---
id: KB-CC-008
url: https://app.codecontract.io/help/contacts-and-channels/a-contact-who-is-both-client-and-supplier
idioma: en
categoria: contactos-canales
audiencia: usuario
nivel: intermedio
actualizado: 2026-08-13
tambienEn: [es]
relacionados: [KB-CC-006, KB-CC-003]
citadoPor: [KB-CC-015]
---

# When the same contact is both client and supplier

_One record or two, and what breaks if you choose wrong._

**Responde a:** the same company is both client and supplier · duplicate a contact per role · one contact in two different processes · organising contacts with multiple relationships

It happens more than you would think: the company you buy from also buys from you, or the firm that runs your payroll is also a client. The question is whether that is one record or two, and the answer matters because it affects the history.

## The rule

**One record per real person or organisation, not per relationship.** A company is one company even if you have two dealings with it. Duplicating splits its history into halves and neither tells the whole story.

| Situation | What to do |
| --- | --- |
| Same company, same contact person | One record |
| Same company, different people per area | One record per person, all under the same company |
| Two entities in the same group | Two records: they are different entities and invoice separately |

## What separates the two relationships is not the record

It is the case. Onboarding them as a supplier and contracting them as a client are two separate cases about the same contact, each running its own course. The record only says how to reach that person.

> [!WARNING]
> If you duplicate by role, sooner or later you will update the email on one record and not the other. From then on half your notices go to an address nobody reads, and it takes weeks to work out why.

> [!IMPORTANT]
> Be careful what each side sees when a company is both. Being your supplier does not give them access to what you hold on them as a client: they are separate cases and it is worth checking permissions reflect that.

> [!NOTE]
> If you already have duplicates, merge rather than delete one. Merging joins the history; deleting loses half of it.

**Can I tag the relationship?**

Yes, and that is what lets you filter "my suppliers" without duplicating anything.

**Does the contact see both cases?**

Only what you asked them for in each, through their own link.

**What if their contact person changes?**

Update the record, and both cases use it.

## Ejemplos

**A company has its accountancy firm twice: as a supplier and as a client.**

- Merges the two records
- Keeps the two cases separate

→ Stops sending notices to an old address that had only been corrected on one of them.

**The same company is client and supplier and everything mixes.**

- Separates files by relationship type

→ Each relationship has its own history.

**A supplier notice reaches whoever handles the client side.**

- Records the contact for each relationship

→ The notice reaches the right person.

**Information from one relationship is shared in the other.**

- Checks the file before sharing

→ Nothing crosses that should not.

**The company record gets duplicated.**

- Keeps one company with two relationships

→ Shared data is updated once.

**A report adds both relationships together.**

- Queries by relationship type

→ Each figure says what it is.