When I bill jobs for a prop manager in town, I simply mark up every job 15% and then cut him a cheque.
Or I bill him my ‘normal’ rate, and he adds 15% to it, and submits it to the client.
I think the two business relationships are different. The relationship of a cleaning company subcontracting work to a window cleaning company is a different because the cleaning company is your customer and would not get a large split in the price. I charge them the same as any other customer until they start giving me continuous business I will give them a 5-10% discount as they usually mark it back up that much to thier customer for the leg work. The relationship of a window cleaning subcontractor doing work for a window cleaning company is very close to a employee relationship. This relationship is very commonly not legal as the way most companies use it. A sub must be paid usually by the job not hourly,daily,weekly etc. It all falls into the list of like 6-10 items that must be met to be considered a sub not employee. All to common companies try to classify as sub to cut costs. The main problem is when these subs dont even carry thier own insurance policy.
wont work for less than half, unless youre one hell of a salesman and hav killer prices.
Why would I tell you what I’m charging? That’s inconsequential.
Great observation, Brennon.
Interesting, isn’t it Bildo?
That comment reveals a twist on the issue, you refusing to work for less than what you think you should be esteemed at, in this case - half.
That’s why any sub should always be totally in the dark about what the client is [I]actually [/I]paying, since it can get really weird really fast.
perhaps my comment was a little over simplified. its merely an observation I made working on an hourly basis, being offered to work on a commission basis. In these instances, I still handled all of the paperwork, therefore knowing the total price.(I know, its not technically subcontracting). since many of my previous employers had a bad habit of bidding via telephone, for me to work for less than 40% or so, I would have been getting proverbially raped. In that instance, my knowing what you were charging would, in fact, be of some consequence. Besides, when I posted last night, I had just enjoyed a few beers, and was in the mood to just post a few quick comments. Bottom line: If I am in a true subcontracting agreement, I dont care what you make, as long as my pay is reasonable for that particular situation, so now you guys know that I am not a conceited ***hole.
Cool.
For the record, I didn’t think you were being conceited at all. Your comment reflected what most people would be thinking. I certainly have thought that exact same thing many times until I looked at the situation from a different angle.
Definitely wasn’t trying to dis you.
Just commenting on the strange things that can happen with that kind of deal.
we cool.
:D:cool:
I agree, IMO the sub is not the one who makes the rules. I do. He’s more than welcome to go find his own work. The sub doesn’t need to know anything other than what he’s making. So my prices are pretty easy to figure out if they know i’m paying 50%. And yes, ALL my prices ROCK. Nothing less than $60 hr and i have jobs that we make $120 hr on.
Once again, i’d rather do the work myself than sub it out, and if they were to question or try and set any borderlines I’d tell them to take a hike. pffftttttt Not like my 50% is minimum wage or even double min, wage. This thread now has me all fired up. LOL I’m sure most of you guys who do take work subbed out to you, aren’t demanding. Atleast you shouldnt be.
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I don’t know, Justin. I stay busy, and I generally make $75-$150/hr. When a contractor calls me because he needs help or is overwhelmed, I look at the job and tell him what I want to make on it. It’s up to him to decide what to charge or if he can deal with MY terms. I try to be fair - not taking advantage of his case in need - but I am sure to make what I feel I am worth.
When I sub work out, I call a WC and ask him to look at the job and give me a price. I charge more to make my profit. If we run into a budget problem with the client, then I can contact my subcontractor and discuss a possible lower price. If he can’t take that, I completely understand. Either I take less profit, or seek a different route.
It’s come up already, but I caution anyone who considers hiring a “subcontractor” on a regular basis. Go to irs.gov and read publication 15A; ss-8 form; and “Independant Contractor vs. Employee”. There are a lot more issues than control and results that youneed to be aware of.
The IRS knows that it is losing millions and millions every year to misclassification of employees. If you are doing that (in their judgment, regardless of what you and the sub says), they can really put the hurt on.
Sorry for the long post!
Hello. I have a window cleaning business and I am branching into the bay area. I have read all the above posts and I am now wondering what kind of paperwork I need for the person I am subcontracting with?
