> ## Knowledge Base Index
> Fetch the complete knowledge base index at: https://help.booksgpt.ai/sitemap.xml
> Use this file to discover available pages before exploring further.
> Pure-Markdown content can be obtained by appending a '.md' suffix to the content URLs listed in the sitemap (without the trailing slash).

# Set up contractors so your 1099s work

A contractor in BooksGPT is a vendor you have marked for 1099 tracking.

| Set them up during the year and January is a review, not a scramble.

Open **All pages** in the left sidebar, then under **Payroll** click **[Contractors](https://app.booksgpt.ai/go/contractors)**.

## Add a contractor

1. Click **Add contractor**.
2. Enter their **Name**, and their email if you have it.
3. Click **Add contractor**.

That is deliberately all it asks. The W-9 details come from them, on their schedule, and the drawer opens straight after so you can fill them in whenever they arrive.

## Record the W-9

Click a contractor to open their W-9 details.

1. Set **Contractor type**. Individual files with a Social Security number, Business files with an EIN. This one choice changes every field below it.
2. Fill in the **Legal name** only if it differs from the name you use. The IRS rejects a form when the name and tax ID do not match its records.
3. For a business, pick the **Federal tax classification** from line 3a of their W-9.
4. Enter the tax ID. It is stored encrypted and only the last four digits are ever shown again.
5. Turn on **Signed W-9 received** once you actually have the signed form.

![The W-9 details drawer with Contractor type, Legal name, tax ID and the Signed W-9 received switch](https://booksgpt.ai/help/contractors/w9.png)

|| A tax ID on its own is not a W-9. Only the signed form gives you the penalty safe harbour if the number turns out to be wrong, which is why they are tracked separately.

## Check what is missing

When something is incomplete a **Before you file** bar appears at the top, counting who is missing a tax ID, a W-9, or a classification.

![The contractors list with the Before you file bar and the Tax ID and W-9 columns](https://booksgpt.ai/help/contractors/list.png)

## Good to know

* Corporations are usually not 1099-NEC reportable, but payments to attorneys and to medical providers are reportable even when incorporated. BooksGPT flags it rather than dropping them.
* A contractor archived mid-year was still paid, so turn on **Show archived** before filing.
* Everything here also appears under **[Vendors](https://app.booksgpt.ai/go/vendors)**. It is the same record.
* **[Open 1099 worksheet](https://app.booksgpt.ai/go/1099)** takes you to the amounts. BooksGPT prepares the worksheet; it does not file for you.