Access the Subcontractors/Vendors Section
To add or manage your subcontractors/vendors:
Open Buildern
Click the People icon in the top-right corner
Select Sub/Vendors from the dropdown
Create a New Sub/Vendor
Once you navigate to the Sub/Vendors section, Buildern provides several ways to add subcontractors and vendors to your workflow. In this section, we’ll focus on how to add sub/vendors manually.
Click Add sub/vendor
The page opens a detailed form where you can define not only basic contact information, but also financial, communication, and workflow-related settings.
When creating a new subcontractor/vendor, complete the following sections:
1. General Information - Start with the core details:
Company name* – Required
Business number – Company registration number
Address – Business or job site location
2. Financial & Project Defaults - These fields help standardize how the sub/vendor is used across your projects:
Default cost code – Automatically applies when using this vendor in estimates or costs
Payment term – Defines payment conditions
BIN – Business Identification Number (if applicable)
3. Tax Configuration - Before adding contact information, you can define how taxes should be applied to transactions associated with this subcontractor/vendor.
Available options include:
Inclusive – Tax is included in the entered amount. Buildern will calculate and separate the tax portion automatically.
Exclusive – Tax is added on top of the entered amount and calculated separately.
No Tax – No tax will be applied to transactions for this subcontractor/vendor.
If you select Inclusive or Exclusive, you can also choose the applicable Tax Rate from the Tax dropdown field.
4. Contact Information - Each sub/vendor can have one or multiple contacts.
For the main contact, enter:
Person name* – Required
Email – Used for communication and notifications
Mobile number – Optional
ℹ️ Note - You can also click + Add Contact to include more contacts, or remove them by clicking the Remove Contact button.
5. Notifications & Communication - The Notify for section allows you to control what this subcontractor/vendor will be notified about.
You can select specific workflows such as:
Purchase Orders
Bills
Bid Requests
Schedule
To-Dos
RFIs
Submittals
Proposals
Change Orders
Timesheets
Client Invoices
Daily Logs
Files
6. Grant access to portal – Enable this option to allow the subcontractor/vendor to access Buildern and collaborate directly.
Once enabled, additional fields will appear:
Role* – Defines the user’s permissions (default: Sub/Vendor)
Add to the project – Select one or multiple projects the sub/vendor should have access to
ℹ️ Note - Adding a subcontractor/vendor to Buildern does not require them to log in. Subs/vendors can review, approve, reject, sign, and comment on items such as Bid Requests, Purchase Orders, Subcontracts, and other documents directly through email links and secure pop-up web views.
If full collaboration access is needed, you can enable Grant access to portal and invite them to Buildern. Inviting subcontractors/vendors is free up to your plan’s included user limit. Additional charges may apply if the limit is exceeded.
After completing this section:
Click Send Invitation to invite the sub/vendor to the platform
They will receive an email with instructions to access Buildern
ℹ️ Note - Inviting subcontractors/vendors is free up to your plan’s included user limit. If the number of invited users exceeds the free limit, additional charges may apply.
7. Labels – Categorize subcontractors/vendors for easier filtering and organization
💡 Tip - Use labels to group subcontractors/vendors by trade, location, or project type for easier filtering later.
8. Notes - Use the Notes section to store internal information such as:
Agreements
Special conditions
Communication history
ℹ️ Note - Notes are internal only and are not visible to the subcontractor/vendor.
Buildern also supports importing subcontractors/vendors in bulk, which is useful when migrating from another system or adding multiple contacts at once.
👉 Learn more about How to Import Subcontractors & Vendors From Excel Files in Buildern
Save the Sub/Vendor
Once you’ve filled in all the necessary details and configured how the subcontractor/vendor will be used, you’re ready to complete the process.
Click Save
That’s it - your subcontractor/vendor is now added to your account and ready to be used across your workflow.
Keep the momentum going with more Buildern walkthroughs coming soon.
Happy Building!