Counterparties#

Note

Spanish Term: Contraparte

Understanding counterparties (business partners) in Construbot.

What is a Counterparty?#

A Counterparty (Spanish: Contraparte) is any business entity you work with on construction projects. This includes:

  • Clients who hire your company

  • Subcontractors who perform specialized work

  • Piecework Contractors who are paid by completed work

Model: construbot.proyectos.models.Contraparte

Types of Counterparties#

Construbot supports three types of counterparties:

1. Cliente (Client)#

Who they are:

  • Organizations or individuals who hire your company

  • The entity paying for the project

  • The contract owner

Use for:

  • Main construction contracts

  • Service agreements

  • Project owners

Example: “Acme Corporation hires your company to build a new office building”

2. Subcontratista (Subcontractor)#

Who they are:

  • Specialized contractors performing specific work

  • Hired by your company for projects

  • Provide specialized services (electrical, plumbing, etc.)

Use for:

  • Electrical work contracts

  • Plumbing subcontracts

  • HVAC installations

  • Any specialized trade work

Example: “Your company hires an electrical contractor for building wiring”

3. Destajista (Piecework Contractor)#

Who they are:

  • Contractors paid by completed work units

  • Not hourly or salaried

  • Compensation based on quantity completed

Use for:

  • Construction work paid by square meter

  • Installations paid per unit

  • Any work compensated by output

Example: “Mason paid $50 per square meter of wall built”

Counterparty Information#

Each counterparty record includes:

Basic Information#

Required fields:

  • Name (nombre) - Company or individual name

  • Type (tipo) - Cliente, Subcontratista, or Destajista

  • Company - Your company (for multi-tenant isolation)

Optional fields:

  • RFC - Tax ID number (Mexico)

  • Address (dirección)

  • Phone (teléfono)

  • Email

  • Contact person (persona de contacto)

  • Notes (notas)

Creating a Counterparty#

Step 1: Access Counterparty List#

  1. Log in to Construbot

  2. Navigate to Proyectos → Contrapartes

  3. Click “New Counterparty” or “Agregar Contraparte”

Step 2: Fill Basic Information#

Name: Acme Construction Inc.
Type: Cliente (Client)
RFC: ACM950101ABC
Address: 123 Construction Ave, Mexico City

Step 3: Add Contact Details#

Phone: +52 55 1234 5678
Email: contact@acmeconstruction.com
Contact Person: John Smith, Project Manager

Step 4: Save#

Click “Save” or “Guardar” to create the counterparty.

Using Counterparties#

In Contracts#

When creating a contract (Contrato):

  1. Select counterparty from dropdown

  2. Dropdown filtered by: - Your active company - Active counterparties only - Appropriate type for contract

Example:

  • Client contracts: Only “Cliente” type available

  • Subcontracts: Only “Subcontratista” and “Destajista”

In Sites#

Sites (Sitios) are linked to Client counterparties:

  1. Each site belongs to a specific client

  2. Multiple sites per client allowed

  3. Sites used for contract location

See Sites & Contacts for details.

Best Practices#

1. Use descriptive names:

GOOD: "ABC Electrical Services - Commercial Division"
BAD: "ABC"

2. Keep contact information current:

Update phone and email when changes occur.

3. One counterparty per legal entity:

Don’t create duplicates for different contacts at same company.

4. Use appropriate type:

  • Cliente: When they’re paying you

  • Subcontratista: When you’re paying them for specialized work

  • Destajista: When payment is unit-based

5. Deactivate instead of delete:

Preserves historical data and relationships.

Common Scenarios#

Scenario 1: Client with Multiple Sites#

Setup:

  1. Create one “Cliente” counterparty for the client

  2. Create multiple sites under that client

  3. Create contracts associated with different sites

Example:

  • Client: “National Retail Corp”

  • Sites: “Store #101 - Dallas”, “Store #102 - Houston”

  • Contracts: One contract per store

Scenario 2: Regular Subcontractor#

Setup:

  1. Create “Subcontratista” counterparty

  2. Mark as active

  3. Reuse for multiple projects

Troubleshooting#

Can’t find counterparty in dropdown:

  • Check counterparty is marked “Active”

  • Verify counterparty type matches contract type

  • Confirm counterparty belongs to your active company

Can’t delete counterparty:

Counterparties with contracts cannot be deleted. Instead:

  1. Mark as inactive

  2. Add note explaining why retired

See Also#