Merging Suppliers
Over time, duplicate supplier profiles can creep into your system - especially when invoices arrive with slightly different supplier names, or when multiple team members add the same supplier independently. The merge feature lets you consolidate duplicate suppliers into a single profile without losing any data.
When to merge
Common scenarios where merging is useful:
- Naming variations - "Metro Foods" and "Metro Foods Ltd" are the same supplier.
- Acquisitions - a supplier has been taken over and you want to consolidate under the new name.
- Accidental duplicates - the same supplier was added manually and also auto-created from an invoice.
How to merge suppliers
- Navigate to CostingBrik > Suppliers.
- Open the More menu and select Merge Suppliers.
- Follow the three-step process.
Step 1: Select suppliers
Choose two suppliers:
- Supplier to remove - the duplicate profile that will be deactivated after merging.
- Supplier to keep - the profile that will absorb all records from the removed supplier.
Brikly suggests potential matches based on name similarity, shown with confidence badges to help you identify likely duplicates quickly.
Step 2: Preview the merge
Before anything changes, Brikly shows you exactly what will be transferred. The preview includes counts across all affected areas:
| Category | What transfers |
|---|---|
| Ingredients | Ingredient-supplier links and pricing |
| Consumables | Consumable-supplier links and pricing |
| Invoices | All historical invoices |
| Contacts | Contact details from the removed supplier |
| Matching patterns | AI-learned matching patterns |
| Analytics | Spending and pricing analytics |
| VAT patterns | Learned VAT rate patterns |
| Emergency patterns | Emergency purchase patterns |
This gives you full visibility before committing to the merge.
Step 3: Confirm and merge
Review the summary and optionally add a merge note to document why the consolidation was made (e.g. "Duplicate created from invoice - same supplier as Metro Foods").
Click Confirm Merge to execute. All records transfer to the kept supplier, and the removed supplier is deactivated.
Once confirmed, the merge is permanent. The removed supplier's profile is deactivated and all its records are reassigned to the kept supplier. Take a moment to review the preview carefully before confirming.
Permissions
Merging suppliers requires delete permissions in CostingBrik. Typically only owners and admins have this level of access.
Tips
- Merge before processing new invoices - if you spot a duplicate, merge it before processing the next invoice from that supplier. This prevents the learning system from building separate patterns for each profile.
- Use the merge note - a quick note helps your team understand why a supplier disappeared from the list.
- Check suggested matches - the confidence badges highlight the most likely duplicates, saving you time searching manually.