Creating a new supplier in Exact Online sounds simple — until you do it. Main screen, contact details, bank account, contact person, payment terms, VAT settings, item links. Ten fields, three tabs, five minutes of clicking. And then you hopefully never need to touch it again, except that you do have new contacts and the IBAN changes and…
An AI assistant shortens this to one prompt. This article: how to manage suppliers in Exact Online through natural language, and which AP routines become easier as a result.
Creating a supplier in one prompt
"Create a new supplier: VanDijk Packaging Ltd, Companies House 12345678, VAT NL001234567B01, address Industrieweg 5 1234 AB Almere, payment terms 30 days, IBAN NL12 RABO 0123 4567 89, contact Henk Jansen henk@vandijk.nl 06-12345678."
The AI calls the right MCP tools in sequence: accounts_create, accounts_addresses_create, crm_bankaccounts_create and accounts_contacts_create. You get one confirmation with the new account number.
Updating bank account after a phishing alert
A supplier reports their bank account changed. This is one of the highest-risk fraud moments (BEC, business email compromise). Do it deliberately:
"Show the current bank account and payment history of supplier VanDijk Packaging."
Verify by phone via a previously known number. Then:
"Add a new bank account to VanDijk Packaging: NL98 INGB 0987 6543 21, and deactivate the old one."
The AI confirms every step so there is an audit trail of the change.
Keep contacts up to date
At larger suppliers contacts leave the company. A tidy CRM saves a lot of unnecessary back and forth:
"Which contact persons at our top-10 suppliers (by 2025 purchase volume) have not been updated in 12 months?"
An annual cleanup keeps your email reaching live people.
Pricing per supplier per item
Many items have multiple potential suppliers at different prices. The items_suppliers_* tools link items to suppliers. Ask:
"Which suppliers can deliver item A1001? Show purchase price and minimum order quantity."
For urgent orders: "Which supplier had the fastest lead time for A1001 last time?" — the AI combines items_suppliers_* with historical purchase order data. See also creating purchase orders with AI.
AP analysis: where does your money go?
Questions that make every quarterly analysis worthwhile:
"Give the top 20 suppliers by 2025 purchase volume, with their percentage of total spend."
"Which suppliers grew more than 30% in Q2 2026 versus Q1?"
"Which suppliers had no purchase activity in the past 6 months but are still flagged active?"
Purchase concentration, growth signals, and cleanup candidates in three questions.
AP position and payment planning
"Which open purchase invoices are due this month, grouped by supplier?"
With this view you plan your SEPA payments efficiently. Combine with cashflow forecasting with AI for a complete AP routine.
Tips for clean supplier admin
- Always fill in Companies House and VAT numbers — essential for automated checks and compliance.
- Set a procedure for IBAN changes: always verify by phone on a previously known number.
- Run a quarterly cleanup prompt — prevents the supplier list from becoming unmanageable.
- Document agreements (payment terms, discounts) in a notes field so others can find them.
Getting started
AP management is often an afterthought; yet mistakes here are expensive. A wrong IBAN, a missing VAT number, a duplicate supplier — all painful in hindsight. An AI assistant that structures your work helps with all three. Follow the MCP setup guide, see the prompt library, and also read processing purchase invoices with AI.