Managing Subcontractors

Overview

Subcontractors are external workers or companies you hire to perform specialized work. BlueClerk lets you maintain a roster of subcontractors, dispatch tickets directly to them, and track their work - while keeping billing and customer relationships under your company account. You can now invite new vendors who aren't on BlueClerk yet, creating their account and adding them to your roster in one step.

Adding Existing Subcontractors

Searching for Subcontractors

1. Go to Operations > Subcontractors in the sidebar
2. Click "Add Subcontractor"
3. Search by name, business name, or email
4. Select from search results
5. Click "Add to Roster"

What You Can Add

• Individual contractors - Solo tradespeople with ContractorProfile accounts
• Contractor companies - Businesses with their own teams

Inviting New Vendors

When you search for a subcontractor and don't find them, you can invite them as a new vendor:

Starting the Invite

1. Search returns no matches in the Add Subcontractor dialog
2. Click "Invite as a new vendor" button in the empty state
3. The search dialog switches to an inline invite form

Filling the Invite Form

Enter the vendor's information:

• Business Name (required) - Company or contractor name
• Contact Name (required) - Primary contact person
• Email (required) - Where they'll receive the invite
• Phone (required) - Contact phone number
• Add as Subcontractor (checkbox) - Add to your subcontractor roster (for field work)
• Add as Supplier (checkbox) - Add to your supplier roster (for materials/services)

At least one checkbox must be selected - you can check both if the vendor provides both field work and supplies.

What Happens When You Invite

BlueClerk creates several records automatically:

1. User account - Unclaimed account with the provided email (role: MEMBER, claimed: false)
2. Company - Contractor company with the business name and contact info
3. CompanyMember - Links the user as ADMIN of their own company
4. ContractorProfile - Professional profile for the vendor
5. CompanySubcontractor (if checked) - Adds them to your subcontractor roster
6. ContractorSupplier (if checked) - Adds them to your supplier roster
7. Invitation email - Standard subcontractor invite so they can claim their account

Idempotency & Reuse

The invite system is smart about existing records:

• Existing email - If a user already exists with that email, BlueClerk reuses it instead of creating a duplicate
• Existing company - If a company with the same name (case-insensitive) exists, BlueClerk links to it
• Already on roster - If they're already your subcontractor or supplier, those relationships are skipped

This means you can safely retry invites without creating duplicates.

Viewing Your Roster

Your subcontractors page shows:

• Active subcontractors - Current roster members
• Pending invites - Vendors you've invited who haven't claimed their accounts yet
• Contact info - Phone and email for each subcontractor
• Trades - What services they provide

Dispatching Work

Once a subcontractor is on your roster:

1. Create or open a ticket
2. Click "Assign to sub"
3. Select the subcontractor from the dropdown
4. They receive an email notification with ticket details
5. They can schedule and complete the work in their own BlueClerk account

See Assigning Tickets to Subcontractors for the complete workflow.

Removing Subcontractors

To remove a subcontractor from your roster:

1. Go to your subcontractors list
2. Click the subcontractor you want to remove
3. Click "Remove from Roster"
4. Confirm the removal

Removed subcontractors can be re-added later if needed.

Tips

• Invite vendors early - Don't wait until you need them on a job - invite them ahead of time so their account is ready
• Check both boxes - If a vendor does field work AND supplies materials, check both Subcontractor and Supplier
• Use business names - Enter the full business name, not just a first name, for professional records
• Verify emails - Double-check email addresses before inviting - the invite goes directly there

Questions

Q: What if the vendor doesn't have an email? A: Email is required for the invite system. You'll need to get their email address or add them manually as a team member instead.

Q: Can I invite multiple vendors at once? A: Not yet - invites are one-at-a-time through the Add Subcontractor dialog.

Q: What if I misspell the email address? A: The invite will go to the wrong address. If the vendor doesn't receive it, you can search for them (they're now in the system) and resend the invite from their profile.

Q: Do invited vendors have to pay for BlueClerk? A: Vendors you invite start on a free plan. They can upgrade later if they want access to premium features for their own company.

Q: Can I remove a vendor after inviting them? A: Yes - click "Remove from Roster" on their profile. This removes them from your roster but doesn't delete their BlueClerk account.