subcontractor-management
Subcontractor Management — Under 100 People
What This Process Does
Subcontractor management at this size is the discipline of leveraging external expertise + flex capacity to deliver client work without expanding employee headcount. You work with 5–50 contractors / freelancers / partner firms across project specialties — designers, developers, copywriters, photographers, specialized consultants, partner agencies for capacity overflow. Engagement structures: 1099 freelancers (most common), partner-firm subcontracts, agency-of-record arrangements. Tools: typical accounting (QBO/Xero), expense tools (Bill.com/Ramp), scope agreements (DocuSign).
The work: build vetted-contractor pool, scope engagements clearly, manage delivery quality, pay accurately + timely, and maintain compliance (1099 reporting, W-9 on file, classification discipline). Mistakes: classification risk (1099 vs employee), scope-disputes (verbal agreements), payment-delays (loses good contractors), no quality-tracking (re-using bad fits).
Start Here: ERP•AI Templates
ERP•AI's Small Business Subcontractor Operations template provides contractor-pool management, statement-of-work generation, time/deliverable-tracking, payment-approval workflow, 1099 compliance + reporting, and quality-feedback collection. Pair with Accounts Payable for payment processing + Tax Compliance for 1099 reporting.