Subcontracts
The subcontracts section within each project manages the relationships with external contractors who perform work on your behalf. You can create subcontractor contracts, define their terms and amounts, and track payments over time to maintain a clear picture of your obligations and outstanding balances.
Creating Subcontractor Contracts
To create a subcontractor contract within a project:
- Open the project from the Projects list.
- Navigate to the Subcontracts tab.
- Click the add button to open the contract form.
- Enter the subcontractor and contract details, then save.
Each contract represents a formal agreement with a subcontractor for a defined scope of work within the project.
Subcontractor Details
When creating a contract, you provide details about the subcontractor and the agreement:
| Field | Description | Required |
|---|---|---|
| Subcontractor Name | The name of the subcontractor or contracting company | Yes |
| Contract Amount | The total agreed value of the subcontract | Yes |
| Description / Scope | A description of the work to be performed | No |
| Contact Information | Phone, email, or other contact details for the subcontractor | No |
Subcontractor records are project-specific. If the same subcontractor works on multiple projects, you create a separate contract entry for each project. This keeps the financials cleanly separated per project.
Contract Terms and Amounts
The contract amount represents the total agreed value for the subcontractor's scope of work. This is the baseline against which payments are tracked. As you record payments, the system calculates the remaining balance.
Key financial data for each contract:
- Contract Amount --- The total agreed value.
- Total Paid --- The sum of all payments recorded against the contract.
- Remaining Balance --- The difference between the contract amount and total paid.
This breakdown gives you immediate visibility into how much is owed to each subcontractor and how much of the contract has been fulfilled financially.
Managing Subcontractor Payments
Payments are recorded against individual contracts. Each payment represents a disbursement to the subcontractor --- whether it is an advance, a progress payment, or the final settlement.
Recording a Payment
- Open the project and navigate to the Subcontracts tab.
- Select the contract you want to record a payment for.
- Click the add payment button.
- Enter the payment details:
| Field | Description | Required |
|---|---|---|
| Amount | The payment amount | Yes |
| Date | The date the payment was made | Yes |
| Notes | Any notes about the payment (e.g., "Progress payment for Phase 1") | No |
- Save the payment.
The contract's Total Paid and Remaining Balance update immediately.
Record payments as they happen rather than in bulk at the end of the project. This keeps your financial data current and helps you monitor cash flow throughout the project's lifecycle.
Payment Tracking and History
Each contract maintains a complete payment history. You can review:
- All payments --- A chronological list of every payment made against the contract, with amounts, dates, and notes.
- Running balance --- How the remaining balance has changed over time as payments were made.
- Payment status --- Whether the contract is fully paid, partially paid, or unpaid.
This history is useful for:
- Dispute resolution --- If a subcontractor claims non-payment, you have a clear record of every disbursement.
- Audit and compliance --- Provide a complete payment trail to auditors or financial reviewers.
- Cash flow planning --- Understand upcoming payment obligations based on contracts that still have outstanding balances.
Editing and Removing Contracts and Payments
Editing a Contract
You can update a contract's details (name, amount, description) at any time by opening the contract and editing its fields. Changing the contract amount will recalculate the remaining balance based on payments already recorded.
Removing a Payment
If a payment was recorded in error, you can remove it from the contract's payment history. The contract's totals will be recalculated automatically.
Removing a Contract
Removing a contract deletes the contract and all its associated payment records from the project.
Removing a contract permanently deletes all payment history for that subcontractor within the project. If you only need to correct a single payment, remove the individual payment entry rather than the entire contract.
Subcontract Costs in Project Analysis
All subcontract payments are included in the project's total cost calculation. In the Budget & Profit Analysis:
- Total subcontract costs equals the sum of all payments across all contracts within the project.
- This figure is combined with material costs and expenses to produce the total project cost.
- The total project cost is subtracted from revenue to calculate profit.
The subcontract cost used in profit analysis is based on actual payments made, not the contract amount. If a contract is only partially paid, only the paid amount is counted toward project costs.