What a Prime Vendor Should Ask a New IT Subvendor For

Why subvendor onboarding deserves real attention

Every prime vendor has a story about a subvendor that went wrong. A candidate submitted twice through two suppliers. A rate that changed after the interview. A consultant who could not start because nobody ran the background check. Any one of these can damage the prime's relationship with its client.

So why do many primes still onboard subvendors with a short email and a rate card? Usually because a requisition is urgent and onboarding feels like paperwork. But most of these problems can be caught during onboarding, if you ask for the right things up front. Here is what I think a prime should ask for, and what we provide ourselves.

Proof that the company is real

Start with basics. Ask for:

• The legal entity name, not only the brand or website name.
• A W9 with a tax ID that matches the legal entity.
• A physical business address and a phone number that a person answers.
• State business registration, which you can search yourself on the state's public site.

Be careful with suppliers whose website has no address, no named company behind the brand, or client logos you cannot confirm. A brand name with no legal entity behind it is a reason to slow down.

Insurance that matches your agreement

Ask for a certificate of insurance (COI), naming you as additional insured where your agreement requires it. IT staffing programs commonly ask for general liability, professional or errors and omissions liability, cyber liability and workers' compensation.

Check the limits against your own client contract, not a generic template. If your client requires certain limits from you, the subvendor's coverage needs to support that. Also note the expiry dates and ask for a renewed certificate when they come up.

A right to represent for every submittal

A signed right to represent confirms the candidate agreed to be submitted by this supplier, for this requisition and this end client. It is the simplest protection against duplicate submittals. Many MSP programs reject a submission without one, and some clients reject both submittals when the same candidate arrives twice.

Also ask how long the right to represent stays valid and what happens if the candidate changes their mind. A clear policy here avoids arguments later. Make it a rule in your onboarding: no right to represent, no submittal. We explain what else a supplier should collect from the candidate in what to collect before client submittal.

Rate confirmation in writing

The bill rate, the candidate's pay rate and the employment type (W2, C2C or 1099) should be agreed before the resume is sent. Put it in writing for each submittal. Rate disputes after an interview hurt the prime with its client, and they usually mean something in the chain was not disclosed.

It also helps to agree how rate changes are handled after the start, such as extensions, overtime and annual increases. And ask the subvendor to confirm the consultant knows their own pay rate and employer. If the consultant cannot tell you who pays them, there is likely a layer you were not told about.

Screening and background checks

Ask the subvendor to explain how they screen, in detail:

1. Who interviews the candidate, and is it on video?
2. How do they check identity and protect against proxy interviews?
3. How are references verified, and with whom?
4. How is work authorization confirmed, including the expiry date?
5. Which background checks do they run, and are they finished before the start date?

Confirm that the background checks meet your client's requirements, not only the subvendor's usual package. Some clients need drug screens, education checks or specific county searches. Our article on red flags in IT candidates covers what good screening should catch.

Clear rules on layering

Many programs allow only one level of subcontracting. Make sure your subvendor will not pass your requisitions to other suppliers, and will not submit third party C2C consultants without your written approval. Write it into the agreement.

Layering is often invisible until something goes wrong, like a rate that changes or a consultant who does not know who their employer is. A clear rule, agreed at onboarding, prevents that. You can also ask for the consultant's employer of record on every submittal, which makes any hidden layer easy to spot.

Terms you can both live with

Agree the commercial terms before the first requisition, not after the first placement:

• Payment terms, including invoice frequency and timesheet approval.
• Pay when paid or pay if paid. Pay when paid is common in staffing. Pay if paid deserves a careful read from both sides, because it moves the client's payment risk onto the subvendor.
• Conversion fees if the client hires the consultant permanently.
• Non solicitation of consultants and clients.
• Replacement terms if a consultant leaves early or does not work out.

How iCareTechno handles it

We work as a tier 2 subvendor to prime vendors and MSPs, so we try to make onboarding easy for the prime:

• Agreements and invoices come from iCareBilling LLC, our legal entity.
• We provide a W9 and certificate of insurance on request.
• We submit only with a signed right to represent from the candidate.
• We confirm rates in writing before submittal.
• We never layer requisitions without written approval from the prime.

If you are adding suppliers for IT requisitions, you can find our details on the vendor partners page.

Written by

Israr Kazmi

Israr Kazmi is the founder of iCareTechno, the IT staffing, recruitment and consulting division of iCareBilling LLC in Chicago. He writes about hiring, vendor relationships and careers in IT.

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