In this particular instance 100% of the actual labor is done by subs, the supervision is done in-house.
This is a new standard (in 2020) for this customer. The hard part is, we know even using subs, we are still the least expensive option for them. So putting this 15% markup mandate on us is going to be a back-breaker. This customer generates about 25% of our total annual revenue; so at a 15% margin, that's a killer.
That's where I am wondering if there is some way of working around it. For example, provide an invoice for 15% of the sub's work, along with an invoice for in-house work (obviously to which we don't have to provide a markup fee), and recoup some of my margins?
Hopefully, this makes sense...