Unified Vendor & Subcontractor Experience
With this release, BuildOps is simplifying how you manage vendors and subcontractors by bringing them into a single, unified experience on the Vendors page in your web app.
Instead of juggling two separate pages and data models, you now have one place to find, review, and maintain both vendors and subcontractors.
Why this matters
Previously:
Vendors and Subcontractors lived on separate pages with different layouts and data models.
Users often had to maintain duplicate records when a company was both a supplier and a subcontractor, which increased the risk of inconsistent data.
Contacts, addresses, notes, and status were handled differently for vendors vs. subcontractors, making the system harder to learn and maintain.
Vendors did not have a dedicated detail page at all, while subcontractors did — creating an uneven experience.
This update addresses those issues by giving you:
A single Vendors page for both vendors and subcontractors.
Consistent data structures and workflows across both types.
Fewer clicks and less confusion when you’re managing companies you buy from or subcontract to.
What’s changing
1. Single Vendors page with tabs
The Vendors page now lives under Directory → Vendors and replaces the old Vendors navigation under Operations → Procurement.
Within this page, you’ll see three tabs:
All – Every vendor record in your system, regardless of type.
Suppliers – Vendors with type Supplier or Supplier & Subcontractor.
Subcontractors – Vendors with type Subcontractor or Supplier & Subcontractor.
On the Subcontractors tab, you’ll also see subcontractor-focused columns such as:
Custom Subcontractor Type – Your own classification of the subcontractor.
Open Subcontracts / Open Subcontracts Value – How many active subcontracts and the remaining committed value with that company.
Billed To Date – How much has been billed so far.
Retainage Applicable / Default Retainage % – Whether retainage applies and the default percentage.
Service Zone – The zones where this subcontractor works.
2. New vendor types (including a dual role)
Vendors can now be assigned one of three types:
Supplier
Subcontractor
Supplier & Subcontractor (dual type)
The Supplier & Subcontractor type lets you manage companies that both supply materials and perform subcontract work in a single record, so you no longer need to maintain separate vendor and subcontractor entries.
Integration note: For companies integrated with Sage 300 / HH2, the dual Supplier & Subcontractor type is not available. In those environments, the rest of the unified experience still applies, but vendors must be set as either Supplier or Subcontractor individually.
3. Unified Vendor Detail page
Clicking a vendor name now opens a single, unified detail page for all vendor types.
For Supplier vendors, this page includes:
Header with vendor name, Edit button, and a menu for actions such as Archive/Unarchive.
Vendor Info (type, status, and Use Taxable when AP taxes or Avalara is enabled).
Default Billing Address and Default Shipping Address.
Contact information (name, phone, email, fax).
Notes.
For Subcontractor and Supplier & Subcontractor vendors, the same sections appear, plus subcontractor-specific tools such as:
Subcontractor Type, Service Zone, and Tags.
Retainage settings – including toggles, default percentage, and current retainage balances.
Tabbed sections at the bottom: POs & Subcontracts, Contacts, Compliance, and Bills.
All fields on this page are editable via the Edit button, subject to your permissions.
4. Redesigned Create Vendor wizard (with auto-generated subcontractors)
The Create Vendor flow has been redesigned so that it only shows subcontractor-specific fields when the selected type includes Subcontractor.
For all types, you’ll see core fields like Vendor Name, Vendor Type, addresses, contacts, and notes.
For Subcontractor and Supplier & Subcontractor, you’ll additionally see:
Custom Subcontractor Type
Service Zone
Subcontractor Tags
Retainage fields
When you create (or update) a vendor and set the type to Subcontractor or Supplier & Subcontractor, BuildOps will automatically create a corresponding Subcontractor record behind the scenes, mapping key fields like name, contact, and billing address from the vendor to the subcontractor profile.
This helps keep subcontractor data in sync without manual double entry.
5. Standardized Archive / Unarchive behavior
Archiving behavior is now consistent across all vendor types.
There is a single Archive / Unarchive action (from the vendor detail page or list).
When a vendor is archived:
It is removed from selection lists when you create new documents (such as new POs or bills).
Existing documents remain intact and continue to reference the archived vendor.
Unarchiving reverses this and makes the vendor available again for new activity.
6. Safeguards on vendor type changes
To prevent accidental data loss, BuildOps blocks certain vendor type changes that would drop subcontractor-specific data.
Allowed examples:
Supplier → Supplier & Subcontractor
Supplier → Subcontractor
Supplier & Subcontractor → Subcontractor
Blocked examples:
Subcontractor → Supplier
Supplier & Subcontractor → Supplier
If you attempt a blocked change, the system will prevent it and display messaging so you understand why.
How to use the unified Vendors page
Finding your vendors and subcontractors
Go to Directory → Vendors.
Use the tabs at the top:
All – to see everything.
Suppliers – when focusing on material or service vendors.
Subcontractors – when focusing on subcontractors and related fields like retainage and subcontracts.
On the Subcontractors tab, use the additional columns (Open Subcontracts, Billed To Date, Retainage, Service Zones, etc.) to quickly understand your subcontractor exposure and activity.
Viewing vendor details
From any tab:
Click a vendor name in the list.
You’ll land on the unified Vendor Detail page with all the relevant sections for that vendor’s type.
Use the Edit button to adjust fields such as:
Vendor type and status
Addresses and contact info
Subcontractor type, service zones, tags, and retainage settings
Notes, compliance docs, and more (depending on type)
Creating and maintaining vendors
Creating a new vendor
From Directory → Vendors, click New Vendor.
Fill out the required fields (name, type, contact, address).
Choose the correct Vendor Type:
Use Supplier if this company will never be used as a subcontractor.
Use Subcontractor if they are only a subcontractor.
Use Supplier & Subcontractor if they perform both roles.
For subcontractors and dual-type vendors, complete the additional subcontractor fields (type, service zones, tags, retainage).
When you save a Subcontractor or Supplier & Subcontractor, BuildOps automatically ensures there’s a matching Subcontractor record with aligned name, contacts, and billing address.
Editing existing vendors
Open the vendor detail page, click Edit, and adjust any allowed fields.
If you change the vendor type to include Subcontractor (or move from Supplier-only to Subcontractor/Supplier & Subcontractor), BuildOps again ensures the subcontractor record is created or updated appropriately.
Type changes that would remove subcontractor data are blocked to keep your data safe.
Permissions and access
This feature uses your existing vendor and subcontractor permissions — no new roles are introduced.
Users need vendor Update permissions to edit vendor details on the new page.
Users need vendor Archive permissions to archive or unarchive vendors.
Users need subcontractor permissions to manage subcontractor-specific data (e.g., compliance, subcontractor contacts, retainage).
Users with view-only access can still browse the unified Vendors list and open detail pages, but won’t be able to edit.