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.

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.

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.

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. It is the same record.
• Open 1099 worksheet takes you to the amounts. BooksGPT prepares the worksheet; it does not file for you.

Updated on: 04/08/2026