Subcontract Agreement
The contract between a general contractor and a subcontractor defining that subcontractor's specific scope, price, and schedule, typically written to "flow down" many of the same obligations the GC agreed to in the [[concept-prime-contract|prime contract]] with the owner.
Why it matters
A subcontractor's actual legal rights and obligations depend entirely on what their specific subcontract agreement says, not on what the prime contract between the owner and GC says on its own: if a key prime contract term never gets written into the subcontract, it usually doesn't bind the subcontractor at all.
On a real project
A general contractor's subcontract agreement with an electrical subcontractor spells out that subcontractor's specific scope of work, price, schedule milestones, and a flow-down clause incorporating the relevant terms of the prime contract.
Who this matters most to
A Contracts Administrator drafts subcontract agreements for every trade on a project, tailoring the flow-down language and scope to each one. A Project Manager manages subcontractor performance and payment against the specific terms each subcontract agreement actually sets.
Where this goes wrong
A general contractor uses a generic subcontract template for a specialty trade without customizing the scope language to that trade's actual work. A dispute arises over whether a specific task was included, and the vague, generic scope language in the subcontract agreement doesn't clearly answer the question either way.
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