Most UK guarding companies cover some posts through subcontractors, and under the Private Security Industry Act 2001 and the ACS, the contractor remains responsible for licensed officers on site. BOOK ON holds a Sub Contractor Register with an approved supplier register, keeps each subcontractor’s officers as sub officers with their own SIA, visa and passport expiry tables, lets you assign them on the roster with a subcontractor filter, and totals their shifts on a subcontractor timesheet and hours report so their invoice is checked before it is paid.
Subcontractors from approval to payment
Approve the supplier
Add the subcontractor to the register with trade name, registered name, user and contact details, and record them on the approved supplier register with an active or inactive status.
Register their officers
Sub officers are registered under the subcontractor with licences, right-to-work documents and screening status, and appear in the Sub Officers view of the workforce.
Watch their compliance
The HR dashboard has separate SIA licence, visa and passport expiry tables for sub employees, by subcontractor, with days remaining.
Roster them
The client roster filters by subcontractor, and sub officers are assigned to shifts like employees; the Subcontractors Roster report shows their week.
Total their hours
Their book-ons and book-offs build the subcontractor timesheet; the Subcontractor Hours report totals shifts and hours by period.
Check and pay the invoice
The Subcontractor Invoice report is compared with the invoice they send, and the Subcontractor Detail report holds the account.
Their officers, your responsibility
An SIA inspection or an ACS assessment does not distinguish between your officers and a subcontractor’s on your site. BOOK ON keeps sub officers in the same record structure as employees, so licence expiry, visa expiry and screening status are visible in the same lists, and the live monitor’s SIA and right-to-work filter applies to them on shift. A subcontractor officer with a licence 25 days past expiry shows up with a negative number, not in next month’s spreadsheet.
- SIA Licence Expiry (Sub Employees) table by subcontractor
- Visa and Passport Expiry (Sub Employees) tables
- Sub officers in the Workforce views and the officer records
- Officer and Subcontractor Rates with SIA report
Roster, timesheet and invoice from one shift
A subcontractor shift is the same object as an employee shift: client, site, date, time, rate and attendance. That is why the roster can filter by subcontractor, the Subcontractors Roster report can show their week, the subcontractor timesheet can total it and the invoice check can be done without re-keying. Subcontractor cost sits on the finance dashboard against the contract’s revenue.
Subcontractor screens and reports
| Screen or report | What it holds | Who uses it |
|---|---|---|
| Sub Contractor Register | Subcontractors with trade and registered names, contacts, status | Operations, compliance |
| Approved supplier register | Approval status of each supplier | Compliance, ACS evidence |
| Workforce: Sub Officers | Subcontractor officers and their records | HR, operations |
| HR dashboard sub employee tables | SIA, visa and passport expiry by subcontractor | Compliance manager |
| Roster subcontractor filter; Subcontractors Roster report | Who is covering what | Control room |
| Subcontractor timesheet; Subcontractor Hours report | Shifts and hours by period | Operations, finance |
| Subcontractor Invoice report; Subcontractor Detail | Invoice check and account | Accounts |
| Subcontractors List report | All suppliers for an assessor | Compliance |
Subcontractor questions
Can a subcontractor log in and see their own officers?
Subcontractors are registered with a user name on the register. What a subcontractor user can see is set by roles and permissions in administration and agreed during onboarding.
Do subcontractor officers use the same app?
Yes. Sub officers book on and off, answer check calls and submit reports through the BOOK ON officer app like employees.
Are subcontractor officers paid through payroll?
No. Their shifts go to the subcontractor timesheet and hours report, and the subcontractor is paid against its invoice.
Can I see a subcontractor’s licence position in one place?
Yes. The HR dashboard’s sub employee tables list each subcontractor’s officers with licence category and days remaining, and the SIA renewal queue covers them.
Does this cover master-vendor arrangements?
Yes. Several subcontractors can be registered and rostered across the same client, and the roster, timesheet and invoice reports are filtered by subcontractor.
Related features
Check a subcontractor invoice on the demo
We register a subcontractor, roster their officers and total their month against an invoice.