Users vs subcontractors

In this article, you'll learn the difference between the two kinds of team member you can add: users and subcontractors. Which one you pick decides whether that person can sign in to your CRM, and whether their hours and pay are tracked for a 1099.

Here's the short version. A user signs in to the CRM and works on your account with the role you give them. A subcontractor never gets a CRM login. They see the jobs you put them on in their own crew portal, and the CRM keeps their W-9, hours, mileage and receipts for you.

To open your team:

1. 1.In the menu, click Team. You can also go to Settings, then Team management under Users & roles.
2. 2.Click Add New.
3. 3.At the top of Add team member, pick User or Subcontractor.

On the phone app, Team is in the menu too. Its Add New button opens the same two tabs.

Both kinds sit in the same list. The Type column says User or Subcontractor, and the filter bar lets you narrow the list by User type.

Users

Under the User tab it says "Can login and work on your account". Use it for the people on your own staff: the office, dispatchers, managers and techs.

To add a user:

1. 1.Type their Email Address. The invitation is texted and emailed.
2. 2.Type their Name. The brush button next to it picks their colour on the schedule.
3. 3.Type their Phone.
4. 4.Choose a Permission level. This is their role, and it decides what they can see and do on your account.
5. 5.Set Field tech to Yes if they can be assigned to jobs.
6. 6.Set Track Location to Yes if you want their phone asked to share location for on-my-way texts. They're reminded once a day while it's off.
7. 7.Click Invite user.

They get a text and an email with a link to set their password. From then on they sign in to the CRM like you do.

Subcontractors

Under the Subcontractor tab it says "Can take jobs and get messages — no CRM login". Use it for people you pay as contractors and send a 1099 at the end of the year.

To add a subcontractor:

1. 1.Type their First name and Last name.
2. 2.Type their Mobile number. The invite is texted here, with the form that collects their W-9.
3. 3.Enter their Pay rate, per hour. The box starts at 25, so change it to what you've agreed.
4. 4.Click Invite.

What happens after you click Invite

• •They get a text with a link to fill out and sign their W-9. Near the end of that form they Pick a password, then sign and submit.
• •Once the signed W-9 is in, they get a second text with the crew portal link. They sign in with their phone number and the password they picked. The same text points them to the Review Monster CRM app on Google Play, which takes the same phone number and password on its sign-in screen.
• •Their row on the Team list shows No 1099 yet, 1099 form sent or 1099 on file, so you can see where they're at.

They're added with the Subcontractor role and on the field team, so you can put them on jobs like anyone else.

What a subcontractor sees

The crew portal is all they get. In it they can:

• •See only the jobs they're assigned to
• •See the customer's name and the job address, but never the customer's phone number or email
• •Clock in and out, and fix their own times for the day
• •Add mileage, if you pay them mileage
• •Snap a receipt they paid for themselves from the Receipt button on their Today tile
• •Add photos and videos to a job on its Images tab
• •Edit the items on a job and take a payment on its Payments tab
• •Check what they've been paid under Recent days

Login and pay are the real difference

It isn't about who matters more. It comes down to two things:

• •Login. Users sign in to the CRM with the role you gave them. Subcontractors only ever see the crew portal, on the web or inside the app.
• •Pay. A subcontractor's hours, mileage and receipts add up on the Subcontractors page so you can pay them, and their signed W-9 is kept for the 1099.

Related articles

• •How to add team members
• •Assigning team members to jobs
• •Choosing your shortcuts and features
• •Recording expenses paid from personal accounts
• •Logging in and out