Building materials suppliers in Quebec: getting found by contractors

How a contractor chooses a supplier

A contractor has a usual supplier, then a second one they call when the first is out of stock or too far from the job site. Your goal is not to be the only one: it is to be on the short list of names they know by heart.

Here are the questions they ask themselves before ordering. The order changes depending on the urgency:

• Price: is it comparable to what I get elsewhere, and is it still valid today?
• Availability: is the product in stock, or does it have to be ordered, and for when?
• Delivery: right to the job site, at what time, and at what cost?
• Credit: can I open a commercial account, and on what payment terms?
• Advice: does someone know the product and can they help me choose the right part?
• Proximity: how long will it take me to go pick up a forgotten part?

Each question is a chance to lose the sale. A contractor who has to call three times to find out whether you deliver on Thursdays calls the next supplier.

What your listing should make visible

A good listing answers the questions before they are asked. Here is the information to show for each one.

Getting found by region and by trade

A contractor looks for a product, for a trade, near a job site. Your visibility therefore rests on two clear pieces of information: where you serve and which trades you serve.

Your territory

State the region of your warehouse or store, then the areas you serve by delivery. A list of named cities or RCMs (regional county municipalities) is more useful than a vague "all over Quebec": the contractor sees right away whether their job site is in your zone.

Your trades

A materials supplier can serve several trades. List the ones you really serve: framing, concrete, insulation, electrical, plumbing, roofing, siding and finishes. If you have an advisor or a specialized counter for a trade, say so: that is what makes a plumber call you rather than someone else.

Keep the same name, address and phone number everywhere. Our article on independent hardware stores details local listings and opening hours.

Credit to contractors: what the Civil Code provides

A commercial account is an asset for the contractor, but a risk for you: you deliver before you are paid. The Civil Code of Québec protects materials suppliers through the legal construction hypothec. Here is what the text says, consulted on LégisQuébec on October 21, 2026:

• It is acquired notably by the supplier of materials, for the materials it supplied for the work, and it exists without needing to be published (art. 2726).
• If not published, it subsists for 30 days after the work is completed. It is preserved if a notice is registered before that period ends and served on the owner of the building (art. 2727).
• It is extinguished six months after the work is completed, unless the creditor publishes an action against the owner or registers a prior notice of the exercise of a hypothecary right (art. 2727).
• It secures the increase in value added to the building by the materials supplied. If the supplier did not contract directly with the owner, it is limited to materials supplied after written notice of its contract was given to the owner (art. 2728).

Beyond the law, the strongest protection remains clarity: a documented account application, written terms and complete invoices, described in the article on delivery and what a supplier should show.

Being verifiable and easy to compare

A contractor opening an account with you can check that you exist. The Quebec enterprise register can be consulted for free and shows, among other things, the enterprise number (NEQ), the registration status, the names used and the addresses. Make sure this information matches what you display.

According to the CNESST, suppliers must also ensure that their products are safe: keeping technical data sheets and safety instructions on hand reassures the buyer.

That leaves the price list. Some contractors compare their suppliers' prices in the SubmitX software's Supplier Hub, from their own records, files or manual entry: SubmitX does not extract any prices from merchant websites. For you, a dated spreadsheet file, with stable product codes and the sales unit, lends itself better to comparison than a photo of a paper list.

Five mistakes that make contractors pass a supplier by

1. Different opening hours on the website, on the local listing and on the phone.
2. A price shown without a date, without a sales unit and without saying whether taxes are included.
3. No indication of the cut-off time to order for next-day delivery.
4. A description that is too broad ("everything for construction") and tells no trade that it is served.
5. A single point of contact (the owner, for example) who can't be reached during the day.

Each one is quick to fix. Together, they decide whether the contractor calls you back or calls someone else.

Where SubmitX Network fits in

SubmitX Network is a construction network for Quebec: a directory of profiles searchable by region, trade and radius. The "supplier" profile type covers materials and hardware. When signing up, you state, among other things, whether you serve at the counter only, by delivery only or both.

The network is closed for now. Quebec's 17 administrative regions are on a waitlist: a region opens when there are enough profiles for a first search to return results. While you wait, you can sign up and prepare your listing. Sign-up is free for now, SubmitX sells neither contact details nor client leads, and no SubmitX software account is required.

If you hold an RBQ licence, its number is compared with the RBQ's public registry of active licences. The "verified" label only appears if the email used to sign up is the company's email in the registry or an address on its domain. It is neither an approval by the RBQ nor a guarantee of quality. Join the suppliers waitlist.