A bus loses an air line on the afternoon run. The driver pulls over and calls the office. Who tows a 40-foot bus in this town? Who has the after-hours number? Is the account with them on terms, or does someone need a card? The answer is on a sticky note on one person's monitor, and that person left at 2.
A school bus vendor list is the company's address book for every outside business you rely on: repair shops, parts and tire suppliers, towing, body shops, fuel and insurance. Here's who belongs on it, what to keep for each, the paperwork worth collecting, and how to see what you've paid each vendor over the year.
Who belongs on a school bus vendor list?
Anyone you call when something breaks, anyone you buy from more than once, and anyone who insures you. For a 10 to 50 bus contractor that's usually a short list, grouped by type:
| Vendor type | Examples | What to know before you need them |
|---|---|---|
| Repair shop | Heavy-duty or dealer service, a mobile mechanic | Which bus makes and engines they work on, and how fast they can take one |
| Parts supplier | Local parts store, dealer parts counter, online supplier | Your account number, the counter's hours, and who delivers |
| Tire supplier | Commercial tire dealer, road service | Sizes they stock for your buses, and whether they come to the yard |
| Towing | Heavy-duty towing company | A 24-hour number, and whether they can tow a full-size bus |
| Body shop | Collision and glass repair | Whether they work with your insurer on claims |
| Fuel provider | Fuel card network, bulk delivery | Delivery days, and who to call about a card |
| Insurance | Your carrier and your agent | The claims phone number, and your policy numbers |
Tip: Keep at least two towing companies and two tire services on the list. The one you always use won't always answer at 6 AM.
What to keep for every vendor
- Company name and type, so you can find all towing companies at once.
- Contact person and a direct phone number, plus an after-hours line if they have one.
- Email, for quotes, invoices and certificates.
- Address and website, for a pick-up or a parts lookup.
- Payment terms, so the office knows when a bill is due.
- Notes: your account number, what they're approved for, and anything the next person should know (call before 10 for same-day parts).
Payment terms, in plain words
Payment terms are what a vendor agrees to about when you pay. Write them down when you open the account, because they shape cash flow when you're waiting on district payments.
| Term | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| Due on receipt | Pay when the invoice arrives |
| Net 15 / Net 30 | Pay the full amount within 15 or 30 days of the invoice date |
| 2/10 net 30 | Take 2% off if you pay within 10 days. Otherwise the full amount is due in 30 |
| COD | Pay at delivery or pick-up |
| Card on file | Charged when the work is done |
These are common meanings, not rules. Each vendor's invoice or account agreement says what applies to you.
Paperwork to collect from vendors
A vendor list is also a good place to keep track of the papers you should have on file:
- Form W-9. It gives you the vendor's name and taxpayer ID, which you need if you have to send them a Form 1099. Ask for it before you pay a new vendor the first time.
- Certificate of insurance. Many contractors ask repair shops, towing and body shops for one that shows their liability coverage, and note when it expires. Your own insurer or district contract may say what's required.
- Your account agreement or credit application, with the payment terms on it.
- Any district requirement. Some transportation contracts say which shops may work on buses, or ask for records of who did the repairs.
About the 1099: for payments made in 2026, the IRS threshold for reporting nonemployee compensation on Form 1099-NEC rose to $2,000 a year per payee (it was $600 for payments in 2025), and it will be adjusted for inflation from 2027. Payments to most corporations generally aren't reported, and neither are payments for merchandise such as parts bought over the counter. A repair bill that includes parts as part of the service is treated as a payment for services.
Good to know: This is general information, not tax advice. Whether a vendor needs a 1099 depends on how they're organized and what you paid them for. Check with your accountant or the IRS instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC.
How to see what you've paid each vendor
The question that comes up every year is how much did we spend with that shop? You can only answer it if every bill is tied to the vendor when it's entered.
- Pick the vendor on every repair and every expense, not just the big ones.
- Use one name per vendor. ABC Truck Repair and A.B.C. Trucks turn into two vendors and two half-totals.
- Once a year, sort vendors by what you spent with them. Look at the top few: are their rates still fair, and is there a second option?
- Look at which buses go to which shop. A bus that's at the repair shop every month may cost more to keep than to replace. See school bus cost per mile.
- Clean up the list. Merge duplicates, and keep vendors you've used for their history rather than deleting them.
A school bus vendor list checklist
- Every repair shop, parts and tire supplier, towing company, body shop, fuel provider and insurer you use
- A type for each, so you can find them fast
- A contact person, phone, email, address and website
- Payment terms and your account number
- Two towing companies and two tire services, with after-hours numbers
- A W-9 on file before the first payment
- Certificates of insurance where you ask for them, with their expiry dates
- Every work order and expense tied to its vendor
- A yearly look at what you spent with each one
Doing it in FleetCommander
FleetCommander's Vendors page is the list. Manage › Add vendor asks for the Company name, Vendor type (Repair shop, Parts supplier, Tire supplier, Fuel provider, Insurance, Towing, Body shop or Other), Contact person, Phone, Email, Address, Website, Payment terms and Notes, then Save vendor. Manage › Import CSV loads a whole list from a spreadsheet, and Export CSV downloads it, as filtered or just the rows you tick.
The list shows each vendor's Type, Contact, Payment terms and how many Work orders and Expenses use it. Search by name, contact or email, and the type buttons under the search (Repair shop, Towing and so on, each with a count) show just those. A vendor's page has Call and Email buttons and four tiles: Work orders and Expenses (how many, and what they came to), Parts supplied, and Payment terms. The menu on the left lists its Work orders, Parts supplied, Expenses and Policies (you see only the sections your role can open).
Vendors are picked where the money is entered: the Vendor on a work order (or In-house), the Vendor on an expense, the Supplier on a part in Warehouse & Inventory, and the Carrier on an insurance policy. A vendor that any of them use is kept for their history rather than deleted. See the Vendors guide, the Expenses guide and fleet maintenance software.
Ava (Beta), the assistant in the app, answers List the towing companies or Who's the contact at Acme Tire?. Say Add a vendor and she asks for what's missing, then shows a card. Nothing is saved until you press its button. More on her page.
Good to know: FleetCommander keeps the list and shows what each vendor's work orders and expenses came to. It doesn't pay vendors, track bills coming due, create purchase orders, rate vendors, store W-9s or certificates on a vendor, or prepare 1099s. Fuel fill-ups record a Fuel station by name, so they don't show on a vendor's page.
Related reading
Questions people ask
- What should be on a school bus vendor list?
- Every repair shop, parts and tire supplier, towing company, body shop, fuel provider and insurer you use, each with its type, a contact person, phone, email, address, website, payment terms and notes such as your account number.
- What does Net 30 mean on a vendor invoice?
- Usually that the full amount is due within 30 days of the invoice date. 2/10 net 30 adds a 2% discount if you pay within 10 days. Each vendor's invoice or agreement says what applies.
- Do I need a W-9 from every vendor?
- It's a good habit to get one before the first payment. It gives you the vendor's taxpayer ID, which you need if you have to file a Form 1099 for them. For 2026 payments, the 1099-NEC threshold is $2,000 a year per payee.
- How do I see how much we spent with one repair shop?
- Pick the vendor on every work order and expense when it's entered, and use one name per vendor. Then total them by vendor once a year and compare the top few with other options.