The laser level you hired in from a competitor
A regular trade customer needs a rotating laser level and your only one is out. You ring another hire company, cross-hire one, and send it to the customer's site. The customer is put on a contract, maybe at the right rate. Three weeks later the customer off-hires. Your contract closes. Nobody tells the supplier, whose invoice keeps running for another fortnight, and when it arrives you are paying more than you charged.
Why cross-hire leaks money
- The supplier hire is arranged by phone and recorded in someone's notebook or email.
- Your customer contract and the supplier hire are not linked, so off-hiring one does not prompt the other.
- The supplier's rate is not compared with the rate you charge.
- Supplier invoices are approved without checking dates against your customer's off-hire.
- Damage or loss on a cross-hired tool is billed to you and not always passed on.
What that costs
Supplier charges for days you did not recharge. Cross-hires at a loss because the rate was not checked. Damage charges you absorb. Time spent reconciling supplier invoices against contracts at month end. And sometimes a supplier relationship that sours over disputed dates.
A register that links both sides
- When staff cross-hire, they record it on one form: supplier, item, supplier rate, supplier reference and the customer contract it covers.
- The customer contract shows the item as cross-hired, with the rate you are charging compared against the supplier's rate.
- When the customer off-hires, the register prompts staff to off-hire with the supplier, and records the supplier off-hire number.
- Supplier invoices are matched to the register, and the dates and rates are compared, with differences sent for a person to check.
- Damage or loss charges from the supplier are linked to the customer contract for recharging under your terms.
- A monthly report shows cross-hire spend by tool type, which feeds decisions about buying your own.
One cross-hire, two sides
| Event | Supplier side | Customer side |
|---|---|---|
| Hire starts | Supplier hire recorded | Customer contract linked |
| Rate | Supplier rate | Your rate, margin shown |
| Customer off-hires | Prompt to off-hire with supplier | Contract closed |
| Invoice arrives | Checked against off-hire date | Recharge confirmed |
Cross-hire without the leaks
Supplier hires stop running on after your customer is done. You see the margin on each cross-hire before you agree it. Supplier invoices are checked in minutes. And you know which tools you keep cross-hiring, which is the clearest sign of what to buy.
Cross-hire as a signal, not only a cost
Cross-hire is not a failure. It keeps good customers when you are short, and many depots rely on it for specialist items they would never own. The problem is not doing it, it is doing it without a record. Once it is recorded, the pattern becomes useful: if you cross-hire rotating lasers most months, owning one or two starts to look sensible. If you cross-hire a specialist item twice a year, cross-hire is exactly the right answer.
Having the margin shown before you agree a cross-hire also helps staff decide sensibly on the day, for example whether to offer the customer an alternative from your own stock first.
Does cross-hire cost you more than it should?
- Cross-hires are recorded in notebooks or emails.
- You have paid suppliers for days after your customer off-hired.
- You do not check supplier invoices against your own contracts.
- You are not sure whether cross-hires make or lose money.