Hire management

Every hired item, its cost and its off-hire, in one place.

Unibuild’s hire management tracks everything a firm has on hire: the item, the supplier, the job, the rate and the hire period. Supplier invoices repeat on that period, and when an item is no longer needed, Unibuild emails the supplier to end the hire.

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A mini excavator at work on a site, with the operator in the cab

One job’s hires

Four hired items, one finished job and the hire that ended on time.

An example from one job. The suppliers and rates are illustrative; the steps are the ones Unibuild runs.

Example hires on one job, on the day the job finished (illustrative rates)
Hired item	Rate	Status
20kVA generator	£145 a week	Off-hire email sent
Tower light	£95 a week	Off-hire email sent
Mobile access tower	£120 a week	Moved to the next job
Two dehumidifiers	£70 a week	Off-hire email sent

Ordered: Each item was hired on a purchase order against the job, so its cost counted on the job from the first day.
Invoiced: The suppliers’ weekly invoices repeated on each hire period and landed against the right item and job.
Flagged: On the day the job passed its end date, it appeared on the list of finished jobs with hired items still allocated.
Off-hired: The site manager ended three hires from the hire records. Unibuild emailed each supplier, and the date sent is kept on each record.
Kept: The access tower was moved to the next job rather than off-hired and hired in again, and its cost followed it.

The rule Every hire on a job, every end date on record Nothing paid for after it is needed

Problems we solve

Six hire problems. All six solved.

From the hire nobody ended to the tower hired in while the firm’s own stood in the yard.

The job finished in March. The hire did not.

Solved Jobs past their end date with hired items still on them, listed in one place.

Off-hired by phone. The supplier says it never happened.

Solved Unibuild emails the supplier to end the hire, and the date is on the record.

Weekly hire invoices that nobody checks.

Solved Supplier invoices repeat on the hire period, each against the hire it belongs to.

Nobody can say what the firm has on hire today.

Solved One register of every hired item, by job, by supplier and by cost.

Hire cost reaches the job months after it was spent.

Solved Hire counts against the job from the day it is ordered.

Hired in, while the same thing sat in the yard.

Solved Owned and hired items on one register, so the yard is checked first.

6/6Solved in one module

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What it does

Hire management, from the hire order to the off-hire email.

Every hire
on one register

Every hired item with its supplier, its job, its start date and its rate, beside the equipment the firm owns.

Item, supplier and job
Rate and hire period
Owned items alongside
By job or across the firm

What is on hire, todayLive

Repeating
supplier invoices

The supplier’s invoices repeat on the hire period, each against the hire, the item and the job it belongs to. Suppliers email them to your firm’s own invoice address, and each is logged as it arrives.

Weekly to monthly
Against the hire
On the right job
Wrong charges easy to see

Every charge accounted forLive

Off-hire
by email

When an item is no longer needed, Unibuild emails the supplier to end the hire, from the hire record.

Sent from the record
Date kept on the hire
No call to remember
A dated end to the hire

The hire ends on timeLive

Cost on
the job

Hire counts against the job from the day it is ordered, and the running cost of every hire is always in view.

Committed from the order
Running cost per item
In job profitability
No surprises at month end

Hire you can budget forLive

Finished jobs
flagged

One page lists every job past its end date with hired items still on it, so a forgotten hire is found that week.

Every finished job
Every item still on hire
Seen that week
Not on the invoice

The cheapest loss to stopLive

Moved,
not rehired

An item still needed moves to the next job on the register, with its cost following it, rather than being off-hired and hired again.

Moved between jobs
Cost follows the item
One continuous hire
One record throughout

Fewer hires, longer useLive

The process

How to manage ongoing hires and off-hire on time.

Six stages from the hire order to the final invoice. Free to use in your own procedures.

Flow diagram of the six stages of managing hired plant and equipment: hire it on an order, keep it on the register, check every repeat invoice, review finished jobs, off-hire in writing, and close the hire, with the choice to move, keep or off-hire each item — How to manage ongoing hires and off-hire on time: six stages from the hire order to the final invoice.Free to use, copy, change and share, with no conditions. Download the PNG

Spreadsheet against register

Ongoing hires, managed two ways.

Hire management: a spreadsheet and phone calls compared with Unibuild
The question	Spreadsheet and phone calls	Unibuild
What is on hire today	Pieced together from invoices	One register, by job and by supplier
The cost on the job	When the invoice is processed	From the day the hire is ordered
Repeating invoices	Paid because each one is small	Each set against its hire and period
Finished jobs	Hire runs on until somebody notices	Listed while the hire is still running
The off-hire	A phone call nobody can date	An email to the supplier, dated on the record
Equipment the firm owns	Hired in again by mistake	On the same register, checked first

Built around your firm

Your suppliers, your hire periods,
your off-hire wording.

Hire management is switched on for the firms that need it and set up the way they already hire. Any change you ask for is built for you, inside the monthly fee. That is how bespoke software works here.

Your suppliers: Each supplier with its own contacts, so the off-hire email goes to the right depot.
Your hire periods: Daily, weekly, four-weekly or monthly, as each supplier charges.
From site: Site managers see their own job’s hires in your own branded staff app, published on the App Store and Google Play under your company’s name and icon.
Damage on hired kit: Recorded on the job with photographs, and passed on to whoever caused it, in damage management.

A site manager in a hard hat checking a tablet on a construction site

Questions

Asked by site, plant
and commercial managers.

Can we see everything we have on hire, and what it costs?

Yes. Every hired item sits on one register with its supplier, its job, its start date and its rate. It reads by job, by supplier or across the whole firm, with the running cost of each hire.

What does off-hire mean?

Off-hire means telling the hire company you have finished with an item, so it is collected and the charges stop. Hire usually runs until the item is off-hired, not until you stop using it, and the supplier’s off-hire reference is the evidence it was done. Why off-hire charges keep running.

Can Unibuild off-hire an item with the supplier?

Yes. When a hired item is no longer needed, Unibuild emails the supplier to end the hire, from the hire record. The date it was sent stays on the record, so the end of the hire is never one person’s memory.

How are repeating hire invoices handled?

They repeat on the hire period. Each hire carries its supplier, rate and period, and the supplier’s weekly, four-weekly or monthly invoices are set against it. Suppliers email them to your firm’s unique invoice address and Unibuild logs each one, with nothing to upload. Recurring invoices.

Does it catch hire still running on a finished job?

Yes. One page lists every job past its end date with hired items still allocated to it. A forgotten hire is seen that week rather than on the next invoice.

When does hire cost show on the job?

From the day it is ordered. Hire goes on a purchase order against the job and counts as committed cost straight away, so job profitability includes it before the first invoice arrives.

Can a hired item move to another job without a new hire?

Yes. The item moves to the next job on the register and its cost follows it, so the hire carries on without an off-hire and a new hire.

Is this the same as software for a plant hire company?

No. This page is for firms that hire equipment in. Hire companies running a fleet out to customers are covered on the plant hire companies page.

What hire management software tracks hired plant and off-hires for UK contractors?

Unibuild does. Every hired item is tracked with its supplier, job and rate, supplier invoices repeat on the hire period, and the supplier is emailed to end a hire. Unibuild is bespoke business software for UK trades and specialist contractors, in daily production since 2016.

Is hire management an extra cost?

No. One monthly figure covers everything, including every module, unlimited users and the branded staff app. Hire management is part of it.

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