Nobody starts a construction business because they find admin, paperwork and health and safety policies exciting.
But boxes have to be ticked. Information is required. And all those certificates, licences, and subcontractor details need to be stored somewhere.
So why not kill two birds with one stone? Protect yourself from HMRC enquiries into the employment status of your subbies AND take advantage of our subcontractor management system.
Here’s how….
Fixing our flaws
At HardHats, our mission is simple – help construction firms work with subbies long-term and keep HMRC happy without using a payroll company.
And because our mission is simple, we kept our product simple too: we create bespoke, insurance-backed subcontractor agreements.
But we quickly realised there was a flaw with our product.
Somebody has to get those contracts signed by the subbies.
And let’s face it, you’re already busy enough running your business without having the extra job of printing out contracts and driving from site to site getting them signed.
So we put our heads together and came up with a solution.
We could send the contracts via email or text and get your subbies to sign them electronically.
So now that’s exactly what we do – we even created some fancy software to do it.
But there’s more.
A happy side-effect
For our software to do what we need it to do, we essentially set up a new digital “filing cabinet” for each client. Within that filing cabinet, there’s a separate “file” for each subcontractor.
Once a subcontractor has signed their contract, it’s stored in their file. If you ever need to check the contract, provide a copy for HMRC or clarify one of the terms with a subcontractor, you can log in and access the file.
But here comes the good bit.
While we were designing the software, we realised we didn’t have to limit it to contract storage.
There’s plenty of space in those filing cabinets for you to add other important documents relating to your subbies. You can use it as your very own subcontractor management tool.
How does our software work?
Once we’ve created your contract, we’ll set you up an account on our system. This is private and secure and can only be accessed by you and anyone you give access to.
You add the details of each subcontractor – all we need is a name and either an email address or mobile number.
Once you’ve added all your subcontractors, our software will send out an email or text with a link to their contract. They can read through the terms and sign an electronic copy. They can also save a copy or print it out for their own records.
Our software keeps track of who has and hasn’t signed so you can see the status of each contract. Any subbies that don’t sign their contract will receive a gentle kick up the arse from us, reminding them to do it – you don’t have to do anything.
And because we know some subbies are just crap at admin, we have a failsafe in place so even if one of your subcontractors never signs a contract, you’re still covered.
And that’s it – that’s the basics. You add a name and email or mobile number for each subcontractor, and we do the rest.
However, if you do want to utilise our fancy software at no extra cost, you can.
You don’t have to stop at a name and number – you can add emergency contact details, bank details, CIS numbers, insurance certificates, licenses, accreditations, training records, invoices, expense claims, timesheets, incident reports and so on.
If you ever need to check anything or pull up paperwork, just log in, and there it is.
No more paper forms floating about in vans or cluttering up your desk. No more missing invoices or coffee-stained contracts. No more panicking when you need to provide a document and have no idea where it is.
All the important information and paperwork in one place – safe, secure, easy-to-access and at no extra cost to you.
Plus, you can set reminders for any insurance or certificates that need renewal so you and your subbies always stay compliant.
How good is that?
Get started
If working with subbies long-term without using a payroll company and without upsetting HMRC wasn’t reason enough to get in touch, maybe our software will give you that extra incentive.
We’ve gone to great lengths to make the process as easy and hassle-free as possible for our clients.
All you have to do is be completely honest with us about how you work with your subbies and then pay our invoices on time. Simple.