A person or company that undertakes a contract to provide materials or labor to perform a service or do a job.
By definition, a contractor someone who is paid to perform a service. This person depends to be outside of your own business, hence the phrase independent contractor.
While independent contractor is used to describe jobs in virtually every field there is, contractor by itself tends to be a bit more specific. When a person hears “contractor”, they tend to think of someone in construction. Technically speaking, this is a general contractor.
What a General Contractor Does
A general contractor is someone who is responsible for the day-to-day operations of a construction project, dealing with client and vendor communication as well as managing any sub-contractors needed. A sub-contractor would be anyone who is hired to complete part of another’s contract. Basically it’s a contract within a contract.
The reason a general contractor often needs a sub-contractor is because the job scope of a general contractor is quite broad.
Their responsibilities can include everything from acquiring building permits to surveying, temporary waste management, and more. From before the time that construction even begins to grand opening, a general contractor is in charge of making sure everything that’s supposed to happen happens.
Remember those sub-contractors we mentioned earlier? Those tend to specialty contractors.
Specialty contractors are people who specialize in a certain field such as plumbing, HVAC, electricity, etc. These contractors are licensed, insured, and are expected to be very good at what they do. After all, they’re the ones being hired to do what general contractors can’t or won’t do.
What Do Contractors Have That I Don’t?
People often wonder why they need a contractor in the first place. Contactors certainly can be pricey.
But there’s a reason for that.
Contractors are licensed professionals, specifically trained and approved to do what they do. For most contracting positions, it requires a certain amount of experience and apprenticeship before you can earn your official title.
In addition to knowledge and experience, contractors have the tools for the job, whether it be physical or technological. The contracting world is very cutting edge, leveraging computers and tablets with software for HVAC, field service, accounting, estimating, and more.
Simply put, contractor is a title that is earned, not simply given.