Every service company has a version of the same list. The two or three independent techs or small crews it calls when the board is full. The electrician who takes the overflow. The installer two counties over who covers the far jobs.
The list works, slowly. You text, you wait, you ask about Thursday, you hear back after Thursday is gone. Then you agree a price on the phone and try to remember it when the job is done.
A contractor network replaces the list with a shared view of open time. This page explains how that works in CrewLink's CrewConnect, what each side sees, and the arithmetic of pay terms. For the scheduling mechanics in general, see subcontractor scheduling.
Three kinds of "network," and how they differ
| Model | What you share | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Phone list or group chat | Nothing until you ask | An answer when someone checks their phone |
| Lead marketplace | A job posting | Bids or claims from whoever is looking |
| Open-time network | Each side's open time at an address | A booked time, with terms both owners already agreed |
A lead marketplace starts from the job and looks for a taker. An open-time network starts from the time, which is the thing the customer is actually waiting on. You send the job to a time a partner can already make, not into a queue.
How CrewConnect works
CrewConnect is part of CrewLink, in early access.
Who's on it
Companies and 1099 contractors connect with each other. A contractor is a one-person company on CrewLink, with its own schedule, its own area and its own list prices. A Connect seat is free for 1099s who only take CrewConnect work.
What the sender sees
When you have a job to send, you see the partner's open times only, at the address in question. You never see the partner's other jobs, customers, addresses, drive times, working hours or prices. The partner chooses whether you see capacity only or first names.
That matters on both sides. The partner's customer list is the partner's business. And open times at the address already account for the partner's own drive, because CrewLink's availability is built from where each person will be at that hour.
How work is sent
Work goes straight into the partner's schedule with agreed pay terms: either a percent of the partner's list price or a flat amount, due a set number of days (0 to 90) after the job is done. Both owners agree to the exact terms before work flows.
Credentials
The sender can require a license, insurance, certification or a background check. A person whose credential lapses before the job date isn't offered for that job.
Passing work on
A partner can pass a job to its own partner only when the sender allowed it on that job.
Whose name the customer sees
The sender chooses whose name the homeowner sees on texts: its own, or the partner's.
Payouts
What you owe partners, and what partners owe you, is kept in a payouts ledger with due dates. Payouts are recorded, not paid through CrewLink. The companies settle them directly.
Pay terms, worked through
The two pay models behave differently as the job changes. This is an illustrative example with invented numbers.
Say a partner's list price for a job is $400. You agree either 80% of list price or a flat $300, due 30 days after the job is done.
A percent of list price moves with the partner's own pricing. A flat amount is predictable for the sender, which is easier to price into your own quote. Neither is better in general. Pick the one that matches how you price the job to your customer.
To check that sending the job makes sense, compare your margin on it with the cost of doing it yourself, including the drive. A job 90 minutes from your nearest truck may cost three hours of a tech's day once you count both ways. The truck roll cost calculator gives you that number.
For contractors: open time is inventory
If you work for yourself, your unsold hours are gone at the end of the day. A two-hour gap on Tuesday afternoon can't be sold on Wednesday.
Publishing open time to partners turns those gaps into something companies can book. Use the arithmetic on yourself: open hours per week × your hourly rate is what an empty calendar costs you. Two open hours a day over five days is ten hours a week. What fills those hours is up to the companies you connect with and the terms you agree.
You keep control of what's shared. A company sending you work sees your open times at its job's address, not your other jobs, customers or prices. And your schedule only accepts work at times you can actually reach from your other jobs.
When an open-time network is the wrong tool
- You need a single long-term sub for all your installs. A direct agreement with one crew may be simpler.
- You want a lead source. CrewConnect moves work between companies that have connected. It is not a marketplace for finding new customers.
- The work requires your own employee by law or contract. Some jobs can't be subcontracted. Check before you send.
On whether to keep subcontracting or start hiring, see our guide on when to subcontract vs hire. On classification, the IRS page Independent contractor (self-employed) or employee? sets out the federal factors. CrewConnect doesn't decide classification for you.
More on CrewConnect, and on the 1099 subcontractor term itself.
What to take away
- An open-time network starts from the time a partner can make, not from a job posting.
- In CrewConnect, the sender sees only the partner's open times at the address, never their jobs, customers or prices.
- Pay terms are a percent of the partner's list price or a flat amount, due 0 to 90 days after the job, agreed by both owners.
- Senders can require credentials; a lapsed credential means the person isn't offered.
- Payouts are a ledger. The companies settle directly; CrewLink doesn't move that money.
Common questions
What is a contractor network in field service?
A group of companies and independent contractors who send work to each other. In an open-time network like CrewConnect, each side shares its open time, so work is sent to a time a partner can already make, with pay terms agreed up front.
How do I find 1099 contractors for service work?
Start with people you already trust: techs who left on good terms, small crews you've worked beside, contractors in neighboring areas. Then make it easy to work together: shared open time, written pay terms and credential checks before the job date.
Is CrewConnect free?
A Connect seat is free for 1099s who only take CrewConnect work. Company plans are on the pricing page.
Does CrewLink pay the contractor?
No. CrewLink records what each side owes in a payouts ledger with due dates. The companies settle payouts directly.
What do I see of a partner's schedule?
Only their open times at the address of the job you want to send. You never see their other jobs, customers, addresses, drive times, working hours or prices, and the partner chooses whether you see capacity only or first names.