The "is_representative" Field Meaning

In Shovels' Enterprise Data License (EDL) deliveries, the "is_representative" field serves an important function in understanding contractor relationships. This boolean field indicates whether a particular contractor record is the main representative of a contractor group_id. The group_id is a unique identifier that links together multiple contractors operating under the same parent organization. When is_representative=TRUE, that contractor record contains the canonical or preferred information for the entire group. This feature is particularly valuable for enterprise customers analyzing large contractor datasets, as it helps prevent double-counting of organizations that operate under multiple names or licenses. For example, a national HVAC company might pull permits under regional subsidiaries, but our grouping algorithm identifies these relationships and designates one record as the representative. This enables more accurate market analysis and prevents reaching out to the same organization multiple times under different names.