A phone call, a wagon and no paperwork
A builder rings on Thursday: can you get the scaffold up Monday? The quote went by email a few weeks ago. He says yes on the phone. The wagon is loaded, the gang goes out, the scaffold goes up.
Weeks later the builder disputes the extension invoice. He says he was never told about weekly charges after the included period. Or he says the alteration he asked for was part of the original price. Your terms are on the back of the quote, but nothing shows he read or accepted them.
Why terms go unaccepted
Scaffolding works fast and on trust, especially with trade customers. Acceptance happens verbally, and the paperwork is a formality nobody has time for. The terms that matter most, the ones about hire, alterations and damage, are only looked at when there is an argument.
- Quotes are accepted by phone or text.
- Terms are attached but not agreed.
- Repeat builders are assumed to know the terms.
- Homeowner customers get the same trade terms without explanation.
- Jobs are scheduled before acceptance is recorded.
What unaccepted terms cost
Disputed extension weeks, disputed alteration charges and disputed damage charges, many of which are written off. Payment delays while arguments continue. And customers who feel they were surprised by charges, even when the charges are fair, are less likely to come back.
Homeowner customers are a particular risk. They are not used to hire charges, and a weekly extension that a builder would shrug at can feel like a surprise bill to someone who thought the price on the quote was the price.
The acceptance step we build
- Every quote goes out with an accept link. The customer sees the price, the scope, the hire terms and your full terms on one page.
- The key hire terms, included period, extension rate, alteration charges and damage, are shown in plain words above the full terms.
- Acceptance records the name, date, time and the version of the terms accepted.
- For trade accounts, terms can be accepted once for the account and referenced on each quote.
- Jobs without recorded acceptance are flagged on the transport and gang plan.
- The office can override the flag when it chooses to proceed on a phone acceptance, and the override is recorded with the reason.
- Accepted terms are stored against the job, so they can be sent with any invoice that is questioned.
| Term | Shown to the customer as |
|---|---|
| Included hire period | How many weeks are in the price |
| Extension rate | Weekly charge after that |
| Alterations | How changes are priced |
| Damage and loss | How missing or damaged kit is charged |
| Off-hire | How to ask for the scaffold to come down |
The wording of your terms is for you and your adviser. We make sure customers see and accept them.
What changes
Customers know the terms before the scaffold goes up. Disputes are settled by pointing to what was accepted. Trade accounts accept once. And the office decides consciously when to go ahead without acceptance, rather than finding out afterwards that it happened.
Gang leads benefit too. They no longer turn up to a site where the customer disputes what was agreed, because the job either has recorded acceptance or the office made a deliberate call to go ahead.
Is this how your jobs start?
- Scaffolds go up on a phone call.
- Customers dispute hire or alteration charges.
- You cannot show a customer accepted your terms.
- Homeowners are surprised by extension charges.