Search for subcontractor management software and most of what comes back is built for construction general contractors: prequalification questionnaires, bid invitations, lien waivers, a project with twenty trades on it over six months. That is a real problem, and it is not yours if you run a service company.
A service company's subcontractor problem is many short jobs, sent to a few trusted 1099s or partner companies, each with a customer waiting at a specific time. The work to manage is not a bid package. It is who is allowed to take the job, what they get paid, and whether they can actually be there when you said.
What "managing subcontractors" means for a service company
Strip it down and there are five things to manage. Most service companies run them across a spreadsheet, a text thread and a folder of PDFs.
- Who. The list of partners you trust, by skill and area.
- Credentials. License, insurance, certifications, background checks, and when each one expires.
- Terms. What you pay per job, how it is calculated and when it is due.
- Time. When each partner can actually take your work, at your customer's address.
- What you owe. A running account of jobs done and payments due.
Tools built for construction tend to focus on the first two. The fourth is where service companies get hurt, because a residential customer was promised a time, and a sub who is "free Thursday" may not be free at 10:00 on your side of town. We cover that mechanism in subcontractor scheduling.
Credentials: check against the job date, not the sign-up date
The common failure is not a sub who never had insurance. It is a sub whose certificate was valid when you collected it in March and lapsed in September, with a job booked for October.
Safe to send = Every required credential is valid on the job date, not today
A check run when the sub signs up passes all three. A check run against each job date catches the third. For what an insurance certificate shows and what it does not, see certificate of insurance.
Pay terms: agree them once, per partner
Per-job negotiation by text is how disputes start. Agree the terms up front with each partner and apply them to every job:
- Percent of the partner's list price, which suits partners who set their own rates for their own services.
- A flat amount per job type, which suits standard installs or inspections.
- Net days, the number of days after the job is done that payment is due.
Amount owed per job = Partner's list price × Agreed percent, or the flat amount
Due date = Job done date + Net days
Write it down. Both owners should be able to point to the same number.
Open time: the part that decides the visit
A list of approved subs tells you who could do the job. It does not tell you who can be at 412 Maple at 10:00 on Thursday. For that you need the partner's real schedule: their other jobs, and the drive from the last one. The partner, reasonably, does not want to show you their customers to give you that answer.
The workable model is to see a partner's open times at the address in question, and nothing else. That is the design behind our contractor network.
How CrewConnect handles it
CrewConnect is the part of CrewLink where companies and 1099 contractors connect and send each other work. It is live in early access. A contractor is a one-person company on CrewLink, with its own schedule.
- Open times only. When you send a job you see the partner's open times at that address. You never see their other jobs, customers, addresses, drive times, working hours or prices. The partner chooses whether you see capacity only or first names.
- Straight onto their schedule with agreed pay terms: 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.
- Credentials checks. You can require license, insurance, certification or background check. A person whose credential lapses before the job date is not offered.
- Pass-on only when allowed. A partner can pass a job to its own partner only when you allowed it on that job.
- Whose name the homeowner sees. You choose whether the texts carry your name or the partner's.
- A payout ledger. CrewLink records what you owe partners and what partners owe you, with due dates. Payouts are recorded, not paid through CrewLink. The companies settle them directly.
A Connect seat is free for 1099s who only receive CrewConnect work. Plans for companies are on the pricing page.
What CrewConnect does not do
Be clear about the edges before you choose:
- It does not pay subcontractors or move money for payouts. It keeps the ledger.
- It does not file 1099s or handle tax forms.
- It does not decide whether someone should be a 1099 subcontractor or an employee. That is a legal question for a professional.
- It does not run construction bid packages, lien waivers or project prequalification.
If those are your main needs, a construction subcontractor platform or a contractor payment system is the better fit.
Who this is for
- Service companies of 5 to 50 trucks that send overflow or specialty work to 1099s or partner companies, common in solar and roofing subcontracting, security systems and HVAC installs.
- Independent contractors who want companies to book their open time without handing over their customer list. You can join from the CrewConnect page.
If you are still deciding whether to use subs at all, start with subcontract vs hire.
What to take away
- For a service company, managing subcontractors means five things: who, credentials, terms, time and what you owe. The fourth, time, is where service companies get hurt.
- Check credentials against the job date, not the date you collected them.
- Agree pay terms once per partner, as a percent or a flat amount with net days.
- CrewConnect, live in early access, sends work into a partner's open times only, checks credentials against the job date and keeps a payout ledger. It does not pay subs or file tax forms.
Common questions
What is subcontractor management software?
Software for keeping track of the subcontractors you work with: who they are, their credentials, their terms, the work you send them and what you owe. Much of it is built for construction general contractors. Service companies need the same basics plus a way to book subs into real open times.
What is the best way to manage 1099 subcontractors?
Keep one list of approved partners by skill and area, track each credential's expiry and check it against every job date, agree pay terms once per partner, put subs on the same board as your own techs, and keep a running ledger of what is owed.
Does CrewLink pay my subcontractors?
No. CrewLink records what each company owes the other, with due dates, in a payout ledger. The companies settle payment directly.
Can I require insurance before sending a sub a job?
Yes. In CrewConnect you can require license, insurance, certification or background check. A person whose credential lapses before the job date is not offered for that job.