Adding a contractor
Most contractors are added the moment Hemma processes their first quote or invoice — the AI reads the document, finds the VAT number, and creates the contractor for you. But sometimes you need to add one by hand: a builder you have just met, a tradesperson without a VAT number on their card, an architect you want on the project before any paperwork lands.
01Where to find it
Contractors in the main navigation, then Add contractor at the top of the page. The form opens in two modes — VAT lookup or manual.
02The VAT lookup path (the fast one)
Type the Belgian VAT number — BE followed by ten digits, like BE0123.456.789 — and tap Search. Hemma queries two public sources:
- KBO/BCE — the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises. This is where company name, legal form (BV, NV, eenmanszaak…), official address, NACE codes, and active/inactive status come from.
- VIES — the EU VAT validation service. This tells Hemma whether the VAT number is currently valid for cross-border invoicing.
Within a couple of seconds, the form fills in: company name, legal form, address, and the NACE codes that describe the business activity. Two small status pills appear at the bottom — one for KBO status (active/inactive), one for VAT validity.
You then add the parts that are not in the public register: email, phone, website, notes. These are the fields you actually need day to day. KBO can tell you a company exists; only your contact knows whose mobile to call when something goes wrong on site.
Tap Save and the contractor is created. Hemma then runs a background enrichment job that maps the NACE codes to a trade so the contractor shows up in the right group on the Contractors page and in quote comparisons.
Warnings you might see
- "This company is no longer active in KBO." The KBO record is marked inactive — usually meaning the company has stopped trading or is in liquidation. Hemma still lets you add them (you might be reconciling old paperwork), but the warning is a sign to ask questions.
- "The VAT number is not valid for VIES." The VAT number exists in KBO but VIES does not validate it for intra-EU trade. For Belgian-to-Belgian invoicing this rarely matters, but it is worth a glance. See a contractor's VAT number won't validate for the full breakdown of error messages.
03The manual path (no VAT number)
Some contractors do not have a VAT number to give you, or you simply do not have it yet and you do not want to wait. Tap I don't have a VAT number under the search field and the form switches to manual entry.
The fields are the same shape — name (required), VAT (optional, can be added later), legal form, address, email, phone, website, notes — minus the auto-fill. Save and you can come back later to add the VAT number; the next time you do, Hemma will run the lookup and fill in everything else.
04What "added" means
A contractor in Hemma is an entry on your Contractors page with a name, optional VAT details, contact information, and any KBO data Hemma fetched. From the moment they exist, they are available everywhere else:
- Quotes and invoices Hemma processes are matched to them automatically.
- Quote comparisons group their quotes against other contractors of the same trade.
- The outstanding total starts tracking what you owe them as soon as their first invoice arrives.
- Public-record details — KBO status, NACE codes, financial flags — show up on their detail page.
05Common questions
Hemma already created a contractor when I uploaded a quote. Do I still need to add them manually? No. The AI extraction creates the contractor for you on the first matching document. You only need the Add contractor form when you want a contractor in your project before any paperwork has arrived.
The VAT lookup says "not found". Two usual causes: the number was mistyped, or the company is registered outside Belgium. The form only knows the Belgian KBO/BCE register today. For non-Belgian contractors, use the manual path.
Can I edit a contractor after I've saved them? Yes. Open the contractor's detail page and the contact fields (email, phone, website, notes) are editable. The KBO-derived fields (name, legal form, address, NACE) refresh automatically when KBO data changes — they are not editable by hand because the public register is the source of truth.
Why do I need an email and a phone? You don't, strictly. Both are optional. But they are what the rest of Hemma uses when it suggests a draft email after a quote comparison or wires a follow-up to a missed milestone. Filling them in once saves typing later.
06What if it goes wrong
- VAT lookup spins forever and times out: KBO is occasionally slow or down. Switch to the manual path and add the VAT number later.
- The lookup found the wrong company: very rare, but possible if a number was reused. Double-check the digits, then add manually if KBO is genuinely wrong.
- A duplicate contractor was created: Hemma dedupes on VAT number, but two contractors with no VAT number and similar names can both end up in your list. Email hello@gethemma.app with the two contractor IDs and we'll merge them for you.