The invoice matches the quote, not the scaffold
The quote was for a scaffold with a loading bay. On site, the builder asked for sheeting on the front, netting on the side, a fan over the entrance and a hoist bay. Some of these were fitted on the day. The sheeting went up a week later. The fan came down early.
The invoice goes out for the quoted scaffold and the loading bay. Nothing else. The sheeting has been on hire for weeks and nobody is charging for it.
Why extras go missing from invoices
Extras are a mix of labour, materials and hire, often priced differently from the main scaffold, and they are added and removed at different times. Paper job sheets do not keep up, and invoices are usually built from the quote.
- Extras are added on site after the quote.
- Sheeting and netting are fitted later, by a different visit.
- Items on hire have their own start and end dates.
- Removed extras are not recorded, so charges run on or stop wrongly.
- Invoices are built from the quote, not what is standing.
What missed extras cost
Extras are often good margin, because materials such as sheeting are reused. Missing them is money given away. Hire charges on extras, when they run for weeks, add up. And inconsistent charging, sometimes billed and sometimes not, leads customers to challenge the ones that are.
Extras also carry cost of their own. Sheeting gets torn, netting gets cut, and a loading bay uses kit that could be earning elsewhere. When the extra is not recorded, neither is its wear and tear, and the replacement cost lands on the business.
The extras tracking we build
- Each scaffold on the job has a list of its items: the scaffold itself and every extra, with how each is charged under your rates, fitting, hire or both.
- Extras on the quote are carried into the list when the quote is accepted.
- Gang leads add extras fitted on site from their phone, with photos and the date, and mark extras removed.
- New extras are priced from your rates and, if you choose, confirmed with the customer.
- Hire on each extra runs from its fitting date to its removal date.
- Invoices and hire charges are built from the list of what is actually on the scaffold, not from the quote.
- The office sees a list of extras added this week, so anything unusual can be checked before invoicing.
| Extra | Typical charge basis you might set |
|---|---|
| Sheeting or netting | Fitting plus hire |
| Loading bay | Fitting plus hire |
| Fan or protection | Fitting plus hire |
| Hoist bay | Fitting plus hire |
| Temporary roof | Quoted separately |
What you charge for each extra is your decision. The tracking makes sure the decision is applied every time.
After it is running
Invoices reflect what is standing. Extras are charged from the day they were fitted to the day they came down. Customers see a clear breakdown. And you learn which extras are commonly added, which helps quote more completely next time.
Gang leads find it simpler too. Instead of writing extras on the back of a job sheet and hoping the office reads it, they add each item as they fit it, and the office sees it the same day.
Recognise this?
- Invoices are built from the quote.
- Sheeting and netting are fitted without a record.
- Extras on hire are not charged for the right period.
- You suspect extras are regularly missed.