Skip to main content

Adding a New FFL Vendor (Step by Step)

Adding a new FFL vendor to CloudFFL takes just a few steps. The FFL Lookup feature connects directly to FastBound, which looks up the dealer in the ATF database and automatically fills in their address, license name, and contact information — you only need to know their FFL number.

Before You Start

  • Have the vendor's FFL number ready. It is a 15-character code, usually written with dashes: X-XX-XXX-XX-XX-XXXXX. You can find it on their paperwork or their SOT/FFL license.
  • Make sure your FastBound account is connected in CloudFFL (see Connecting Your FastBound Account if not).

Step by Step

  1. Go to Purchase → Vendors or open the Contacts app.
  2. Click New.
  3. Make sure Company is selected at the top (not Individual).
  4. Enter a company name — just enough to identify them for now.
  5. Click Save to give the record an ID before running the lookup.
  6. Click on the FastBound Compliance tab.
  7. Click the Lookup FFL button (or Create FastBound Link — both open the same wizard).
  8. The FFL Lookup wizard opens. Type or paste the vendor's FFL number into the FFL Number field. You can enter it with or without dashes — CloudFFL formats it automatically.
  9. Click Look Up FFL.
  10. FastBound queries the ATF database. In a few seconds, the result screen displays the dealer's information:
    • License Name and Trade Name (their official business name)
    • Premise address, city, state, and ZIP
    • FFL expiration date
    • SOT class (if applicable)
  11. Review the information to confirm it matches the vendor you intended.
  12. Choose how to link this FFL to a partner. The wizard gives you two options: Link to Selected Partner (connects to the contact you started from) or Create New Partner (creates a brand new contact from the ATF data). Since you just created this vendor, select Link to Selected Partner.
  13. Click Confirm.

What Happens After You Confirm

  • The vendor's address, city, state, and ZIP on their contact record are updated with the official ATF data.
  • Phone and email are filled in if they were blank.
  • The vendor is marked as Is FFL and flagged as a supplier.
  • A FastBound link record is created, storing the FFL number and the FastBound contact ID. This is what lets FastBound log acquisitions with this vendor as the source.

Note: The vendor's name on the contact record is not overwritten by the ATF data when linking to an existing partner. Only the address, phone (if blank), and email (if blank) are updated. If you chose Create New Partner instead, the new contact would be created with the official name from the ATF record.

Tip: If the FFL number you enter is not found in the ATF database, you will see an error. Double-check the number — a single transposed character will cause a lookup failure. Ask the vendor to confirm their FFL number directly from their license certificate.

Tip: If this vendor already exists as a contact in your FastBound account, the wizard finds them automatically instead of creating a duplicate. You still get all the same address data populated.

Back to top