Sources and vendors
Updated
A source is where a sale came from, and a lead vendor is a source you have marked as a lead provider.
Where the list is used
Your office keeps one list of sources, and four places read it:
- Source Type on the Record a Sale window.
- Lead Provider in a leads upload, which offers only the sources marked as lead providers.
- The Leads page, where each vendor is a row on Conversions and on Marketing ROI.
- The Marketing Spend grid in Settings.
Open the Sources window
The Sources window opens. Manage sources, on the Lead & ad spend section of Revenue & spend, opens the same window. Only the owner can add, rename, merge or delete a source.
Add a source or a vendor
Sources also arrive on their own. A sales upload that carries a new source name adds it to the list. In a leads upload, a new name typed under Lead Provider links to the source it matches. When nothing matches, a window asks which source it is, with New source at the bottom.
Rename a source
You rename one row and everything follows it. Every sale recorded under the source, the vendor's leads and its spend all carry the new name. A name another source already uses is refused.
If a vendor's files still use the old spelling, add it under Manage aliases… so later uploads land on the same source.
Turn off, merge or delete
- Turn off hides a source from the sale form and the filters. Past sales keep it, and it waits under Turned off until you press Turn on. An upload that carries sales for it turns it back on.
- Merge into... moves a source's sales, leads and spend to the source you pick, then removes it.
- Delete asks first where the sales go.
The leads and the spend follow the sales. When the deleted source is a lead vendor, the source you picked becomes one too. With leads or spend involved, the move is all or nothing, and a green line in the window says what moved.
Leave blank (remove from sales) clears the source from those sales and moves nothing. For a lead vendor, reassign instead, so its leads and spend stay with a vendor.
Enter a vendor's spend
Quarterly shows the same amounts added up by quarter, for reading only. Costs that came in with a leads file are already in the grid. An amount you type replaces the file's cost for that vendor and month wherever spend is counted. The Office tab of the Data Management window holds the same amounts one month at a time.
The owner can enter spend, and so can a Custom member given Marketing spend.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a source and a lead vendor?
Every lead vendor is a source. A source becomes a lead vendor when you choose Mark as lead provider. Referrals and walk-ins stay plain sources: they are on the sale form and never in the leads upload.
Does renaming a source change my old sales?
Yes. Past sales, leads and spend all show the new name, and the figures stay the same.
What does the Spend tag mean?
The source has a row in the Marketing Spend grid. Lead providers always have one. Other sources get one when you choose Track marketing spend.
Why is a vendor missing from the Lead Provider list?
That list offers only sources marked as lead providers. Open Sources, find the row and choose Mark as lead provider.