Form W-9

Form W-9, or Request for Taxpayer Identification Number, is an IRS form used to confirm a contractor’s identity and TIN.

In Zoho Books, you can allow vendors to generate and upload Form W-9 through the vendor portal or request them to send it via email. Also, create a custom view to display only vendors with Form W-9 attached on the List View page and use Advanced Search to track vendors who have Form W-9 attached or not attached.

How Form W-9 Works in Zoho Books

If the vendor has already provided the Form W-9, you can attach it while creating the vendor and enabling the option to track 1099 payments. If not, you can request the Form W-9 by sending them an email. Alternatively, if you’ve enabled the vendor portal, you can allow vendors to generate using the integrated Form W-9 Generator tool and upload it directly from the portal.

Once the vendor uploads the Form W-9 in the portal, it is attached to their profile in Zoho Books. Alternatively, vendors can email the Form W-9, which you can manually upload to their profile in Zoho Books. You can also send bulk email requests to multiple vendors. After attaching the Form W-9, you can create Custom Views or use Advanced Search to track vendors with or without the Form W-9 attached.

Request Form W-9 via Email From the Vendor

You need a Form W-9 from the vendor to generate the Form 1099 and ensure your business stays compliant with the IRS regulations. Attach the Form W-9 to the vendor for whom you are tracking payments for Form 1099 filing. If your vendor hasn’t provided a copy of the Form W-9, a warning will appear on the Vendor Details page. From there, you can request the form by sending them an email. Here’s how:

• Go to Purchases on the left sidebar, and select Vendors.
• Select the vendor you want to contact.
• On the Details page, under the Overview tab, in the Other Details section, look for the warning that says Form W-9 is missing. Click Request via Email next to the warning.
• In the page that follows, review the email that appears and click Send to email the vendor.

Now, an email will be sent to the vendor, asking them to reply with the completed Form W-9. If they need to generate the form, they can use the Form W-9 Generator tool provided in the email. Once they generate the Form W-9, or if they already have the Form W-9, they can attach it to an email and send it to you. You can then attach the Form W-9 provided by the vendor and attach it under their profile in Zoho Books.

Request Form W-9 from Vendors in Bulk

If you have multiple vendors who haven’t provided your business with the Form W-9 yet, you can select all these vendors at once and send them an email requesting the Form W-9. Here’s how:

• Go to Purchases on the left sidebar, and select Vendors.
• In the List View page, hover over and select the vendors to whom you want to send an email requesting vendors.
• Click Request Form W-9 in the top left corner.

Now, an email will be sent to the selected vendors requesting them to share their Form W-9 with your business. They can attach the Form W-9 in an email and send it as a reply.

Manually Attach Form W-9 to Your Vendor in Zoho Books

Once the vendor emails you the Form W-9, you can manually attach it to their profile in Zoho Books. Here’s how:

• Go to Purchases on the left sidebar, and select Vendors.
• Select the vendor you want to attach the Form W-9 to.
• In the Details page, under the Overview tab, in the Other Details section, in the Form W-9 field, click Attach File and upload the vendor’s Form W-9.

Now, once you attach the file, the warning shown will disappear, and you can use the vendor’s Form W-9 details to generate a Form 1099.

Enable Vendors to Upload Form W-9 in the Vendor Portal

If your vendor hasn’t submitted their Form W-9, the easiest way to request and attach it is by allowing them to upload it directly through the vendor portal. If you haven’t provided access for vendors to upload their Form W-9, you can enable the option to allow them to do so. Here’s how:

• Go to Settings.
• Select Vendor Portal under Preferences.
• Scroll down and check Allow vendors to update their contact details in the portal. Also check Collect vendor’s organization details when they onboard portal if you want to display an onboarding screen for the first-time users to fill in their details. These details will be saved under their vendor contact in Zoho Books.
• Click Save.

Now, once you enable the vendor portal for a vendor, they can upload their Form W-9 directly through the vendor portal. After the vendor uploads the Form W-9, it is automatically attached to the vendor profile in Zoho Books. You can then use the Form W-9 details to generate the Form 1099 report.

Your vendors can refer to the help document to learn more about how to generate and upload Form W-9 in the vendor portal.

Other Actions in Form W-9

Set Up a Custom View for Form W-9 Vendors

To view vendor details with specific columns, for vendors with Form W-9 attached, you can set up a custom view. Here’s how:

• Go to Purchases on the left sidebar, and select Vendors.
• In the List View page, click the All Vendors dropdown at the top left corner, and select + New Custom View from the dropdown.
• In the New Custom View page, fill in the following fields:
  • Name: Enter a name for this custom view.
  • Mark as Favorite: Select this if you’ll use this view frequently.
  • Define the Criteria: Set the field to Form W-9, then specify if you want to view vendors with W-9 attached or not. Click + Add Criterion to add more filters if needed.
  • Columns Preference: Choose the columns you’d like to view in the List View page.
  • Visibility Preference: Select Only Me (private view), or Only Selected Users and Roles (shared with selected users), or Everyone (accessible to all users in the organization).
• Click Save.

Now, you can select the custom view from the dropdown in the top right corner of the List View page to view the details as you configured it.

Advanced Search for Vendors With or Without Form W-9

You can use advanced search to find vendors with Form W-9 attached or those without it. Here’s how:

• Log in to your Zoho Books account.
• Click the Search icon in the search bar at the top of the page, and select Advanced Search from the dropdown.
• In the popup, select the module as Vendors in the Search dropdown, then go to the Form W-9 field and choose Attached or Not Attached to find vendors with or without Form W-9. Click Search to see your selected vendors.

Now, based on your selection, you can view vendors with or without Form W-9 attached.