◆ On Pro · $29.99 a month (CA$34.99) · 14-day trial

Subcontractor management from the bid to the last holdback cheque.

Send the electrical scope and the drawings to three electricians. Their bids come back from a link and line up side by side against what the estimate allowed. Award one, and Estiquik keeps the subcontract, its changes, every payment and the holdback, and warns you when a sub's insurance or WSIB clearance has run out.

Start 14 days free Open the live demo

✓ No card to start✓ Subs bid from a link, no account✓ Insurance and WSIB expiry warnings

The Estiquik Subcontractors page: committed to subs, payable now with holdback kept back, bids awaiting a decision and compliance warnings, then the Thornton kitchen's plumbing and electrical subcontracts with value, paid and owing

Subcontracts in the live demo

Bid, award, pay, hold back

What subcontractor management does

One Subcontractors page with three tabs: subcontracts, bid packages and your directory of subs. All amounts before tax. The examples are the Thornton kitchen in the live demo.

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Bid packages

A title, a trade, the job, the scope, a due date, an optional budget, and the drawings or photos (PDF, image or Word, up to 25 MB each). Subs see the job's city, never the client's name or street address.

Kitchen electrical, budget $2,376

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Bids from a link

Each sub gets a private link: price for the whole scope, earliest start, what is included and what is not. They can change the bid until the work is awarded. A bid taken by phone can be typed in.

Invited, viewed, bid received

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Bids side by side

Lowest first, each with how far it is above the lowest bid and above your budget, and the spread between the highest and lowest. Inclusions and exclusions sit under each price.

$2,450 vs $2,890, 18% spread

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Award a subcontract

Award this bid creates a subcontract with the scope, the inclusions and exclusions and the price, numbered SC-2026-001 and up, with a 10% holdback you can change. Print it with two signature lines.

Bright Spark Electric, $2,450

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Changes and payments

Add changes as pending or approved; only approved ones count toward the value. Record each payment with its tax; it is saved as an expense on the job.

+$310 for two pot lights and a dimmer

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Insurance and WSIB expiry

Liability insurance and WSIB/WCB clearance dates on each sub. A warning 30 days ahead, and again when you invite them, award them work or pay them.

Open the demo →

Scope to final payment

How a trade gets bid, awarded and paid

Each step is a record on the job, and the totals feed job profit.

STEP 1

Package the scope

Write the scope, attach the drawings, set the due date and, if you like, the budget from your estimate. Pick the subs from your directory, filtered by trade.

STEP 2

Collect the bids

Save & send invites emails each sub a private link, or copy a link to text it. You see who has opened it and who has bid.

STEP 3

Award and agree changes

Compare the bids, read the exclusions, and award one. The other bidders can no longer change their bids. Add changes to the subcontract as they come up.

STEP 4

Pay and hold back

Record each payment. Estiquik shows what is payable now with the holdback kept back, what is still owing, and warns you before you pay into the holdback.

An open subcontract counts as committed on the job until it is paid, so job profit sees the cost the day you award it.

Payments and holdback

The arithmetic, shown

Every figure before tax. In the demo: an electrical subcontract of $2,450 with one approved change of $310, 10% holdback and $1,100 paid.

ValueThe subcontract amount plus approved changes. $2,450 + $310 = $2,760. A pending change is shown but not counted.

HoldbackValue × the holdback percentage. 10% of $2,760 = $276.

Payable nowValue − holdback − paid, never below zero. $2,760 − $276 − $1,100 = $1,384.

OwingValue − paid. $2,760 − $1,100 = $1,660, of which $276 is holdback to release once the lien period has passed.

Subcontractor management pricing

What it costs

Estiquik's own plans, in US dollars with Canadian dollars beside them. Other vendors are not compared on this page: their prices change, and we only list one we have checked on their own pricing page that day.

Product	Monthly	What that buys
Estiquik Pro	$29.99	CA$34.99 · crew hours, job profit, purchasing, subcontracts, selections, the client portal and the site log, with expenses, change orders, contracts, plan takeoff and QuickBooks. Annual $299.99 / CA$349.99.
Estiquik Crew	$69.99	CA$79.99 · everything in Pro in one workspace for up to 10 people, with team roles. Annual $699.99 / CA$799.99.
Estiquik Starter	$19.99	CA$24.99 · estimates, invoices and e-signature. No subcontractor management.

Full plan details on the pricing page. The 14-day trial is Pro and needs no card.

Where it stops

What subcontractor management in Estiquik is

Pick Estiquik if you…

Sub out the electrical, plumbing or drywallOne package, several subs, the bids side by side.
Hold back 10% on every subPayable now and owing are worked out with the holdback kept back.
Need to know a sub is covered before you payExpired insurance or WSIB clearance is flagged before the payment is saved.
Want sub costs in the job profitSubcontracts count as committed, payments as spent, in job costing.

Pick a different tool if you need…

Lien deadlines and noticesNot tracked. Estiquik does the holdback arithmetic; the lien period and the notices are legal territory and yours to follow.
Line-item bidsA sub bids one price for the whole scope, with inclusions and exclusions in words.
A sub portal for invoices and documentsSubs see a bid link only. Their invoices come to you and you record the payment.
Certificates checked with the insurer or the WSIBEstiquik warns on the expiry dates you type in. It does not verify them with anyone.

Bid packages, bids, subcontracts, changes, payments and holdback for a renovation contractor who subs out a few trades a job. It is honest about its edges: amounts are before tax, a bid is one lump sum, the holdback is one percentage per subcontract, and a missing insurance date is flagged but a missing WSIB date is not.

Subcontractor management is on Pro. On Crew, it needs the money switch, and emailing bid invites also needs the send switch. People with the sub role never see this page.

Before you ask

Questions contractors ask

Do subs need an Estiquik account to bid?

No. Each sub gets a private link to the bid package. They see the trade, the scope, the files, the due date and the job's city, never the client's name, the street address or anyone else's price, and they send a price for the whole scope with what is and is not included.

How are bids compared?

Lowest first. Each bid shows how far it is above the lowest and above your budget if you set one, and the page shows the spread between the highest and lowest bid. Inclusions, exclusions and the earliest start sit under each price.

How is holdback worked out?

Value is the subcontract amount plus approved changes. Holdback is that value times the holdback percentage, 10% by default. Payable now is value less holdback less what has been paid; owing is value less paid. All before tax.

Does it track lien deadlines?

No. Estiquik keeps the holdback back in its figures and warns you when a payment would dip into it, but it does not track lien periods, notices or release dates. That is legal territory.

How do insurance and WSIB warnings work?

Each sub in your directory has a liability insurance expiry and a WSIB/WCB clearance expiry. A date within 30 days shows as expiring soon, a past date as expired, and a missing insurance date as no certificate on file. The warnings appear when you invite the sub, award them work and record a payment.

How do payments show up in job costing?

Each payment is saved as an expense on the job in the Subcontractors category, linked to the subcontract. Unpaid subcontract value counts as committed on the job; payments count as spent.

Which plan is it on?

Pro, at $29.99 a month or $299.99 a year (CA$34.99 / CA$349.99), and Crew. The 14-day trial is Pro and needs no card.