Why customers are showing in vendors list and vice versa in odoo?

In Odoo, Customers and Vendors are not separate master records. A single Contact (Partner) can act as both a Customer and a Vendor, which is why you see customers in the vendor list and vice-versa. This is by design, not an error.

Why this happens in Odoo

Single Contact Model

Odoo uses one contact record for:

  • Customers

  • Vendors

  • Both

So the same company/person can:

  • Receive sales invoices (customer)

  • Receive vendor bills (supplier)

“Customer” and “Vendor” are Roles, Not Types

A contact becomes:

  • Customer → when a Customer Invoice / Sales Order is created

  • Vendor → when a Vendor Bill / Purchase Order is created

Once used in both, the contact appears in both lists.

How to control / clean this behavior

Use Contact Tags (Best Practice)

Create tags like:

  • Customer

  • Vendor

  • Customer + Vendor

Steps:

  1. Contacts → Configuration → Tags

  2. Assign tags to contacts

  3. Filter lists using tags