Roofing Subcontractor Sign-Up: How to Join a Reliable BC Crew in 2026
Published 2026-06-22 · ~1931 words · back to blog
If you're an experienced roofing subcontractor in the Lower Mainland looking for steady, fair work with a general who actually pays on time, this guide is for you. We work with crews across West Vancouver, North Vancouver, Burnaby, the Tri-Cities, Surrey, Langley, Maple Ridge, and out to Abbotsford and Chilliwack, and the same questions come up every time a new sub signs up: what paperwork do you need, what insurance is non-negotiable, what do BC generals actually pay per square in 2026, and how do you keep your calendar full from March through November without burning out in storm season? We've put the whole onboarding conversation in writing so you can decide before you ever pick up the phone whether our model fits how you like to work. This is the same checklist we send to every prospective sub — no surprises, no fine print, no recruiter pitch.
Who this sign-up guide is for
We onboard three types of subcontractors: experienced asphalt and metal install crews of 2–5 people, specialist torch-on crews with current Hot Roofing certification, and cedar conversion specialists who can rip and re-deck in the same week. If you're a one-person operation doing repairs only, our model probably isn't the best fit — we send 4–8 squares of install work to each sub per week minimum, and the published-rate structure is built around crews that can keep up with that flow. If you currently work for a marketing-led general (the ones with billboards and in-home sales reps), you'll find our setup very different: we don't run a sales team, we don't markup materials, and we don't hold back retention from sub pay. The trade-off is volume discipline — you commit to dates and we keep the work coming. New subs are usually surprised how much steadier the calendar is once the door-knocker noise is taken out of the system.
The paperwork you need before you can pick up your first job
Every general in BC will ask for the same six documents, so get them ready before you start your sign-up call with anyone:
1. BC business licence (municipal)
Issued by the city where your business is registered, not where the job site is. $100–$300/yr in most Lower Mainland municipalities. If you operate as a sole proprietor under your own name you can sometimes skip this in smaller cities, but Vancouver, Burnaby, Surrey, and Richmond all require it. The licence number goes on every invoice you submit.
2. WorkSafeBC clearance letter
Active clearance with no outstanding premiums. If you're a sole proprietor with no employees, you'll need Personal Optional Protection (POP) — about $2,400/yr for a roofing classification unit. Generals run a clearance check on every payment cycle; if your account lapses, payment is held until you reinstate.
3. Commercial general liability insurance
$2M minimum, $5M preferred for residential work above two storeys. The certificate must name the general as an additional insured for any job you take on. Annual premium for a 2–4 person roofing crew runs $1,800–$3,800 in 2026 depending on your loss history.
4. Hot Roofing Insurance (if torch-on)
Mandatory in BC for any work involving open flame. Issued by SOPREMA or IKO once you've completed their installer certification. Without this certificate, you cannot legally apply torch-down membrane on a residential or commercial roof in the Lower Mainland.
5. Subcontractor agreement
A short written agreement that spells out the per-square rate, payment terms, back-charge rules, dispute process, and warranty obligations. Ours is two pages. If a general's sub agreement runs 20 pages, read every clause — especially around retention, warranty call-backs, and indemnification.
6. GST registration
Required once your gross billings cross $30,000 in any four consecutive quarters. Most active roofing subs are over this within their first season, so register early to avoid a backdated tax bill.
How sub rates work in 2026
Lower Mainland sub rates moved up roughly 12% between 2023 and 2026 driven by labour shortages, fuel, and a step-up in WorkSafeBC premium rates. Here are the current published rates we pay across our 18-city service area — the same rate whether the job is in West Vancouver or Chilliwack. Asphalt installs (3-tab or architectural): $95 per square base, +$15/sq for 7/12 to 9/12 pitch, +$25/sq for 10/12+, +$10/sq for poor access (tight side yards, no driveway parking). Metal standing seam: $180 per square plus a flat $400 setup for the brake. Cedar shake conversion to asphalt: $145 per square (covers the rip and the install). Torch-on flat roof: $4.50 per square foot for the cap sheet, base sheet quoted separately. Pipe boots, vents, and skylight curb flashing: $85 per penetration. We do not back-charge for fall protection — we supply the anchors. We do back-charge for material waste over 8% on a documented basis. Subs see their per-job statement before payment is released so there are no surprise deductions.
How the schedule actually works
The single biggest difference between working for us and working for a marketing-led general is calendar predictability. Because every quote comes off published square rates with no in-home sales call, our close rate is consistent week over week, which means we can give subs a 3-week look-ahead instead of a 'maybe Tuesday' phone call the night before. You commit to install dates two weeks out via a shared calendar (we use Google Calendar, nothing fancy), and we slot the jobs in by sub preference: some subs only want North Shore work because they live in North Van, some want Surrey/Langley only because their truck lives in the valley. We try to honour that. Weather days are an unavoidable part of roofing in BC — when an atmospheric river hits, jobs slide and everyone in the queue moves one slot back. Subs who tolerate this with grace are the subs who get the priority slots in the dry weeks. We don't pay show-up money for weather cancellations (no general in BC does and don't believe one who claims otherwise) but we also don't penalise you when our quote pipeline runs slow — your calendar slot is yours to keep.
