Have you ever felt like juggling vendor communications is an event in and of itself?

Because… same.

Between emails, phone calls, planning meetings, follow-ups, and “wait which vendor said WHAT,” it can get chaotic fast. Especially if you’re the kind of creative business owner (or event planner) who’s managing vendor communication on behalf of your client.

That’s why today we’re talking about how Dubsado can help you communicate better with vendors, specifically when it comes to scheduling and keeping details organized.

This question actually came from a past client of mine, Jill (hi Jill 🫶). She’s an event planner + event decor queen, and she asked:

“Can the scheduler in Dubsado be used to schedule vendor phone calls also, or is it only for clients?”

Answer: Yes, you can absolutely use Dubsado for vendors.
Clients, vendors, contractors, consultants, affiliates… if you need to keep communication tidy, Dubsado can handle it.

Now let’s talk about the two methods you can use so you can pick what fits your brain and your business.

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Method 1: Manage vendor communication without creating projects

This is the “lightweight” option. Perfect if you work with:

• a handful of vendors
• vendors you already know well
• vendors you just need to schedule with occasionally

Step 1: Add vendors to your Address Book

In Dubsado, go to Utilities → Address Book and add your vendor as a contact.

From their profile, you can:

• email them directly
• keep notes
• send forms (not connected to a project, but still useful)

Step 2: Use a scheduler link from your Scheduler Templates

Here’s the catch: in the Address Book, you don’t have the “Appointments” tab like you do inside a project.

So instead, you create a scheduler template (something like “Vendor Call”) and share the link manually.

To make this feel polished, I recommend creating a canned email that includes a button link to your scheduler. Then every time you need to book a vendor call, you’re not rewriting the same email from scratch.

What to expect with this method

This method works great, but you’ll notice:

• The appointment does land on your calendar ✅
• The vendor gets confirmation emails and reminders ✅
• Your calendar event might not include all the same embedded project/client details you’d get from a project-based appointment ❗

So if you mainly just need, “Cool, we have a call on Tuesday,” this is an easy win.

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Method 2: Manage vendors using projects (more organized, more context)

If you want vendor calls to feel fully tied to information (and show up with more details in your calendar), projects are where it gets really good.

This is best if:

• you handle vendor communication for multiple client events
• you want everything in one place (emails, notes, meetings)
• you need context quickly when a call pops up

Step 1: Create a “Vendors” project status

Go to your Projects area and customize statuses to add something like Vendors.

This keeps vendor projects separate from client projects, which helps your Dubsado dashboard feel calm and not like everything is mixed together.

Step 2: Choose your flavor: one project per vendor OR one project per event

You’ve got two solid ways to do this:

Option A: One project per vendor

Example: “Sally’s Florals” gets one ongoing project.

Use this if:

• you work with the same vendors repeatedly
• you want one timeline of communication per vendor
• you don’t need things separated by event

Inside that project, you can use the Appointments tab and send scheduling links that are tied to the project. That means when the call hits your calendar, you’ll see more context and details.

Option B: Multiple projects per vendor (one per event)

Example:

• “Steve & Anna Wedding | Sally’s Florals”
• “Corporate Gala | Sally’s Florals”

Use this if:

• you need vendor communication tied to specific events
• you want to search by event and instantly see vendor history
• you like seeing project dates lined up per event

This is especially helpful for event planners because you can put the event date in the project and keep everything neatly grouped.

Bonus: Automate vendor project creation with a scheduler + form

If you want to get fancy (in a good way), you can attach a form to your vendor scheduler so when they book a call:

• the form captures their info (like company name)
• Dubsado creates a project automatically
• you can build a workflow to move that project into your “Vendors” status

It’s a little setup on the front end, but once it’s built… it’s such a relief.

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A quick “which method should I choose?” guide

If you want it simple and fast:

• No projects
• Address Book + scheduler link + canned email

If you want it organized and detailed:

• Projects
• Vendor status + appointments inside projects

And if you’re dealing with lots of events and lots of moving parts?
Projects will probably feel like a deep breath.

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Want help implementing this in your own Dubsado?

This is exactly the kind of question that gets asked inside The Smarter Creative Society (and honestly I love questions like this because they’re so real-life).

If you want support, strategy, and tutorials you can actually understand, you can check out the Society here:
👉 https://society.thesmartercreative.com/

And if you want to try Dubsado (or you’re ready to finally set it up in a way that makes sense), you can get 30% off your first month or year with my link!

If you’d rather talk it through with me first, you can book a free clarity call here:
👉 https://www.thesmartercreative.com/call ✨

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A couple related resources that pair well with this

If you’re cleaning up your Dubsado system overall, these will help:

• Simplifying Contract and Invoice Adjustments with Dubsado
• Dubsado Custom Proposals: Two Methods to Streamline Your Client Wins

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With systems and a touch of magic on your side,
Lauren ✨