artifacts; go to Step 2.
• "our process is ..." or "it is in a sheet" -> the user wants to move an existing process; capture it, then Step 2.
• "is this right" or "review" or "audit" -> the user wants a check, not a build; answer from what they share.
• "how do I ..." -> advice question; answer directly and offer the build only if it helps.

Ask only if this is the highest-value missing fact; otherwise proceed without an opener:

Q: How many vendors or contractors do you work with?

Step 2 - Ask only what is missing

Skip anything the user already answered, in any earlier message. Ask the rest one at a time, and stop as soon as the remaining answers would not change the output.

• Vendors - How many active? / What do they supply? / Any single point of failure?
• Commercials - Cost or rate? / Fixed or recurring? / Renewal dates?
• Risk - Any compliance or security check? / Owner per vendor? / Data shared with them?
• Current process - Is it recorded now? / Accounts payable or nothing? / What gets missed?
• Outcome - What do you need? / A vendor register, a review cycle or both?

Never invent an answer. If the user does not know, record it as unknown and carry on.

Step 3 - Hold the internal context

Hold the answers in this shape. It stays internal - it is not shown to the user unless they ask, and it never carries a value the user did not give.

module: vendor-contractor-management
intent: null            # setup | advice | review | fix | build | convert | export
scale: null             # Starter | Growth | Scale, only if the answer changes it
areas:
  "Vendors": null
  "Commercials": null
  "Risk": null
  "Current process": null
  "Outcome": null
requested_outputs: []   # csv | sql | json | notion | xlsx - requested formats only
confirmed_facts: []     # only what the user actually said
open_questions: []      # the unanswered ones, in the order worth asking

Step 4 - Recommend the smallest workflow

If an artifact was requested, build it after resolving essential missing facts. Otherwise give a short recommendation and offer the relevant artifact.

Recommended approach: One record per vendor with an owner, the renewal date and what they can access, and review the ones with data or system access more often.

Why this one: Vendor risk concentrates in the few vendors with access. Tag those and review them; the rest need a register, not a process.

Workflow: Vendor recorded → Owner assigned → Due diligence → Review → Renewed or ended

Step 5 - Build only on request

Once the user asks for it, derive the fields from the confirmed context and emit the requested artifacts. For machine-readable text, keep prose outside the data; for files, provide a usable link. Report material validation failures or limitations separately.

A selected Notion output is rendered by notion-manual-import, so route the Notion step there. When the user selects Notion, hand that step to @notion-manual-import: it holds the CSV, the property mapping, the import steps and the verification checklist, and it renders the Field Reference below instead of defining a table of its own. Do not restate the mapping here and do not improvise the import steps. Manual CSV and mapping outputs need no connection. For requested workspace changes, follow the shared contract: verify actual tool access and the target before writing. A user saying "connected" is not tool evidence. Never ask for a Notion password or token.

For an Excel-compatible CSV, use UTF-8 with a byte order mark so Excel opens the text correctly. A CSV is not an .xlsx workbook; create .xlsx only when the user requests a workbook. A CSV carries no types, so after it, name the columns that need a number, date or currency format applied.

Vendor Name,Vendor Type,Services,Contact Person,Email,Phone,Department,Linked Contract,Contract Start,Contract End,Payment Terms,Rating,Status,Vendor ID
Acme Corp,SaaS,"Cloud hosting, support",Rahul Mehta,rahul.mehta@example.com,+91 98xxxxxx21,Delivery,CON-2026-009,2026-01-01,2026-12-31,30 days,4,Active,

CREATE TABLE vendor_contractor_management (
  vendor_name VARCHAR(255),
  vendor_type VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL,
  services VARCHAR(255),
  contact_person VARCHAR(255),
  email VARCHAR(255),
  phone VARCHAR(255),
  department VARCHAR(255),
  linked_contract VARCHAR(255),  -- relation -> target record
  contract_start DATE NOT NULL,
  contract_end DATE NOT NULL,
  payment_terms VARCHAR(255),
  rating NUMERIC NOT NULL,
  status VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL,
  vendor_id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
  created_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT NOW(),
  updated_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT NOW()
);

CREATE INDEX idx_vendor_contractor_management_status ON vendor_contractor_management (status);

{
  "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
  "title": "Vendor & Contractor Management",
  "type": "object",
  "additionalProperties": false,
  "properties": {
      "Vendor Name": { "type": "string" },
      "Vendor Type": { "type": "string" },
      "Services": { "type": "string" },
      "Contact Person": { "type": "string" },
      "Email": { "type": "string", "format": "email" },
      "Phone": { "type": "string" },
      "Department": { "type": "string" },
      "Linked Contract": { "type": "string" },
      "Contract Start": { "type": "string", "format": "date" },
      "Contract End": { "type": "string", "format": "date" },
      "Payment Terms": { "type": "string" },
      "Rating": { "type": "number" },
      "Status": { "type": "string" },
      "Vendor ID": { "type": "integer" }
  },
  "required": [
      "Vendor Type",
      "Contract Start",
      "Contract End",
      "Rating",
      "Status"
  ]
}

| CSV column | Notion property | Set after import |
|---|---|---|
| Vendor Name | Title | Use as the database title |
| Vendor Type | Select (add options after import) | Convert to Select, add options: "SaaS", "Service", "Contractor", "Consultant", "Landlord" |
| Services | Text | Leave as Text |
| Contact Person | Text | Leave as Text |
| Email | Email | Convert to Email |
| Phone | Text | Leave as Text |
| Department | Text | Leave as Text |
| Linked Contract | Relation (link to the target database) | Convert to Relation, link to the target database |
| Contract Start | Date | Convert to Date |
| Contract End | Date | Convert to Date |
| Payment Terms | Text | Leave as Text |
| Rating | Number | Convert to Number |
| Status | Select (add options after import) | Convert to Select, add options: "Prospect", "Onboarding", "Active", "Under Review", "Offboarding", "Terminated" |
| Vendor ID | Text (preserve source ID) | Keep imported IDs as Text; optionally add a separate Unique ID property |

The rows above are documentation examples only. Emit empty templates unless the user explicitly requests examples. Money stays currency, dates stay date, and anything pointing at another table stays relation.

Field Reference