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Running any business successfully requires you to be making a profit above all else.
There are a number of ways you can save money for your trade business which includes lowering your outgoing costs, especially big purchases like gear.
When it comes to buying new gear for your trade business, spending time to work out the full cost of gear ownership and utilisation can help you justify the spend, or point you towards equipment hire instead.
In this blog, we will cover how to decide on hiring or buying gear for your trade business.
If you aren’t sure where to start with creating a profitable business, here are a few things to consider:
It’s really important to be mindful of your spending and only purchase when necessary. It can be very easy to keep swiping that company card, or adding purchases to a trade account without keeping the big picture in mind.
Creating a budget for the year will help you to stay on track with what you can actually afford to spend in line with your expected income.
Hire gear costs are easy to work into a budget and business plan, and will certainly keep your bank balance looking healthier.
Though you may have help from accountants and administrators, it’s still really important that you know where the spending is happening and be managing money and the profit of your business in an active way.
Keep track of all purchases, regularly look at the books, and keep an eye on projected gear costs for the future.
It’s also important to make sure everything is being done legally such as income and taxes, and to use resources that cut down on the guesswork.
Speaking of help, delegating finance work is an important part of keeping a healthy business.
Ensure you have the help to keep everything running smoothly behind the scenes, so you can invest your time where needed. Having an accountant who understands the construction industry is a big plus and can keep your business on top when it comes to invoicing and taxes.
Hiring an apprentice, or getting in lower-cost labour is another great way to increase profit, as you will be able to take on bigger jobs, and allocate your more experienced staff to appropriate tasks.
A small or new business may not have enough work coming in to justify huge spending on new tools.
Hiring tools in the interim is a great way to ensure you can take on jobs, whilst keeping money in the bank.
Ensuring you quote correctly for jobs will help to make sure you don’t get into deep water with spending.
Some bits of trade gear are perfectly fine for buying whereas others can put a large dent in your savings.
There are a number of things to consider before making the decision to hire or buy:
Hiring is a good way of topping up your stock without having to purchase multiples.
For example, it might be feasible to buy one scissor lift for your business, but if you regularly have two crews needing that equipment at the same time, you may be having to put jobs off which would lower your earning potential.
One of the first parts of deciding whether or not to buy equipment is to think about whether you can afford a large sum of money to go out now and in the future.
Some things to consider include:
Other business expenses
Consider whether you have other expenses coming up that might affect your cash flow, for example taking on a new crewmember or buying a new company vehicle.
Hiring is not only a great long-term solution, but it can also help you get through patches where your overall expenses are too high to be purchasing more gear. If you plan to go out on your own, hiring is a great solution to get you started.
Items such as machinery need regular maintenance, so always consider if you actually have time to complete that work.
It’s also worth considering if you or someone in your team have the expertise to ensure the checks are done to standard, especially if the item has strict safety requirements.
Hiring offers the benefit of skipping that job altogether, so you can spend more time working and bringing income to your business.
Having a large range of equipment is ideal in order to be able to take on a variety of jobs, however, paying for a large storage unit for everything may not be feasible.
Consider whether you have space to store larger bits of equipment such as trailers, or scaffolding and how much security you need for the gear.
Hiring means you can have the gear when you need it, without the cost of storing and the time needed to shuffle gear around for access.
If you are looking to expand your business you will want to ensure you have the range of gear to take on those jobs. Scrambling to buy gear at the last minute can be costly, plus supply issues can cause headaches for jobs already lined up.
If a job is canceled, you don’t want to be stuck with the gear you purchased and now don’t need. The extra time having to sell the gear and potentially at a loss, is another consideration.
Hiring means you can adjust your gear needs as required, and keep your money for other expenses.
If a job comes up last minute, consider if you would have the capacity and funds to buy equipment at short notice.
Hiring means you can get your hands on equipment that might not be easy to source for purchase.
If you are planning to make a purchase for a larger item, consider if you have time to buy and collect the gear, including loading it onto a trailer and driving to pick it up.
If you are very short on time, hiring is a great solution as Hirepool offers a drop-off and pick-up service for a lot of the gear, plus you don’t need to worry about assembly time. Trailer hire is also a great option.
The initial cost of buying gear is only part of the cost. Also, look at the ongoing costs for keeping that equipment running to a high standard.
Always check the cost of replacement pieces such as drill bits, blades or sanding disks.
Electrical equipment will also need to be tested and tagged on a regular basis, and those costs add up the more you have.
Hiring means you can have the gear ready to go when you need it without the prep work, or worry of having to repair with potential breakage.
If you aren’t sure what to buy, or how to use the equipment, hiring is a great way to get expert tradie advice rather than trying to figure it out alone and potentially buying something that isn’t quite right for your needs.
The expert team at Hirepool will show you how to use the gear, and provide helpful tips to get the most out of the equipment. We also have a tonne of guides and instructions for use online, so you can reference them as you need to.
Whether you hire, buy, or do a mixture of both, it’s a good idea to keep track of your gear requirements so jobs aren’t delayed and so you don’t have to turn work down.
As you can see, there are lots of factors to weigh up when deciding to buy new gear vs hire for your trade business.
Be sure to take your time and weigh up whether you'll get the return on investment from your gear before you buy.
Whether you are starting a new trade business, or looking to expand your existing business, it’s important your range of gear complements what you are wanting to achieve, and sets you up for financial success.
Hire the equipment you need to keep your profits up and your jobs on track. Check out the Trade Hub for more tips. Visit us in store or online to see our full range of gear to help you get the job done.