The Sub flag: shared subcontractors

The Sub (shared subcontractor) checkbox on a technician marks them as an assign-only subcontractor: they get no login and no activation email, and other companies on Dispatch Bros can add the same person to their own roster. Each company keeps its own completely separate record — its own commission rate, job history, and pay — so a subcontractor who works for three shops simply exists three times, once per company, with nothing shared between them.

Before you start

• The Sub checkbox lives in the technician Add and Edit drawers on Team → Technicians (adding a technician).
• This is different from the Subcontractors roster page, which stores project subs with their paperwork — see add subcontractors.

How sharing works

Sharing is the default — exclusivity is earned by signing in:

• A technician who has never signed in with their own login can already be added by other companies. The add drawer says so: "Not signed in yet — until they set up their own login, other companies can already add them (automatic Sub)."
• Once they sign in with their own login, they become exclusive to your company — unless you check Sub. The edit drawer explains: "They have their own login, so only your company can use them. Check Sub to let other companies add them."
• With Sub on for a signed-in tech: "They have their own login, and Sub is on — other companies can add them too."

When to check Sub

Check Sub (shared subcontractor) when the person is an outside subcontractor who should never get a login to your account — the checkbox hint reads "Assign-only, no login". When you add them this way, the drawer confirms: "This subcontractor is added as assign-only — no login and no activation email is sent. Uncheck Sub to invite them with their own login."

After saving, the Technicians page shows a banner confirming the technician was added as a shared subcontractor with no login and no activation email — they can be assigned to jobs right away.

What a borrowed Sub row looks like

If another company set the person up first and you added them by email, your copy is a "borrowed" row:

• The Email field is read-only: "Shared technician — email is managed on the company that first set them up."
• The Sub checkbox is locked on — the drawer notes they have no login here and this can't be turned off.
• There's no Resend Invite button, because there's no login and no reachable inbox for this row.

Everything else — commission rate, base address, calendar color, pay type — is yours to set independently.

Troubleshooting

• Other companies could add your technician before you checked Sub — that's expected: sharing is automatic for anyone who hasn't signed in with their own login. The checkbox matters for technicians who have.
• The add was rejected because the email is in use — the email belongs to a technician who has a real, working login somewhere and isn't marked Sub. The person can enable sharing by having their home company check Sub, or you can add them with a different email. The error banner offers a Contact support (live chat) link.
• The Sub checkbox change didn't stick — open the Edit drawer, check Sub (shared subcontractor), and press Save Changes; the state line under the checkbox confirms what other companies can now do.
• A shared sub says they can't log in — correct: a shared, assign-only row has no login by design. To give them app access, add them as a regular technician with their own email instead.