Guide · updated 2026-10-21 · 9 min read

COI Tracking for General Contractors: What to Use

If you hire subs, you need a system that does three things: gets a certificate of insurance from every sub, checks it against your contract requirements, and warns you before it expires. For a small sub list that can be a spreadsheet and a calendar. Past about 25 to 50 subs, or a few renewals a month, software starts to earn its cost. I walk through both below, with prices I could verify and the ones I could not.

Insurance and legal details differ by state, carrier and contract. Treat this as a shop-owner's guide, not advice. Your insurance agent and attorney have the final word.

Why a bad certificate costs you money at audit time

A certificate of insurance (COI) is a one-page summary from the sub's insurance agent showing what coverage the sub has, the limits and the dates. Nobody reads them until something goes wrong. Two things go wrong.

1. The premium audit. Your workers' comp carrier checks your payroll after the policy year. If a sub cannot prove it carried its own workers' comp for the dates it worked for you, the auditor can treat that sub's workers as your uninsured labor. The money you paid the sub then becomes payroll on your policy.

A September 2026 article from COI software vendor bcs lays out how that math can run. It cites the NCCI Basic Manual, the rulebook many states use, and says the share of the subcontract price counted as payroll depends on the work: 33⅓% for equipment with operators, 50% for labor and materials, 90% for labor only, and 100% for piecework. It also gives an example of six undocumented subs on a $20.8M project adding $168,457 in premium. That is one vendor's example on a large project, not a typical small-shop number. Some states are not NCCI states, and carriers apply their own rules, so ask your agent how your policy treats subs.

The same article makes a point I agree with from experience: a certificate you cannot find is, for audit purposes, a certificate that never existed. Expired ones count too, because the coverage has to span the exact dates the sub worked.

2. The claim. A sub gets hurt, or damages a customer's property, and you find the policy lapsed two months ago. Now your own insurance is the one in play, and your premium and your experience rating pay for it. Whether you are on the hook depends on your contract and your state's law. I will not guess at the specifics here.

Neither of these costs shows up until it is expensive. That is why it is worth setting up before you need it.

What a tracking system has to do

Whatever you use, judge it on these five jobs.

1. Ask for the certificate. Before a sub starts, not after. Ideally the sub or its agent uploads it through a link, so you are not chasing email attachments.
2. Check it against your requirements. Do the limits meet your contract? Are you named as additional insured if you require it? Is workers' comp shown? Is the policy in force for the whole job? This is the step most owners skip, and it is the one that matters. A certificate on file that does not meet your requirements is the same as no certificate.
3. Warn you before it expires. A reminder 30 and 10 days out is common. The alert should go to the sub and to you.
4. Keep the history. Auditors ask for coverage on past dates, so replaced and expired certificates have to be kept, not overwritten.
5. Show gaps at a glance. One view: which subs are current, which expire this month, which are missing something.

A note on what a certificate does not do. It is a summary, not the policy itself. Your attorney or agent can tell you how much weight to put on one in your state and under your contracts.

The spreadsheet method (free, works for small lists)

If you have under about 25 subs, this is a fair place to start. Setup takes an afternoon.

1. One folder, one naming rule. Save every certificate as SubName_Policy_ExpiryDate.pdf, for example Acme-Electric_GL_2027-03-31.pdf. Never delete old ones. Move them to an Archive folder.
2. One sheet, one row per sub per policy type. Columns: sub name, contact, agent name and phone, policy type (general liability, workers' comp, auto, umbrella), policy number, start date, expiry date, limits, additional insured (yes or no), file link, and status.
3. A status column that calculates itself. Use a formula so the cell reads "EXPIRED" if the expiry date is before today, "DUE" if within 30 days, and "OK" otherwise. In Google Sheets or Excel: =IF(G2<TODAY(),"EXPIRED",IF(G2<TODAY()+30,"DUE","OK")). Add conditional formatting so red and yellow jump out.
4. A requirements row at the top. Write down your minimums (for example, general liability limits and workers' comp required) so whoever checks has the standard in front of them.
5. A calendar reminder. Set a recurring weekly slot, same day each week, to sort by expiry date and chase anything due.
6. A "no pay without a current COI" rule. Tie it to your payables or your job-start checklist. A reminder only works if there is a consequence.

