'While you are here, can you drop that lift?'
The gang goes back to a site to adapt a scaffold. The site manager catches them: can they also add a lift at the back, move the boards down for the bricklayers, extend the loading bay. The gang lead says yes, because that is good service, and the gang does it.
Back at the office, the job sheet says 'adapt scaffold'. Nobody knows about the extra lift or the loading bay. The invoice covers the original request, or nothing at all, because alterations were not in the quote.
Why alterations slip through
Alterations are requested on site, verbally, by people who expect them to happen. The gang wants to keep the customer happy and gets on with it. The office relies on the gang lead's paperwork, which is brief at best.
- Requests are verbal and made to the gang, not the office.
- Job sheets say 'adapt' with no detail.
- Time spent is not recorded per alteration.
- Alteration rates are not agreed or not applied.
- The customer never confirms what they asked for.
What unbilled alterations cost
Gang time, transport and materials given away. On busy sites with many trades, alterations can be a large share of the work on a scaffold. Disputes arise when you do try to charge and have nothing written. And the handover record may not reflect the scaffold as it now stands.
Alterations also affect hire and kit. An extra lift uses boards and fittings that are then on the site for as long as the scaffold stands, so an unrecorded alteration means unrecorded kit as well as an unbilled visit.
The gangs are not the problem here. They are doing what the customer asked. The system around them just does not catch it.
The alteration order flow we build
- Customers are given a route to request alterations: a link, text number or email, which creates an alteration order against the scaffold.
- When a request is made on site, the gang lead records it on their phone: who asked, what for, which elevation, with photos before and after.
- Time and materials are recorded, and the alteration is priced from your alteration rates.
- The customer's contact receives the alteration details and price to confirm by link. Confirmation is recorded.
- A new handover record for the altered scaffold is prompted and filed with the original.
- Confirmed alterations are added to the next invoice automatically. Unconfirmed ones go to the office to chase.
- Reports show alterations by site and customer, which helps price the next job on that site.
| Recorded | Why |
|---|---|
| Who requested it | Clear instruction for billing |
| What was done, with photos | Evidence of the work |
| Time and materials | Pricing from your rates |
| Customer confirmation | Fewer disputes |
| Linked handover record | Scaffold history stays complete |
Your rates and terms decide what is charged. The flow makes sure it is recorded.
After the change
Alterations reach invoices. Customers confirm them, so disputes drop. Gang leads can still say yes on site, because the record takes a minute. And each scaffold's history reflects what is actually standing.
The office also gets a clearer view of busy sites. When a site generates a steady stream of alteration orders, that is worth knowing when the main contractor asks you to price the next phase.
Are alterations leaking?
- Gangs do alterations on verbal requests.
- Job sheets say 'adapt' with no detail.
- Alterations are often not invoiced.
- Customers dispute alteration charges.