Manage subcontractors

Keep the subcontractor's business details and current documents in one record. You can choose the record when creating a Subcontractor job.

Before you start

• Owners, admins, dispatchers and office staff can view and manage subcontractor records.
• Set the current subcontractor agreement version so ONYX1 can compare signed agreements with it.
• A subcontractor needs a signed agreement on the current version before you can approve the record or move its job out of New.

Add or update a subcontractor

1. Open Team from the menu and select Subcontractors.
2. Select Add subcontractor or select a company in the list to open its details.
3. Enter the company name, then choose at least one option under Trades. Enter the main contact name, mobile and email. You can also record its NZBN, GST number and internal notes.
4. Choose Pending, Approved or Do not use. A subcontractor cannot be approved until its latest signed agreement matches the current company version. Use Do not use to retire a company from new jobs.
5. Select Save subcontractor.

To change the agreement version, update Current subcontractor agreement at the top of the page. Only the owner or an admin can change it. Approved companies whose latest signed agreement is on an older version return to Pending. A newly signed agreement is needed before the record can be approved or a job can leave New. You can still give that job dates while it stays in New.

Add documents

1. Open the subcontractor's details and use the Add a document section. Earlier uploads appear under Document history.
2. Under Document type, select Signed agreement, Public liability insurance, Prequalification or Other (office only).
3. Choose a PDF. For an agreement, enter the version shown on the signed agreement, its signed date and signer. The version field starts with the company's current version when one is set. For insurance, enter its required expiry date. Prequalification expiry is optional; a prequalification document without an expiry is marked Current.
4. Select Upload document.

Documents are private to business roles and kept in an append-only history. Older files remain when you upload a replacement. The latest agreement determines the agreement status. Insurance and prequalification are marked Missing, Current, Expiring or Expired using the New Zealand date. Prequalification is optional, but an expired one raises a warning.

For a job held by missing or expired insurance, or an expired prequalification, the status controls say, "An owner or admin must record an insurance override reason before this job can leave New." The reason is recorded in the job history. There is no override for a missing, unsigned or old-version agreement; its status message says, "A current signed subcontractor agreement is required before this job can leave New."

Create a subcontractor job

1. Select New job and choose Subcontractor job under Job type.
2. Search by company or trade and choose a subcontractor. Companies marked Do not use are not offered. To add one, select + New subcontractor. Quick add saves it as Pending and creates a follow-up task assigned to you.
3. Set Subcontract scope to All of job or Part of job. The site's contact name and mobile are filled from the subcontractor's main contact; you can edit them for this job.
4. Choose an On Ropes contact. This is the job's team leader. Extra crew are optional.
5. Complete the remaining job details and select Create job.

A job without a current signed agreement can be created in New and given dates. It stays in New until a signed agreement on the current company version is uploaded, and cannot move to another working status before then. If an insurance or prequalification warning applies, an owner or admin must record an insurance override reason before the job can leave New. Subcontractor jobs follow the company's field safety settings for SSSP, rescue plan and owner safety approval.

The company and Sub tag appear with the job in the work list, schedule and planner. The job page shows the subcontractor company and Subcontract scope. Crew see the job's Site contact and phone number; when the job is created, that contact is copied from the subcontractor's main contact and can be edited for the job. Crew do not see the subcontractor's trade or main contact record. The List has a Job type filter, and business roles can also filter by subcontractor company when at least one company exists. Business details and subcontractor documents stay private.

What happens next

Use the existing job Expenses or Xero supplier bill workflow for subcontractor costs. Those costs continue to feed the job's existing costing and budget views. See Create a job, Job statuses and The Jobs hub and its views.