Where it breaks. Spreadsheets do not chase anyone. They do not read the certificate for you, so a typo or a missing additional-insured line gets through. They depend on one person staying on the job. If that person is you and you are on a roof, the sheet goes stale. When you notice you have not opened it in a month, that is your signal.

For a longer walkthrough, see our guide on how to track subcontractor certificates of insurance.

Software options, compared (as of October 2026)

Prices for this category are hard to pin down. Most vendors quote after a call. The table shows what I could find in recent sources, and I mark where a number comes from the vendor and where it is a third party's estimate. Confirm everything before you buy.

Notes on reading this table:

• The comparison pages are written by vendors. Docsumo, illumend and Vertikal each sell something. I used them for the price points they report, not for their rankings.
• The vendor-pay option. Vertikal's guide mentions models where the cost is passed to the subs, at $85 to $150 per vendor a year. Some subs will not like that. Ask how it works before you agree to it.
• Minimums matter more than per-vendor rates. A $10,000 minimum is a poor fit for a shop with 30 subs, even if the per-sub rate looks low. Do the math on your sub count.
• Peak COI vs the free tiers. If you have under 25 to 50 subs and mostly need a place to keep and check certificates, a free tier from bcs or TrustLayer may cover you. Peak COI is a monthly flat price starting at $299, so it makes more sense when chasing renewals is eating hours. I built it, so weigh that accordingly. Ask any vendor for a trial or a demo with your own real certificates.

Questions to ask any vendor

1. Does it check the certificate against my requirements, or just store it?
2. Who chases the sub and the agent for renewals, the software or my staff?
3. What does it cost at my sub count, including setup and any minimum?
4. Can I export every certificate, including expired ones, if an auditor asks?
5. What happens to my data if I cancel?

Who should skip software

• You use a handful of repeat subs, all with long-standing agents, and renewals come in on their own.
• You are a one-trade remodeler with a short list and you already check each certificate by eye before the first day on site.

Do the spreadsheet, and put the weekly slot on the calendar.

Who should get software

• You run more than 25 to 50 subs, or the list turns over every season.
• Renewals slip through, or you have found a lapsed policy after the work was done.
• Your contracts with owners or lenders require you to prove your subs' coverage.
• Nobody on staff has the time to read the certificates, and you know it.

A simple rollout in one week

1. Day 1: List every sub who worked for you in the last 12 months. Pull the audit-facing ones (anyone paid more than a few thousand dollars) first.
2. Day 2: Write down your insurance requirements in one page, with limits and the endorsements you need. Have your agent review it.
3. Days 3 to 4: Request a current certificate from each sub on the list. Log them in the sheet or the software.
4. Day 5: Flag every gap and send a written request. Do not release the next payment to a sub with an expired or missing certificate.
5. Ongoing: Weekly review, 15 minutes.

Bottom line

The certificate is cheap. The audit surprise is not, and the bcs example shows how big it can get on a large job, even if your numbers will differ. Start with a spreadsheet and a weekly review if your list is short, and move to software when renewals or the number of subs outgrow it. Check any price here with the vendor, and check your coverage rules with your agent.

If your missed calls are costing you jobs too, our guides on missed call text back for contractors and AI receptionists for HVAC companies cover that side of the business.

If you want more practical, no-hype notes like this one, subscribe to Fully Booked Trades (Free · every Tuesday · 5-minute read).

FAQ

What is COI tracking for general contractors?

It is the routine of collecting a certificate of insurance from every subcontractor, checking it against your contract requirements, and following up before it expires. The goal is to be able to prove, for any sub and any job date, that valid coverage was in place.

Can I track COIs in a spreadsheet?

Yes, for a small sub list a spreadsheet works if one person owns it and the certificate files are stored in one place. It breaks down when you have dozens of subs, several renewals a month, or no one checking the actual certificate against your requirements.

How much does COI tracking software cost?

Published prices are rare and vary a lot. Some vendors list per-vendor rates, some offer a free tier for a small number of vendors, and many only quote after a call. Check current pricing with each vendor before you decide.

What does a premium auditor want to see for subcontractors?

Proof that each sub carried workers' comp for the exact dates it worked for you. If you cannot produce that, the auditor may count what you paid the sub as your own payroll. Rules and rates vary by state and carrier, so ask your agent.