Five installers, five ways of working
You sell the installs; a team of self-employed Gas Safe registered installers fit them. Jobs go out by WhatsApp with a photo of the survey sheet. Installers send back photos of the Benchmark and their invoice in whatever format they like. One installer's insurance expired last month and nobody noticed. Another invoiced twice for the same job.
The owner spends Friday evenings working out who's owed what.
Nobody set out to run it this way. It grew one installer at a time, and each new one was added to the group chat.
Why subcontractor admin gets messy
Subcontractors aren't on your systems, so everything goes through messaging apps and email. Each installer has their own habits. Their registration, insurance and categories need checking, but nobody does it routinely. Invoices arrive in different formats and need matching to jobs. How you engage them and how they're paid is a matter for your accountant and adviser; the admin is the part we fix.
| Subcontractor item | Where it lives |
|---|---|
| Job details | WhatsApp messages |
| Survey and photos | Forwarded images |
| Registration and insurance | Copies in a folder, dates unchecked |
| Completion paperwork | Photos in chats |
| Invoices | Email, PDFs, handwritten |
Installers also work for other firms. The same installer may fit for you on Monday and for a competitor on Wednesday, with a different set of expectations each time. Unless your requirements are clear and built into how they receive and close jobs, they will do things their own way.
What the mess costs
An installer working without valid insurance or current categories is a serious risk to your business. Paperwork lost in chats causes warranty and notification problems later. Double invoices and missed ones cause disputes. And the owner's evenings disappear into reconciliation.
Customers do not see the difference. To them, the installer is your firm. If the installer leaves without explaining the controls or registering the boiler, it is your reputation that suffers.
Paying installers late, or wrongly, also costs goodwill. Good installers are in demand, and they will favour the firms that pay accurately and on time.
The subcontractor portal we build
- Installer records: each installer's Gas Safe details, categories, insurance and expiry dates, with reminders before anything lapses.
- Pre-job check: when a job is offered, the installer's records are checked, and anything expired or missing blocks the offer until fixed.
- Job offer: installers receive jobs through the portal with the full survey pack, and accept or decline.
- Completion: the installer submits Benchmark details, photos and serials through a guided form, so nothing is missed.
- Invoicing: the installer invoices against the job at the agreed rate, and duplicates are caught.
- Payment run: the owner sees what's owed to each installer, approves, and payments are prepared in your accounts software.
Rates for each installer and job type are held in the portal, so invoices are checked against what was agreed rather than against the owner's memory.
Subcontractors who are easy to manage
Every job has a complete record. Registration and insurance are checked automatically. Installers know what's expected and get paid on time. And Friday evenings go back to the owner.
It also makes it easier to add installers. A new subcontractor can be onboarded through the portal with their documents checked and your expectations clear, rather than learning your ways through a series of WhatsApp corrections.
Installers get something out of it too. They know exactly what is expected on each job, their invoices are paid without queries, and they are not chased for paperwork weeks later.
Is this how you work with installers?
- Jobs are sent to installers by WhatsApp.
- Registration and insurance dates aren't checked routinely.
- Completion paperwork arrives as photos in chats.
- Installer invoices arrive in different formats.
- Working out who's owed what takes hours.