Organize subs by the work they take
Choose a format your team can maintain. A shared spreadsheet, database, or existing project system can work if the responsible people can find and update the record. Assign someone to maintain the list before adding names.
Use one record per contracting business. Add notes for each scope it takes. Keep aliases and former trading names identifiable. Check possible duplicates before merging records so you do not combine two unrelated companies.
Organize views by trade, project type, service area, and practical package size as reported by the firm. Distinguish new-home work from remodel, repair, and specialty work. Add a field for the role the business provides: supply, fabrication, installation, or an agreed combination.
Keep a candidate list separate from a job award record. A sub can be good and still be booked for your next start. Use the list to decide who to call. Confirm crew commitments for each new start.
Record scope and checking status beside contact details
Record enough information to explain why the name is on the list. A phone number alone leaves the next person to rediscover the fit. Record why you added the sub and what you still need to check.
Compare Cercha and a spreadsheet subcontractor list when separating public discovery from your private qualification record. Use the prequalification review to define the checking status you record.
Scroll to read all columns.
| Field group | Recommended contents |
|---|---|
| Business identity | Contracting entity, trading name, and duplicate or alias notes |
| Contacts | Estimating contact, field lead, callback contact, and preferred business channel |
| Scope fit | Trades, systems, job types, service area, and package limits as reported |
| Discovery | Referral source, first-contact date, and reason for considering the firm |
| Evidence | Comparable projects, reference permission, and links to authorized work examples |
| Credentials | Applicable authority, license identifier, status, and check date |
| Insurance review | Required evidence, reviewer, status, and document location |
| Performance | Project identifier, observed commitments, corrections, and closeout |
| Status | Lead, screening, eligible for a specified scope, on hold, or retired |
| Next action | Missing item, responsible person, and next review event |
Store detailed job and document records in their proper locations. Use the list to point to them. Limit access to private contact details and sensitive documents to the people who need them.
After classification is determined, the IRS W-9 guidance describes obtaining the contractor’s tax identity. Keep that information in your secure tax process. Do not place taxpayer numbers in a broadly shared subcontractor list.
Explain why each sub is eligible or on hold
Use statuses your team can interpret consistently. Write a short definition for each one. For example, eligible should identify the scope and requirements reviewed, while on hold should identify the unresolved condition.
Do not create a permanent preferred label without a reason. Record which package the sub handled well and what you checked. Distinguish your completed-job observations from a referral or the firm’s own description.
For performance notes, use dates and actions. Write the agreed start, actual event, notice received, and correction completed. Separate a cause reported by the sub from something your team observed directly.
If a dispute remains unresolved, say so and restrict access appropriately. Do not label the sub with a claim you cannot verify. Keep the original correspondence in the project file.
Recheck credentials before awards and when details change
Record the check date and relevant document dates. Set reminders around known expiration or renewal events. Before a new award, reconfirm required items under your onboarding process and investigate any mismatch.
North Carolina’s GC board FAQ ties a license to its named entity. Recheck a company-name change against the applicable authority instead of overwriting the identity field and assuming the credential followed it.
For workers’ compensation, the NC Industrial Commission warns that its coverage database is not proof of insurance and may omit recent or unreported changes. Do not rely on a fixed refresh interval as proof that coverage is current. Confirm discrepancies with the employer, insurer, or responsible professional.
For insurance, keep the certificate date and policy dates alongside the reviewer and evidence location. NC’s COI law limits a certificate to the rights provided by the policy. Ask your licensed agent what policy provisions or endorsements your project needs and when to reconfirm them.
Update the record at onboarding, before a new award, after a reported change, near a document deadline, and at closeout. Choose any additional review cadence for your operation. Do not present your internal reminder interval as a legal requirement.
Compare subs for the package you need
Filter the list for the work you need to award next. You might need a firm for an occupied bathroom, repeated new-home starts, or a specific finish detail. Use separate evidence for those assignments.
Suggested comparison fields are comparable work, location fit, package-size fit, required checks complete, crew commitment pending, and observed closeout. Leave missing evidence marked unknown. Do not mark an unanswered check as passed.
Date each availability note and keep it separate from the fit checks. Record who supplied it and which window it concerns. Before a bid or award, ask the firm again. A sub who was free during your last project may be booked now.
Record which scopes each backup will consider. Identify whether the firm will consider a partial package, needs a site assessment, or prefers planned work only. Use the backup guide to develop those notes before an emergency.
Keep a primary and a backup for trades you rely on
Aim for two usable names for the trade packages you rely on. Two rows are not enough if one firm is on hold or neither takes your actual job size. Review the pair before your next bid round and whenever a firm declines, changes scope, or goes on hold.
For each package, mark a primary sub and a backup in the trade list. Check both against service area, comparable work, package limits, current contacts, and required-document status. Bayfair’s partner criteria illustrate scope, timelines, insurance, and payment-process fit as separate checks. Its criteria apply to that builder; define your own requirements.
Ask each candidate which crew or specialist it would use. If both depend on the same installation business or key person, note that they share a crew or specialist. Find another option where needed. Ask directly; matching trade labels do not prove independent resources.
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| Pair review result | Action to take |
|---|---|
| Both fit, required checks complete | Record last contact and ask about the next actual package; confirm any start separately |
| One is on hold | Assign an owner to resolve the hold and source another candidate for the gap |
| One declines your scope or area | Retain the reason and recruit a candidate that takes this package |
| Both rely on the same unavailable resource | Seek an alternative resource before counting the pair as coverage |
| Only an unverified lead remains | Finish the fit and document screen before marking it usable |
When a gap opens, ask a builder peer, supplier contact, or local association connection for a scope-specific introduction. Set a deadline for the list owner to find a sub before the next start. Screen the new candidate, update the pair, and keep any unresolved gap visible.
Do not count a sub on hold as usable until the required check is resolved. Keep schedule commitments in the job record. A primary or backup label does not reserve a crew or promise work.
Retire contacts and keep their job history
Retire a record when the business closes, declines your work category, leaves the service area, or your team decides not to use it. Record the reason, evidence, date, and decision owner. Preserve the previous project history.
Place unresolved required checks on hold rather than deleting the firm. State what must be supplied or resolved before another award. Assign someone to follow up so the hold does not get forgotten.
Keep a way to review a retired entry when circumstances change. Reopening should require a fresh identity and fit check, plus resolution of the original reason where applicable. Do not reactivate a name solely because the contact reappears in a search.
If you remove an obsolete duplicate, keep a reference to the main business record and its job notes. Check what your estimating or purchasing process reads before changing identifiers.
Update the list after each job
At the end of each package, add the specific scope, assigned lead, actual completion, and punch response. Ask the firm which future work it wants and whether the contact details remain correct.
Check the list for backups on your next packages. If the only name has a hold or an unsuitable scope, start sourcing before the release window.
Use the subcontractor search process to place this check within the wider candidate search.
Where Cercha fits
Cercha’s Search, portfolios, builder endorsements, and Messages provide another route to find and contact potential trade partners. Use those features alongside your own subcontractor list. Keep checked documents, job performance, and awarded crew commitments in your records. Ask about the beta.