Payment terms — what to demand from any general
Slow pay is the #1 reason good subs leave general contractors in BC. Before you sign with anyone, including us, get the answers to these five questions in writing: (1) Who issues payment — the general directly, or a third-party payroll service? (2) What triggers payment — job completion, permit close-out, or homeowner final sign-off? (3) What's the maximum days from trigger to deposit hitting your account? (4) Is there retention, and if so what percent and when is it released? (5) What's the dispute process if the homeowner refuses to close out the permit? Our answers: paid directly by the general, triggered at permit close-out, 7 business days to deposit, zero retention, and if a homeowner stalls close-out for cosmetic reasons we release sub payment from our own working capital and chase the homeowner separately — the sub doesn't bear that risk. If a general can't answer all five questions clearly, expect payment problems. The industry-wide bad practice is 60-day retention plus a 30-day pay cycle, which means a sub doing $25,000 of work in October waits until February to see the last $5,000. Avoid this structure.
Warranty call-backs and how they're handled
Every installer has call-backs. The question is who pays for them and on what terms. We carry a 10-year workmanship warranty on every job, and the way we handle sub warranty exposure is: years 1–2, the original installing sub is on the hook for the labour to fix a workmanship defect (we pay materials and drive time). Years 3–10, we cover the full call-back ourselves — by that point the sub is statistically not the same sub and chasing them is bad for everyone. If a sub leaves our network and a year-1 call-back hits, we make a good-faith attempt to contact them; if they can't or won't return, we eat the labour and move on. We do not deduct call-back exposure from current job payments as a reserve — that's a deeply unfair practice that exists at some BC generals and we don't replicate it. Subs who consistently produce zero call-backs in their first 12 months move to our preferred-sub tier (first access to high-margin work, first access to fall-shoulder season jobs when everyone else is hungry).
Staying busy through the BC roofing season
The Lower Mainland roofing season is March through November for asphalt and metal, with a six-week shoulder on either side for torch-on and cedar (which tolerate more cold but not more rain). The four months that pay the bills for most subs are May, June, July, and September — October and November are wet but workable, March and April are unpredictable. Subs who only want full-day dry-weather work earn about 65% of what subs who'll take half-day window jobs earn in the same season. We post short-window jobs (3–6 hours during a dry window) on a first-come basis; subs who claim those consistently are the ones whose annual gross beats the published-rate math. Winter (December through February) is repair-only for us — we don't push install work into the wet season because the warranty math doesn't work. Subs who want winter income usually pick up commercial torch-on snow-removal contracts or take the off-season for renovations on their own homes. We're upfront with new subs that this is a seasonal trade in BC — no general can promise 52 weeks of install work and any who do are lying.
Realistic annual earnings for a Lower Mainland sub crew
Honest numbers on what a working roofing sub crew can expect to earn in BC in 2026: a solo sub with one consistent helper, running asphalt installs at our published rate, putting in 180 productive install days a year (the realistic max in our climate after weather, holidays, equipment days, and slow weeks), averages 14 squares per day at $115 per square. Gross: roughly $290,000. Out of that comes WorkSafeBC premiums ($3,800), GL insurance ($2,400), GST remittance, fuel and truck maintenance ($14,000), tool replacement ($3,500), accountant ($1,800), helper wages ($85,000 at $35/hr × 50 hr/week × 50 weeks), and personal payroll source deductions. Net take-home for the lead sub typically lands in the $110,000–$140,000 range — solid but not the runaway numbers some recruiters promise. The crews earning $200,000+ net are running three-person teams on metal and torch-on with higher per-square rates, or they're working 230+ days through the shoulder season at the cost of higher injury rates and burnout. We try to be upfront in the sign-up call about what's realistic for the crew size you're bringing — overpromising creates churn and we lose money every time we cycle through a sub who quit because the numbers didn't match the pitch.
How to actually sign up
If everything above sounds like the kind of operation you'd want to work under, the next step is a 20-minute phone call with our crew lead. Use the form at the bottom of the careers page or call us directly at 604-446-3482 and ask for sub onboarding. We'll go through your documents, run a clearance check on the spot, and slot you into the schedule within 7 days if everything looks good. Bring your insurance certificate, your WorkSafeBC clearance letter, your business licence number, your GST number (if applicable), and a one-page list of the last 5–10 jobs you've done with addresses and the general you ran them for. We call references — not to second-guess your work, but because the BC roofing community is small and we'd rather know up front who you've worked with than discover it on a job site. Once you're onboarded, the first job is usually a smaller asphalt install (10–20 squares) so we can see how you run a site, communicate with the homeowner, and close out paperwork. From there, you're on the regular rotation. For more on how our business is structured from the homeowner side, see how we publish our square rates or the full blog index for our installer-perspective articles on Lower Mainland code, permitting, and storm prep.
Frequently asked
Do I need to be incorporated to sign up as a roofing subcontractor in BC?+
No — sole proprietorships are accepted, but most general contractors will only pay you through a registered business number, so at minimum you'll need a BC business licence in your municipality and a GST number once you cross $30,000 in annual billings.
What insurance do I need before my first job?+
Active WorkSafeBC coverage (or a personal optional protection number if you're a sole proprietor), $2M general liability minimum, and Hot Roofing Insurance if you'll touch torch-on. Most generals require $5M GL for residential work above two storeys.
How are sub rates set in the Lower Mainland?+
By the square (100 sq ft) for asphalt and metal, by the bundle for cedar, and by the square foot for flat membranes. In 2026, asphalt installs pay subs $95–$135 per square depending on pitch, access, and whether the sub supplies fall protection.
Can a sub bring their own helper?+
Yes, provided the helper is covered under the sub's WorkSafeBC account. Generals will not let an uncovered helper on a site — one fall and the general's whole premium gets re-rated. Bring the helper's name and SIN at sign-up.
How quickly do subs get paid?+
On a published-rate model like ours, subs are paid within 7 business days of permit close-out, by direct deposit, with a per-job statement showing square count, pitch multiplier, and any back-charges. Slow payers are the #1 reason subs leave — pick a general whose payment terms are in writing.