Still paying for a machine nobody's using
You were short of 360 excavators, so you cross-hired one from another company for a customer's job. The customer off-hired it on a Wednesday. The hire desk off-hired it in your system and booked the collection. Nobody rang the supplier. The supplier's invoice, three weeks later, charges until the following Tuesday, when their driver finally collected it after chasing.
Across a busy summer with dozens of cross-hires, that happens more often than anyone realises, and the cross-hire margin that looked healthy on paper disappears.
Why cross-hires get away from you
A cross-hire is two hires glued together by a phone call. Your hire system handles each half, but not the glue.
- The supplier hire is recorded as a purchase, separate from the customer hire.
- Off-hiring your customer doesn't prompt anyone to off-hire the supplier.
- Supplier off-hire numbers aren't recorded, so their end date can't be challenged.
- Supplier invoices are matched to the purchase order total, not the actual hire dates.
- Delivery and collection charges from the supplier aren't passed on consistently.
What the leaks cost
Supplier hire days you pay for and don't recover. Transport charges absorbed. Margins on cross-hire that are smaller than they look, which affects decisions about when to buy your own machines. And disputes with suppliers you depend on when you're short.
Cross-hire volumes also hide in plain sight. Because each one is arranged in a hurry by phone, nobody adds them up. A hire company can be cross-hiring the same category every week for a whole season without anyone noticing that buying two more machines would have paid for itself, or that one supplier's rates have crept up.
Cross-hire tracking linked to the onward hire
- When a machine is cross-hired, the supplier hire is recorded with its rate, terms and the onward customer hire it serves.
- Supplier delivery details and their contact for off-hires are stored against it.
- When your customer off-hires, the linked supplier hire is flagged immediately, and an off-hire email goes to the supplier from the system, with the off-hire number they give recorded.
- Supplier invoices are matched to the dates in the record, not just the PO total, and differences are queried with the evidence attached.
- Supplier transport and damage charges are shown against the onward hire so they can be passed on under your terms.
- A report shows margin per cross-hire and which categories you cross-hire most, useful when planning fleet purchases.
| Moment | Without links | With links |
|---|---|---|
| Customer off-hires | Supplier forgotten | Supplier off-hired the same day |
| Supplier invoice arrives | Matched to PO total | Matched to recorded dates |
| Supplier transport charge | Absorbed | Shown against onward hire |
| Margin | Assumed | Calculated per cross-hire |
After the change
Cross-hires end when the customer's hire ends. Supplier invoices are checked against real dates, and overcharges are queried with an off-hire number to hand. The margin on cross-hire is known, category by category, which makes the case for buying or not buying machines clearer.
Signs your cross-hires are leaking
- Supplier invoices for cross-hires run past your customer's off-hire date.
- Supplier off-hire numbers aren't recorded.
- Cross-hire and onward hire aren't linked in your system.
- Supplier transport charges are rarely passed on.
- Nobody knows the actual margin on cross-hire.