Subcontractor
A subcontractor is a trade you pay to do part of a job. You stay the one who quotes and invoices the client. A referral is different: you pass the whole job on and step out.
What it means
When you bring in a subcontractor, the job stays yours. You agree the scope and price with the client. The subcontractor works for you and invoices you, not the client. You carry the guarantee, the risk and the admin for the whole job. That includes the part someone else did.
A referral is different. You hand the whole job to another trade and step out. They quote the client directly, invoice the client directly and carry their own guarantee. A supplier is different too. A supplier sells you materials or parts, not labour on the job itself.
A kitchen fitter brings in a plumber for the pipework on one job. The plumber invoices the fitter. The fitter’s own invoice to the client covers the whole kitchen, including the plumbing.
Passing a subcontractor’s day rate straight through at no markup. You still carry the guarantee and the admin on their part of the job, so the price should cover that.
See also
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