Managing Subcontractors

CE Pro lets you maintain a roster of subcontractors and assign them to jobs. This is useful when you bring in outside help for installations, overflow work, or specialized services. Go to Settings --> Subcontractors to manage your subcontractor list.

When to Use Subcontractors

Subcontractors are external workers or companies that you hire on a per-job basis. Common scenarios include:

• Overflow work -- You have more jobs scheduled than your in-house crew can handle.
• Specialized services -- A job requires skills or equipment your team does not have, such as electrical work for holiday lights or high-rise window cleaning.
• Seasonal scaling -- During peak seasons, you bring in additional crews to handle increased demand.
• Geographic coverage -- You subcontract work in areas outside your primary service territory.

Subcontractors are tracked separately from team members. They do not have login access to CE Pro and do not appear in team management or permission settings.

Adding a Subcontractor

1. Go to Settings --> Subcontractors.
2. Click the Add Subcontractor button.
3. Fill in the subcontractor details:

• Name -- The subcontractor's full name or company name.
• Phone -- Their primary phone number.
• Email -- Their email address.
• Specialty -- The type of work they perform (for example, "Holiday Light Installation", "Pressure Washing", "Electrical").
• Notes -- Any additional information, such as certifications, insurance details, or scheduling preferences.

1. Click Save.

The subcontractor appears in your list and is immediately available for job assignment.

Editing a Subcontractor

1. Go to Settings --> Subcontractors.
2. Click the Edit button on the subcontractor you want to update.
3. Modify any fields.
4. Click Save.

Changes take effect immediately. Existing job assignments are not affected by edits to the subcontractor record.

Removing a Subcontractor

1. Go to Settings --> Subcontractors.
2. Click the Delete button on the subcontractor.
3. Confirm the deletion.

Removing a subcontractor does not delete their historical job assignments. Past jobs retain the subcontractor's name and details for reporting purposes. The subcontractor is simply removed from the list of available assignees for future jobs.

Assigning Subcontractors to Jobs

Once a subcontractor is in your roster, you can assign them to any scheduled job.

From the Schedule Page

1. Go to Schedule in the sidebar.
2. Click on a job to open the job detail sheet.
3. In the Crew Assignment section, click Assign.
4. Select the subcontractor from the list. Subcontractors appear in a separate section from your in-house team members.
5. Confirm the assignment.

From the Job Detail Page

1. Go to Jobs in the sidebar.
2. Click on a job to view its details.
3. Scroll to the Assigned Crew section.
4. Click Add Crew Member.
5. Select the subcontractor.
6. Save the change.

Multiple Assignments

You can assign multiple subcontractors to a single job, or mix in-house crew members with subcontractors on the same job. Each person assigned to the job appears in the crew list.

Tracking Subcontractor Work

CE Pro tracks subcontractor activity alongside your regular crew work.

Job History

Each subcontractor's work history is visible on the Subcontractors page. Click on a subcontractor's name to see:

• Jobs Assigned -- A list of all jobs the subcontractor has been assigned to.
• Jobs Completed -- The number of jobs marked as complete.
• Date Range -- The date of their first and most recent assignment.

On the Schedule

Subcontractor assignments are visible on the daily and weekly schedule views. They appear with a distinct indicator so you can quickly distinguish between in-house crew and subcontractors.

Job Completion

When a subcontractor completes a job, mark it as complete the same way you would for any crew:

1. Open the job from the Schedule or Jobs page.
2. Click Mark Complete.
3. The job status updates and any follow-up automations (review requests, invoicing) trigger as normal.

Payment Tracking

CE Pro helps you track what you owe subcontractors, though actual payments are processed outside the system.

Recording Subcontractor Pay

When a job is completed with a subcontractor assigned, you can record the payment amount:

1. Open the completed job.
2. In the Subcontractor Pay section, enter the amount agreed upon for this job.
3. Set the payment status:

• Unpaid -- The subcontractor has not been paid yet.
• Paid -- Payment has been issued.

1. Save the record.

Payment Summary

View a summary of all subcontractor payments from the Subcontractors page:

1. Go to Settings --> Subcontractors.
2. Click on a subcontractor's name.
3. The Payment Summary section shows:

• Total Owed -- Sum of all unpaid job amounts.
• Total Paid -- Sum of all paid job amounts.
• Jobs Pending Payment -- Number of completed jobs with unpaid status.

Filtering by Payment Status

Use the filters on the Subcontractors page to quickly find outstanding payments:

1. Click the Status filter dropdown.
2. Select Unpaid to see all subcontractors with outstanding balances.
3. Click on a subcontractor to see which specific jobs need payment.

Subcontractors vs. Team Members

Understanding the difference helps you choose the right approach:

If a subcontractor needs to log in to CE Pro, view their schedule, or access client information, add them as a team member with a restricted role instead.

Tips

• Keep subcontractor records up to date. Verify phone numbers and email addresses regularly, especially before peak season.
• Use the specialty field consistently. This makes it easy to find the right subcontractor when assigning specialized jobs.
• Add notes about insurance coverage, license numbers, and expiration dates. Review these before assigning work that requires current credentials.
• Record subcontractor pay promptly after job completion. A backlog of untracked payments makes reconciliation difficult at month-end.
• Use the payment status filter weekly to identify outstanding subcontractor payments and avoid delays.
• If you work with the same subcontractors regularly, consider adding them as restricted team members so they can view their own schedule and job details.