How to get on a preferred supplier list

What a preferred supplier list actually is

A preferred supplier list is a short list of businesses someone has already checked and is happy to call. It saves them from vetting a stranger every time a job comes up. It goes by different names: approved contractors, trade panel, preferred vendors, recommended suppliers, prequalified contractors. The mechanics are similar.

The one thing they share: a person decides. Even a formal online system ends with someone choosing who to call. Your job is to be easy to choose.

Get your paperwork in order first

Every list owner will ask for documents, and many will not look at a supplier who cannot produce them the same day. Put them in one folder now.

• ABN and business name, matching your invoices.
• Licence. Trade licensing is set by each state, so check your regulator. In Queensland, for example, the QBCC says you need a licence for building work valued over $3,300, and plumbing and drainage, gas fitting and fire protection need one at any value.
• Certificate of currency for public liability insurance. Ask your insurer or broker; it is a one-page document showing your cover is current. Many lists set their own minimum cover, so ask what it is.
• Workers' compensation if you employ staff.
• Safety documents. If your work counts as high risk construction work, such as working at heights or near energised electrical installations, you need a safe work method statement (SWMS) before the work starts. State regulators such as WorkSafe Queensland publish guidance on what it must cover, and builders will usually ask for a copy before you start.
• References. Two or three recent jobs of a similar kind, with permission to share contact details.

Note the expiry date of each certificate in your calendar a month ahead. Lapsed paperwork is one of the quickest ways to drop off a list without anyone telling you.

Strata and body corporate contractor lists

In most buildings the strata manager (or body corporate manager in Queensland) arranges repairs and maintenance, and keeps a list of contractors they trust. The committee approves bigger spending. That means your first contact is usually the strata manager, not the owners.

Strata managers often need more than one quote. In New South Wales, multiple quotes are generally required for spending over a prescribed amount, which a strata law Q&A published by Jamesons says is commonly $30,000, though by-laws can vary it. Even below that, many managers like a second quote to show the committee. Offering to be that second quote is one of the easiest ways onto a list. You may not win the first job, but you show the manager how you quote.

What a strata manager values:

• Quotes that are clear enough to forward to a committee without rewriting.
• Photos with every quote and every finished job.
• Calling the resident before you arrive, and being polite on site. Complaints go straight to the manager.
• Invoices addressed correctly to the owners corporation or body corporate, with the building's plan or scheme number.

A strata management firm may manage dozens or hundreds of buildings, so one good relationship can mean regular work. Our page on strata managers has more on how they buy. Some firms run contractor checks through an online system; Cm3, for example, describes verifying contractor licences and insurances for strata managers and owners corporations. If a manager asks you to register, do it fully and promptly.

Venue preferred supplier lists

A venue's list is about its clients. The coordinator recommends suppliers who suit the couples or companies they host, and who make the day run smoothly for venue staff. Advice from wedding industry sources such as WeddingPro comes down to the same steps: check you serve the same clients, ask for a site visit rather than a spot on the list, and find out what the venue looks for instead of guessing.

Hi Jess,

I'm a florist in Toowoomba and do a lot of smaller garden weddings, which looks like the kind of event your venue hosts most.

I'd love to see the space properly so I know how it works on the day: where deliveries go, what time we can get in, what the staff need from suppliers. Would a quick walk-through one weekday suit?

Thanks,

Anna

When you do work there, make the staff's job easier. Arrive in the delivery window, pack up on time, leave the space clean, and send the coordinator a few good photos afterwards. Some suppliers also offer a venue something in return, such as a discount on the venue's own events; that is a choice, not an entry fee. Our guides to venues and wedding supplier referrals go further.

Builder trade lists

Builders keep a list of trades they call first. The person who matters is usually the site supervisor, because they live with the consequences of a trade who does not turn up. On bigger firms the estimator or a contracts administrator may also be involved.

What gets you on:

• Quoting on time. Builders price jobs to a deadline. A quote a day late is no quote.
• Turning up when booked, and saying early if you cannot.
• Your licence, insurance and SWMS ready before the first job, so you can pass the induction.
• Leaving the site clean for the next trade.

A common way in is as a backup when the builder's usual trade is booked out. Say so in your first message: you know they have someone, and you are happy to be the call when that person is busy. Then be excellent on that first job. Read more on how builders choose trades.

Facilities management prequalification

Facilities managers look after offices, shopping centres, schools and similar sites, often for a larger owner. They usually need contractors to be prequalified before they can be booked. Prequalification is a check of the risks of your work, your competencies and your equipment, and it often runs through an online platform where you upload documents and answer questions, as Cm3 explains.

Tips that save time:

• Ask the facilities manager which system they use and which work categories to register for.
• Answer every question. Incomplete applications sit in a queue.
• Ask whether there is a fee to register, and who pays it, before you start.
• Expect a site induction before the first job, and bring photo ID.

Prequalification gets you through the gate. It does not get you work on its own. You still need to introduce yourself to the manager who books contractors for that site. See our page on facilities managers.

How to stay on the list

Lists get reviewed, sometimes yearly, sometimes after one bad job. Staying on is mostly about being the supplier who never causes a phone call.

• Respond quickly, even if it is to say you cannot take the job.
• Keep certificates current and send renewals without being asked.
• Report problems you notice on site. A strata manager who hears about a leak from you, not a resident, remembers it.
• Ask for feedback after the first few jobs, and act on it.
• When the person who added you leaves, introduce yourself to their replacement.

Getting on these lists is slow, steady work: finding the person who keeps each one, making a good first approach, and following up. If you would rather someone else handled the finding and first emails, Curlew writes to strata managers, venues, builders and facilities managers in your business name. The paperwork and the first job are still yours, and they are what keep you on.