Set up a subcontract

A subcontract is the agreement with a subcontractor for part of a project's work. The subcontractor is a supplier, so what you owe it appears on its supplier statement. The subcontract holds the terms its certificates follow and its own bill of quantities.

Create the subcontract

1. Open the project and its Subcontracts tab, then select New subcontract.

2. Enter the code, the title and the Subcontractor, then the contract value and the scope of work.

3. Set the billing terms: VAT, retention and its cap, the advance and how certificates recover it, the withholding tax and the payment terms.

4. Select Save.

Add the bill of quantities

While the subcontract is a draft, its items can change.

• Add item enters an item with its unit, quantity, rate and task.

• Copy from client contract lists the items of the project's client contracts. Tick the ones the subcontractor will do, enter the subcontractor's rate and, if only part of an item is let, the quantity.

Activate it

Select Activate subcontract when the bill of quantities is complete. Certificates can then be raised against it, and the bill of quantities no longer changes. Once a certificate is issued, the subcontractor and the billing terms are fixed too.

Common questions

Can one subcontractor have several subcontracts? Yes, on the same project or on others. Each keeps its own figures.

Why copy from the client contract? It keeps the subcontract's items in step with what you bill the client, so you can compare the client's rate with the subcontractor's rate item by item.