Custom Subcontractor Management Software Hikes Productivity by 37%

Does your business regularly contract jobs?

Do you find it difficult to manage the various subcontractors you work with?

We have a solution that will make your life easy – a custom subcontractor management software.

Let us explain with a quick example.

Recently, one of our clients (owner of a roof installation and maintenance company) approached us for a web solution that solves their subcontractor problem.

His managers found it difficult to hire and manage subcontractors. A lot of their time was wasted in finding the right contractor for the job, making schedules and creating legal agreements.

At any given point, they were working with 20-30 different contractors spanning multiple projects. As you can imagine, it was difficult to keep a track of all the subcontractor jobs.

Here is a short description of how they used to manage their contractors before using our custom web solution.

• The project manager browses excel sheets of contractors to find/manage every single detail.
• Shortlists the relevant contractors required for the project.
• Contact each contractor to find their availability.
• Confers with other managers for recommendations based on their past projects.
• The manager then finalizes the contractor over a meeting or call. They verbally exchange terms and conditions in the meeting.
• Create a contractor agreement and hold multiple meetings to modify and finalize the terms of the agreement.
• The project finally starts after all details are finalized.

You might be following a similar process when it comes to subcontractor jobs. Most businesses do when they start off. It has merits when you are working on a small scale. But as your organization grows and your project’s scope increases, it is important to scale.

With the digitalization of our world, businesses have the opportunity to simplify and automate a lot of their complicated processes. Like hiring and managing subcontractors.

Here is why you need to immediately digitize your subcontractor management –

1. Streamlined Business Process

As your business grows, it becomes essential to manage and track all your contractors and vendors efficiently. With an automated subcontractor project management software, that is specifically designed to improve your organization’s working, you will streamline the whole process from searching for a subcontractor to signing an agreement.

2. Saves Time and Money

With an automated contractor management system, you cut down hours of work for your project managers. It may not seem like a lot but in the long run, you save a ton of money by cutting down the huge loss of resources in a manual paper-driven process.

3. Higher Success Rates for Your Projects

With a more streamlined process, the manager can focus more on the working of the project. With the manager getting involved in every aspect of the project, you will definitely improve your business’s success rate.

Our client also realized the importance of an online project management system. They approached us to automate their subcontractor management process. We decided to use PHP and Yii2 framework to develop a complete subcontractor management system for them.

Our PHP-powered Web Solution for Subcontractor Management

Before we started to develop a web solution, our developers spent time with the client. This has helped our developers to understand how their subcontractor management process worked and how different departments of the company were involved. Some questions we tried to get answers for –

• Where do they maintain a list of subcontractors they have worked with previously?
• Who decides which contractor to hire for a project?
• How and when a subcontractor agreement is made?

After a thorough understanding of their functioning, we identified the issues and drawbacks in their manual system that we had to solve. Here are some problems we recognized in their paper-driven subcontractor management system –

• There was no record of the previous contractors – how they worked, strengths, weaknesses, or reviews. The client was not able to differentiate between the good contractors they wanted to work with again and the contractors to be avoided.
• The process of choosing a subcontractor was messy. Many times a contractor was overhired for multiple projects which caused delays. There was a need for task management to ensure smooth workflow.
• The creation of contractor agreements was time-consuming.

After identifying the weaknesses and strengths, we designed a smooth standardized process that would take place online entirely. We decided to use PHP and Yii2 Framework to develop a complete subcontractor management system.

Why did we prefer PHP?

PHP provided the scalability, high-performance, security, and database management capabilities that we required for developing a custom contractor management web application.

Here we list the different modules we added and how they help streamline the whole subcontractor hiring and managing the process.

Three Modules We Integrated in Subcontractor Hiring Process

Here are the 3 important module we integrated in the subcontractor management system –

1. Subcontractor Listing Module for end-to-end visibility
2. Adding New Subcontractors Module for a singular database
3. Generating legal subcontractor agreements

Let’s discuss what features are included in these modules in detail.

1. Listing All Your Contractors in a Single Place for End-to-end Visibility

We first digitized all the subcontractor records to form a single database. All the subcontractors and vendors the company works with are listed in the same place.



As seen in the image above, all the contractors are listed with their project details. So with a quick glance, your manager gets an overview of the different contractors the company has worked with previously. This helps easily track and manage the different subcontractors with easily understandable listings.



The subcontractor page features –

• The name of the contractor
• The main trade of the contractor
• Their base location – City and State
• Reviews of the past jobs your company has conducted with the contractor

Along with displaying all these details, we have converted these columns into filters. In simple terms, it means you can use any of these fields to search, sort, and filter subcontractors.



So you can sort the contractors on the basis of reviews or location. Or if you want a subcontractor for building a concrete framework, search for ‘concret’ in the main trade as shown in the image above.

2. You Found A New Contractor. Great! Add Them to Your Database



For creating a new subcontractor, you need to fill in some general details first. Like the name of the contractor, the company name, contact number, fax number, and address.



We have integrated Google Places API to help users easily find the official addresses and autofill the address lines.

