Bringing in a specialist you don't employ, a videographer, a structural engineer, a translator, changes more than the cost line on the estimate. It changes who bears the risk if their part runs late, comes in wrong, or costs more than expected, and pricing that only ever changes the cost line misses the real risk.
Pricing a project with a subcontractor isn't just their quote plus your markup. It's your quote plus their quote plus the cost of managing a party you don't directly control.
A subcontractor changes the risk profile of the project, not just the cost line
A subcontractor's mistake, delay, or scope gap becomes your problem with the client regardless of whose fault it actually was. Price for that added risk, not just for their invoice.
Get a firm quote from the subcontractor before you quote the client
Quoting the client based on a rough estimate from the subcontractor, before they've confirmed a firm number, risks committing to a price that doesn't hold once their real quote arrives. Get the firm number first.
In Stelaah, subcontractor quotes and project costs stay on the same record, so the real margin on a project with outside specialists is always visible, not buried across separate estimates. See how estimates works.
Price in a real margin for managing a party you don't directly control
Coordinating a subcontractor, reviewing their work, chasing their timeline, takes real time that a simple pass-through of their invoice doesn't account for. Price in a genuine margin for that management overhead.
Build in a schedule buffer for a timeline you don't control
A subcontractor's delay becomes your deadline problem with the client. Build a real buffer into the project timeline around their piece specifically, not just around your own team's work.
Decide upfront whether the client contracts with you or with the subcontractor directly
Having the client contract with you for the whole project keeps you in control of the relationship and the margin; letting them contract directly with the subcontractor for their piece reduces your risk but also your visibility and your markup. Decide deliberately, not by default.
A simple checklist
If you do nothing else, do these five things:
- Get a firm subcontractor quote before quoting the client.
- Price in real risk for a piece you don't directly control.
- Price in a real margin for managing the subcontractor.
- Build a schedule buffer around their piece specifically.
- Decide deliberately who the client actually contracts with.
Do that, and a subcontracted piece of the project protects your margin and your timeline, not just the client's budget.
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