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Subcontractors

Quick version: Subcontractors are outside workers you hire for specific jobs. Add them in Subcontractors from the sidebar, assign them to jobs, track their compliance documents, and record payments.

What subcontractors are in Fieldkit

Subcontractors (subs) are people or companies you bring in to help on a job -- an electrician you call for a rewire, a plumber for rough-in work, or a drywall crew. They are not on your team and they do not log into Fieldkit. You manage them from your admin dashboard.

This is different from team members (technicians and admins), who have their own Fieldkit accounts and see their assigned jobs.

Adding a subcontractor

  1. Go to Subcontractors in the sidebar.
  2. Click Add Subcontractor in the top-right corner.
  3. Fill in the details:
    • Contact Name (required) -- the person you deal with.
    • Business Name -- their company name, if different.
    • Phone and Email -- for quick contact.
    • Trades -- what they do (plumbing, electrical, HVAC, etc.). You can select multiple.
    • Default Hourly Rate -- their typical rate, used for cost estimates.
    • Notes -- anything you want to remember about this sub.
  4. Click Add Subcontractor.

You can always edit these details later from the sub's profile page.

Tracking compliance

For each subcontractor, Fieldkit tracks key documents:

  • Insurance certificate -- whether it is on file, the expiration date, and the uploaded document.
  • License -- license number, expiration date, and uploaded document.
  • W-9 -- whether it is on file and when it was received.

Compliance alerts

Fieldkit watches expiration dates for you. When insurance or a license is about to expire (within 30 days) or has already expired, you will see an alert banner at the top of the Subcontractors page. This helps you avoid sending an uninsured sub to a job site.

To update compliance documents:

  1. Go to Subcontractors and click on the sub's name.
  2. Click Edit to update expiration dates or upload new documents.
  3. Save your changes.

Assigning subs to jobs

Once a sub is in the system, you can assign them to any job:

  1. Open a job from the Jobs page.
  2. Scroll down to the Subcontractors section.
  3. Click Add Sub.
  4. Choose the subcontractor from the dropdown.
  5. Enter the Amount Owed (how much you are paying them for this job).
  6. Add any Notes specific to this assignment.
  7. Click Assign.

The sub will show up on the job with their payment status (pending, partial, or paid). You can also call them directly from the job page.

Recording payments

When you pay a subcontractor for a job:

  1. Open the job and find the sub in the Subcontractors section.
  2. Click Mark Paid.
  3. Enter the Amount Paid.
  4. Optionally add a Reference (check number, Zelle confirmation, etc.) and Notes.
  5. Click Record Payment.

Fieldkit tracks partial payments automatically. If you pay less than the full amount, the status shows Partial. Once the full amount is paid, it switches to Paid.

Viewing sub history

Click on any subcontractor's name to see their full profile, including:

  • Contact info and trades.
  • Compliance status (insurance, license, W-9).
  • Payment summary -- total owed, total paid, amount paid this year, and outstanding balance.
  • A list of all jobs they have been assigned to, with dates and payment status.

Sub payment reports

Go to Reports > Subcontractor Payments to see a summary of what you have paid to all your subs. This is helpful at tax time for preparing 1099s.

Archiving a subcontractor

If you stop working with a sub, you can archive them instead of deleting:

  1. Open the sub's profile page.
  2. Click Archive.
  3. Confirm.

Archived subs do not show up in your active list or the job assignment dropdown, but their history and payment records are preserved.

Tips

  • Keep insurance and license dates up to date. Compliance alerts only work if the expiration dates are entered.
  • Use the Trades field when adding subs so you can quickly filter and find the right person for a job.
  • Record payments as you make them -- it saves a headache at year-end when you need 1099 totals.
  • You can reactivate an archived sub at any time if you start working with them again.

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