All these details will be stored in a single database. This is very useful as –

• There is a singular source of data that is secure and easily accessible at any time.
• There are no issues of breach of security or loss of data.
• The administrator can very easily define user authorizations to limit the access of data. So only the right employees will be able to access this data.

In the next section, you have to add all insurance and policy details. Work company policies, general liability policies, tax exemptions, automobile policies, and many such details are all included here. Just simply add in the policy number and upload the relevant documents.



Why did we add insurance and policy details?

• It consolidates all the legal documents related to a contractor in a single safe and secure database. Only employees with authorization can access these documents.
• Additionally, if the client wishes to scale the web app in the future, they can possibly add an invoice generation module. The invoice module can fetch details from this subcontractor section and add appropriate taxes or make deductions in the invoice automatically.

In the last section of the form, you have to give information about the contractor’s work. From a list of 40-60 different jobs, you have to tick all the services the contractor offers.



This data will be used automatically in the contractor management module. You will be able to filter subcontractors based on the service or job you require.

In addition, you add the website of the contractor if it exists, and the status of the subcontractor – Active or Inactive. In simple terms, whether your company is currently working with them (Active) or not (Inactive).



That’s it. You have added a new contractor to your database. Now anytime you have a new construction project and want to hire a contractor, just choose the subcontractor you prefer.

3. Generating Legal Subcontractor Agreements

In the construction industry, it is important that all the projects are worked on after signing legal contracts.

But this can be a time-consuming process that takes days and days. You have to get the legal team to draft it, let the sales team add in the monetary details, let the market team read and edit the contract and then send it to the subcontractor. Now there is a back and forth negotiation of the clauses with multiple changes. Sometimes this can even take weeks.

To simplify the whole subcontractor agreement creation process easier, we decided to automate the process. Now you can generate the agreement in just a few minutes using pre-written clauses. You can see an example in the image below, showing the pre-made templates for the ‘Scope of work’ section of a contractor agreement.



Your legal team can create custom templates for different types of contracts and add the clauses, terms, and conditions related to them. When a salesperson wants to create an agreement with a contractor, all they have to do is tick the right template, add in some personal details and send it.

How does automated subcontractor management software help your company?

• Efficient project management
• You save a lot of time and resources
• Standardized process
• Avoid repetitive tasks for your employees



After, you also have the option of adding the details of your contact person. That is, the person at the subcontractor company who will be in touch with you during the project.

3 Benefits Of Using Automated Contractor Management System

So how did our solution help the client? Are there any positive effects of using our automated contractor management system for other businesses?

1. Track Your Subcontractor Jobs

With this construction project management software, you can easily track the various ongoing jobs. All the jobs of a project are collected in a single place, so it is extremely easy to track your subcontractors, including their payment details.

2. Create Subcontractor Agreements Quickly

Creating legally binding contracts requires only a few minutes with this subcontractor software. Use ready-made templates, click on pre-written and verified clauses you want to include, and your contract is ready to be signed.

3. Manage Multiple Subcontractors and Vendors

Now there is no need to shuffle through multiple address books to manage your contractors. Need to get a wall fixed? Just search for wall-fixing contractors in the web app and get all their contact details in seconds.

How Do You Use This To Grow Your Business?

This web management software was designed and developed specifically for the client. It is optimized for their company process and requirements.

But that does not mean you just wasted 8 mins of your day reading this case study. A similar custom solution can be developed that streamlines your company’s business processes.

Here we list a few industries that benefit from an automated contractor management system –

1. Construction Industry

Of course, the construction industry is one of the most prevalent industries that rely on subcontractors. Just as our client, all small-to-big businesses working in the construction field should consider getting a customized contractor management web solution.

With an automated subcontractor management system, you will simplify and quicken your dealings with subcontractors. With custom software, your business can easily reduce time and resources wastage by 10% like our client.

No matter what process you follow currently, we can streamline it with an easy-to-use web application.

2. Event Management Industry

If you are a part of the event planning and management industry, you know how many subcontractors and vendors work on a single event.

From flower arrangements to music setup to food contractors, managing an event sometimes can become a chore. Especially if you don’t have a streamlined system for managing the different contractors.

If you are working in the event management industry, develop and design a custom subcontractor management web application for your event management business.

So What are the Key Takeaways from this Case Study?

Using a custom web solution to manage your subcontractors is profitable in the long run. It may seem like a lot of investment for something that is working fine right now. But for continuous growth, fine is not enough.

By creating an automated subcontractor management system, your business

• Streamlines the whole process
• Saves time and resources
• Standardizes the process across the whole company
• Simplifies induction of new employees
• Easy to maintain business relationships with subcontractors

Want a development partner that develops custom software specifically for your business? At Monocubed, we ensure that our web solution is tailored around your organization. The web solution will enhance your working capabilities.

Written by

Jeel Patel

Jeel Patel is the Founder of Monocubed and is the main curator & writer of the content found on this site. With ideals of quality, commitment, and perseverance, he believes in creating lasting business relationships with the clients.