Direct Award Contact
Summary
Award Contact lets you skip the full bidding process and immediately assign a subcontractor to a contact you already know and trust.
Use this when you have a preferred contact, don’t need competing quotes, and want them on the job right away. The subcontractor still receives a formal award notification and must accept before they are officially added to the project and assignments become active.
This is the fastest way to bring a known trade partner onto your project while keeping everything tracked inside BuilderPal.
Prerequisites
- You are an Admin, Team Business Manager, or Team Project Manager on the project.
- The person you want to assign is already saved in your Contacts.
- You are working inside an active project.
Steps
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Open the Subcontractors section — In your project, click Subcontractors in the left sidebar.
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Choose the Subcontractor — Click the subcontractor you want to assign (e.g., Electrician, Plumbing, Debris Hauler, etc.).
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Start the direct award — In the subcontractor panel that opens, click the Award Contact button (usually at the top next to “Create Bid Package”).
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Select your contact — Your Contacts list will appear. Find and select the company or person you want to award. They must be a connceted contact.
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Confirm the award — Click Award Contact in the modal. The award is sent instantly.
Confirmation
After awarding:
- The subcontractor now shows the contact’s company name with an “Awaiting acceptance” tag.
- You will see an Unaward Job button in case you need to reverse it.
- Any Actions, work items, or responsibilities you already assigned to that subcontractor automatically carry over and will become visible to the contact once they accept.
The contact receives a notification in their Inbox and accepts via the Bid Conversation panel (not from their own Subcontractors page).
FAQ
Q: What’s the difference between Award Contact and inviting bidders?
A: Award Contact skips bidding entirely and goes straight to award. Inviting bidders or posting a bid package is for collecting multiple quotes and comparing pricing.
Q: Do previously assigned Actions carry over?
A: Yes — everything you already assigned to that subcontractor (Actions, files, schedule items, etc.) instantly becomes visible to the contact after they accept.
Q: Can I undo the award?
A: Yes. Before they accept, click Unaward Job. After acceptance, remove them via normal participant/subcontractor management.
Q: What if my contact isn’t in my Contacts list yet?
A: You must first add them as a contact (or invite them). Award Contact only works with existing contacts.
Q: Will the subcontractor see the award right away?
A: Yes — they get an Inbox notification immediately and can accept from the Bid Conversation panel in their account.