Sometimes insurance requirements differ across vendors or contracts, which is why Billy supports what we call "Requirement Groups", or vendor-specific insurance tracking. Requirement Groups are the set of requirements that can be used for a project or contract.
Let's walk through how Requirement Groups work in Billy.
Quick Video Summary:
Who are Requirement Groups for?
All Billy users have access to Requirement Groups in Settings. If your company does not need to track contract (vendor)-specific insurance, you will not be affected and can utilize insurance tracking Globally or by Project.
Requirement Groups are for Billy users who need to track vendor-specific insurance or create requirement "buckets" that can be assigned against contracts (vendors). This functionality, on top of the "Waive" compliance status, will allow users to track different insurance requirements for different contracts (vendors). See "Examples of Requirement Group Uses" to learn more.
Where do I find Requirement Groups?
Everything starts in Settings > Requirement Groups. This is where your existing Requirement Groups live, and where you can edit existing and create a new Requirement Group.
Within projects, the requirement group assigned is visible at the top of the project page. This requirement group is assigned to each contract unless a different requirement is visible in the coverages column.
Requirement Groups on Projects
A project's requirement group is the group of requirements that must be met for that project, and that group is automatically assigned to new contracts added/synced to the project.
Creating a New Projects in Billy
Whether creating a new standard project in Billy or syncing a new Procore project to Billy, the "Default" Requirement Group for your Billy account (designated in Settings) will be auto-selected as the group of requirements assigned to all vendors/contracts added to that project.
PRO TIP:
If you know you will not be using the "default" Requirement Group or existing Requirement Groups on a new project, the first step is to create the Requirement Group BEFORE creating a new project.
Once you create a new Requirement Group yo
Click the dropdown to select a different Requirement Group as the "default" requirement group for this new project. This chosen group will be applied to all vendors/contracts added to the project. See below section on "Requirement Groups and Vendors" to learn more.
Here's what this looks like for standard projects
Here's what this looks like when syncing Procore projects to Billy:
Deciding which Requirement Group to Assign to a Project where Contracts have multiple sets of Requirements that will be Utilized
When deciding which requirement group to assign to a project that will contain multiple requirement groups across contracts (ie project = default, some contracts will need default + pollution, etc), choose the one that is most widely used across the broad vendor base on the project. This will help reduce the amount of work needed to assign the various contract requirement groups.
How to Assign a Contract Requirement Group
After assigning the project requirement group at the time the project is added to Billy, all vendors/contracts added to the project will automatically inherit this requirement. Next, you will assign vendor/contract-specific requirements.
Changing a Contract's (Vendor's) Requirement Group
To add a Requirement Group to a vendor/contract, use the 3 dots next to the vendor name in the Contracts tab (or inside the vendor profile page) to edit the contract. Then select the desired Requirement Group for that vendor.
VERY IMPORTANT TO NOTE:
If the Contract Requirement Group is changed after documents have already been reviewed for this contract, all existing reviews and notes will be deleted. You will not lose any documents, but you will need to re-review all documents against the newr. A red notification will remind you of this when you change the Requirement Group for the vendor.
If a contract requirement group has been selected that differs from the project requirement group, it will show under the Coverages column
Vendor Coverages: Visibility into the Contract's Requirements
The Vendor Coverages tab will now show a list of the requirements for that vendor, and the state will read as “un-reviewed” until policies have been reviewed.
Coverages for vendors on a project, or vendors who have yet to submit documents will look like this:
As documents are received and reviewed, the state of each requirement will update like this:
Vendor Coverages "States"
Active - documents that have been reviewed and marked approved (or approved non-compliant)
Inactive - documents with rejections, or that have expired
Waived - document is not required for this vendor
Examples of Contract Requirement Groups
The most common Requirement Group needs we hear from partners are different policy configurations and higher/lower limits based on contract details.
PRO TIP:
Read below for examples of when to use Requirement Groups, but keep in mind this functionality can be used for any situation where you need to ask specific vendors, or groups of vendors, for insurance requirements that differ from the Requirement Group assigned to the project.
Policy Configurations
Examples include:
Architects are only required to provide Commercial General Liability & Professional Liability.
Abatement subcontractors are required to have all policies from "Default" Requirement Group plus pollution insurance (to provide standard policies plus pollution insurance).
Higher/Lower Limits Based on Contract Details
Examples include:
Subcontractors with contract amounts under $50,000 (ie final cleaning subs) have lower Commercial General Liability limit requirements.
Subcontractors with contract amounts above $5,000,000 (ie framing subs) require higher Workers Compensation limits.
Editing Requirement Groups
Click the 3 dots next to the Requirement Group name in Settings to make changes to your existing Requirement Group(s).
Click "Rename" to change the name of the Requirement Group.
Select "Add Requirement" to add an insurance policy or required document.
Or click the 3 dots next to the insurance policy to edit the requirement and make changes.
Impact of Changing Requirement Groups
It is important to confirm all requirements before flipping a project to Active, as any errors will impact the project's compliance after. Please ensure you review the requirement groups assigned to the project before going live with a project.
Changing the requirement group assigned to the project:
Changing a project's requirement group will not automatically change existing contract requirement groups.
Contract requirement groups will need to be manually changed to reflect the project requirement group change.
Only new contracts (added or synced) will reflect the requirement group change.
Changing a contract requirement group after documents have been reviewed:
Changing contract requirement groups after documents have been reviewed will delete existing reviews. Exisitng documents will need to be re-reviewed against the new requirement groups. The requirement group assigned when setting up a project is automatically inherited when a new contract is added or a contract syncs (for Procore projects) to a project.
Here's a quick video showing you how various changes to a requirement group can affect contract (vendor) compliance:
If you have any questions or need help with Requirement Groups, please reach out to the Partner Success team through the in-app chat at the bottom right of the app, or email support@billyforinsurance.com.