subcontracting bench work

Pants said:
If I want to hand over some of my bench repairs to another tech in the area, what kind of agreements should I set up with him/her before hand?
Click to expand...

I've been considering the same thing. I would say the following are a must: Non compete - at least for any active or potential clients. If they don't already have a business, they can't start on within 6-12 months (you decide period) of employment with your company. Strict confidentiality agreement - do not allow for any private customer info to leak.

I would give them some test questions on interviews and maybe setup a VM with some frequent problems they may encounter and record the session to view later to see what they did.

If they are going to be doing remote work, I would have a remote machine in the office that they connect to and from there they can do the remote work. This way, you keep a lot of the data "in-house" and not ending up on they tech's home PC.

Give them a probationary period.

I'm sure there is more, but those are some starters..

Also, I'd test them on the software you use and see how they handle it. You can do that on the VM test as well if you wanted.
 
tankman1989 said:
I would give them some test questions on interviews and maybe setup a VM with some frequent problems they may encounter and record the session to view later to see what they did.
Click to expand...

I had planned on looking for someone that has a reputable reputation. I don't want to have to wonder if they know what they're doing.

One thing I wonder about is negotiating a price. For bringing business in for them, what would you say a fair split is? 70/30....60/40?. I don't know what the norms are.. If a regular customer calls me with a job that I don't have time for or I don't do, I'd like to be able to keep them from going else where.
 
I would go with Chris too.

Hes a fellow member on TN, and would not jeopardise both his relationship with you, but with other techs on here, if he took your clients as his own. It would simply not be worth his while. Also his prices are low enough for you both to make on the job :)
 
Thanks. For remote support and answering services, I definitely keep Chris in mind....Still gotta find someone local to take those jobs which can't be finalized remotely.

Anyway, judging from all the posts, the biggest issues seems to be your subcontractor trying to steal your clients... Thx for the tip on California law

This may be a given, but should I also make sure they have adequate insurance? GL and E/O ?

If a client of mine is regular because they are under a service agreement with me, or just plain like me, I shouldn't have much to worry about when it comes to other techs taking my clients, should I? Don't customers generally tend to stay where they are most comfortable?
 
Last edited:
Pants said:
Thanks. For remote support and answering services, I definitely keep Chris in mind....Still gotta find someone local to take those jobs which can't be finalized remotely.

Anyway, judging from all the posts, the biggest issues seems to be your subcontractor trying to steal your clients... Thx for the tip on California law

This may be a given, but should I also make sure they have adequate insurance? GL and E/O ?

If a client of mine is regular because they are under a service agreement with me, or just plain like me, I shouldn't have much to worry about when it comes to other techs taking my clients, should I? Don't customers generally tend to stay where they are most comfortable?
Click to expand...

I would see if your GL and PL cover 1099's. Remember, whatever a 1099 does on your time can come back on you. So making sure your insurance will cover whatever mistake they make is a good way to CYA. Additionally, I would check to see if they do or do not have insurance. Typically we've just had 1099's fall under ours. It cost us no extra to have them on their temporarily.
 
Ok so since your in California what you want to look at is a non-solicitation agreement. Which is apparently different then a none compete which in this state get laughed out of court.

A non-solicitation agreement basically sates that they cant take your clients or your client list since those things are considered trade secrets.

As for subbing out the actual work you can make them sign docs stating that they will do their own taxes and that they are responsible for everything. If done right you are able to essentially transfer all liability to them since their the onces performing the work however because their contractors under the law you have to let them do things as they please and they can essentially do whatever process they want. Theirs a whole complicated thing with this but i do believe their was more about this in the forum somewhere.
 
nesrinamb said:
As for subbing out the actual work you can make them sign docs stating that they will do their own taxes and that they are responsible for everything. If done right you are able to essentially transfer all liability to them since their the onces performing the work however because their contractors under the law you have to let them do things as they please and they can essentially do whatever process they want. Theirs a whole complicated thing with this but i do believe their was more about this in the forum somewhere.
Click to expand...

I don't know what you mean about having them sign something that says they do their own taxes. Why would I do their taxes for them?
 
nlinecomputers said:
You do know that you have to issue 1099 forms to subcontractors?
Click to expand...

No, I wasn't aware of that.

I'm totally lost. I have no idea how or why this needs to be done.

So before ANY work is accepted from them at all, I should have them sign something that says they should "do their own taxes"? I have no idea what this means.

At the end of the year when I give them a 1099, what do I write on it?
 
Google IRS 1099 rules and start reading. I have NO idea what he was talking about. But anyone you pay over $600 as a vendor or contractor you must 1099. Quickbooks has a check box for that in the vendor setup. And reports you run at the end of the year to address this. You can even export it to most tax programs to run the forms.
 
nlinecomputers said:
Google IRS 1099 rules and start reading. I have NO idea what he was talking about. But anyone you pay over $600 as a vendor or contractor you must 1099. Quickbooks has a check box for that in the vendor setup. And reports you run at the end of the year to address this. You can even export it to most tax programs to run the forms.
Click to expand...

Alright ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Steves_Computer_Repair_PA
Need advice
Replies
5
Views
588
Kendrick
Kendrick
Velvis
Facebook Account Disabled
Replies
3
Views
365
lan101
lan101
callthatgirl
A dream button in Outlook
Replies
0
Views
297
callthatgirl
callthatgirl
britechguy
Accessing a Windows 11 Computer with a Microsoft Account Linked Windows Account After the Owner's Death
Replies
16
Views
2K
fincoder
fincoder
thecomputerguy
It finally happened to me.
2
Replies
29
Views
3K
callthatgirl
callthatgirl
Back
Top