The Subcontractor Portal — What Your Subs See
The Subcontractor Portal is an external-facing portal where your subs and vendors can interact with bid requests, contracts, and purchase orders without needing a BuilderMate account. It streamlines communication and keeps everything documented in one place.
Who Can Access This
- Admin and Team Member users manage what gets sent to subs and vendors.
- Subcontractors and vendors access the portal through a secure link — no password or login required.
How Subs Get Access
When you send a bid request, contract, or purchase order from BuilderMate, your sub or vendor receives an email containing a secure portal link. The link uses a unique, token-based URL — no passwords to set up or accounts to create.
What Your Subs See
Bid Requests
Subs can view all active bid requests they've been invited to. For each request, they can:
- View the scope, specifications, and any attached files you've included.
- Submit a bid with the following details:
- Total bid amount
- Labor, material, and equipment cost breakdowns
- Markup percentage
- Proposed start and completion dates
- Warranty period
- Notes and terms
- Supporting documents
- Detailed line items
- Edit a submitted bid as long as the bid request is still open.
Pro Tip: Encourage your subs to include detailed line items in their bids. The more detail they provide up front, the easier it is for you to compare bids and make informed decisions.
Contracts
Subs can view contracts you've sent for their signature. They can:
- View the full contract document with all terms and conditions.
- Sign digitally using a drawn or typed signature. BuilderMate records the IP address and timestamp for every signature.
Purchase Orders
Subs can view purchase orders issued to them. They can:
- View PO details including items, quantities, prices, and dates.
- Sign digitally to confirm the PO. IP address and timestamp are recorded.
Notifications You Receive
BuilderMate keeps you in the loop whenever a sub takes action through the portal. You'll receive notifications when a sub:
- Submits or updates a bid
- Signs a contract
- Signs and confirms a purchase order
This means you don't need to follow up manually to find out if a sub has responded — BuilderMate tells you as soon as it happens.
Security
- Each portal link is unique and token-based per subcontractor or vendor.
- One sub's link cannot be used to access another sub's information.
- Links are tied to specific bid requests, contracts, or purchase orders that you've sent.
Good to Know
- The Subcontractor Portal is designed to be simple and focused. Subs only see what you've explicitly sent to them — they have no visibility into your other projects, clients, or internal data.
- Subs can edit their bids as long as the bid request remains open. Once you close it, their submission is locked in.
- All signatures collected through the portal include IP address and timestamp verification, giving you a reliable digital record.
- If a sub has trouble accessing their portal link, you can resend the relevant bid request, contract, or PO from BuilderMate to generate a fresh email.