Release Notes 11 October 2026 7 min read

Introducing HiveHire

Equipment hire and rental, built into HiveSuite. Price kit with rate cards, book it onto jobs with live availability, send it out and bring it back with readings, photos and signatures, and invoice it on return or on a schedule.

HiveHire is a new module in HiveSuite for businesses that hire out equipment. It turns items in your stock list into hire kit, prices them with proper rate cards, shows exactly what is free on any date, and follows every item from booking to dispatch, return and invoice - inside the same jobs, calendar and invoices you already use.

Whether you hire out mini diggers with fleet numbers, 400 metres of fencing, generators, marquees or event furniture, HiveHire handles the things general job management software can't: charging days, minimum hire, cheapest-rate pricing, late returns, meter readings, delivery by distance and long hires that need billing every month until the kit comes back.

HiveHire is included on every plan at no extra cost. Switch it on from HiveHire Settings, and a built-in settings guide walks through every option with worked examples.

Want the full picture of what HiveHire can do?

Explore HiveHire

At a glance

Everything a hire business needs, in one place

From the first booking to the final invoice, every hire item is priced, tracked and billed without spreadsheets or a separate hire system.

Rate cards

Daily, weekly and monthly rates, rate tables or fixed periods - always priced at the cheapest combination.

Live availability

See how many are free for the chosen dates, with warn or block protection against overbooking.

Fleet units

Track kit as a quantity or as individual machines with fleet and serial numbers.

Dispatch & return

Meter and fuel readings, condition, photos and signatures every time kit goes out or comes back.

Delivery pricing

Drivers, yards and delivery charges priced per mile or by distance band from your yard.

Hire invoicing

Invoice on return, on a set date or on a recurring schedule, with nothing billed twice.

Hire stock

Turn your stock list into a hire fleet

Any item in your stock list can be marked as hireable, with a default rate card and a base hire price. Stock items now carry product photos too, so the right kit is easy to pick when booking.

Choose how each item is tracked. Hire from a count for things like barriers, fence panels or chairs, or track machine by machine for diggers, rollers and generators - each with its own fleet number, serial number and status.

Quantity pool

Hire from a stock count, for example 150 fence panels
Free again as soon as it's returned

Serialised units

One unit per machine, with fleet and serial numbers
Statuses: available, booked, out on hire, overdue, in inspection, retired
See each unit's current job and due-back date
Units needing attention are flagged

Rate cards

Hire pricing that works the way you charge

Build rate cards once, attach them to your items, and HiveHire works out every price - always using the cheapest mix of months, weeks and days for the customer.

Simple periods

Daily, weekly and monthly rates. With £65/day and £260/week, a hire of 1 week and 3 days comes to £455.

Rate table

Set prices for 1, 3 and 7 days (or any durations you like), then an extra-day rate past the longest one.

Fixed period + daily

One price for a set number of days, then a daily rate. £250 for 7 days then £30/day makes 10 days £340.

Charge Monday to Friday only, or any days you choose
Calendar days or 24-hour periods
Minimum hire, grace periods and part-day rounding
Rates in pounds or as a % of each item's base price

Price preview and test durations while you build a card
Bookings keep their price when you edit a card
Archive cards you no longer offer and restore them later
Pause charging for breakdowns or bad weather

Bookings

Book hire straight onto HivePlanner jobs

Add hire items to any job in HivePlanner. A new item picker shows each item's photo, rate card and how many are free for the dates you've chosen. Set delivery, collection and charging dates, and the cost is worked out as you type.

Availability counts everything already booked, out early or overdue, so you know before you save whether you can fulfil the order. Choose whether an overbooking just warns you (with a reason recorded) or blocks the booking altogether.

Overbooking protection

"Only 2 of 3 requested" shown on the job form
Warn with a recorded reason, or block outright
Extensions and late returns are checked too

On the job and calendar

Dispatch, Return and View buttons on each hire item
"On hire" tag on jobs with kit still out
Completing a job asks what to do with kit still out

Dispatch & return

A clear record every time kit goes out and comes back

Step-by-step dispatch and return screens capture the details that settle disputes and get the charge right.

Dispatch

Choose which unit is going out
Meter, hours and fuel readings
Condition and notes
Send part of a booking now, the rest later

Return

End readings and condition on return
Fuel, hours and mileage usage charges
Charged up to the customer's off-hire request
Shows how many days early or late it came back

Proof

Condition photos at dispatch and return
On-screen signature with the signer's name
Make photos or signatures optional or required
Full history of every step, who did it and when

Delivery & collection

Drivers, yards and delivery pricing

Name who delivers and who collects - they can be different people - and HiveHire can add them to the job's crew so the run is on their schedule. Make drivers optional or required before kit can go out.

Set your main yard, plus a yard per HivePlanner region if you run more than one depot. HiveHire measures the distance to each job site and can price delivery and collection for you, per mile or by distance band, with the working shown on screen.

Add delivery, collection and sale items (such as fuel or blades) to any hire job. They go onto the hire invoice, and sale items take stock when invoiced.

Transport pricing

Per mile, distance bands, suggested or manual
Free miles and a minimum charge
Surcharge for heavy kit, such as a low-loader
Override any price, or recalculate before invoicing

Example

12.4 mi with 5 free miles at £2.00/mile: 7.4 mi x £2.00 = £14.80. With a £25 minimum charge, the delivery is £25.00.

Invoicing

Invoice on return, on a date, or every month

Each hire job has its own invoice timing. Raise the invoice when the kit comes back, on a set date, or on a recurring schedule for long hires - monthly on a chosen day or every few weeks - until the last item is returned.

Invoice lines include each item's fleet number, the period charged and its dates, plus usage, delivery, collection and sale charges. Scheduled invoices are always created as drafts, so you can check them before anything goes to the customer.

If a hire changes after it's invoiced - new dates, a late return or a charging pause - HiveHire shows the difference and updates unpaid invoices for you. Paid invoices are never rewritten: any extra goes on as a separate adjustment line.

Recurring example

Two compactors out from 1 October, invoiced monthly on the 1st:

1 Nov: draft for 1 Oct - 31 Oct, plus any fuel used
Returned 14 Nov: final bill for 1 Nov - 14 Nov

Nothing billed twice

Each invoice only adds what isn't billed yet
Charges added later are flagged as not invoiced
Optional automatic draft when the last item comes back

Your team & your settings

Built for the yard, the van and the office

HiveHire works across HivePlanner, HiveCrew and the mobile app, with settings that keep you in control of who sees and does what.

HiveHire dashboard

See what is on hire, what is due out this week, every booking and anything overdue, with Dispatch and Return on each line.

Crew field steps

Team members on a job can dispatch, return and record readings, photos and signatures out in the field.

Hire in HiveCrew

Each job in HiveCrew shows its hire items, their status and the steps that team member can take.

Offline hire board

Admins get a hire board in the app's Offline Mode to dispatch, return and pause charging without a signal.

Price visibility

Choose whether team members see hire prices. When off, prices are left out of everything sent to them.

Switch on or off

Turn HiveHire on from Settings or the Modules page. Switch it off any time no kit is out - nothing is deleted.

Getting started

Up and running in five steps

1
Switch it on

Turn on Enable HiveHire in HiveHire Settings.
2
Set your yard

Add your main yard address so delivery distances can be measured.
3
Build rate cards

Check the default charging rules, then add your rate cards.
4
Add hire items

Mark stock items as hireable and add units for fleet-numbered kit.
5
Book a job

Add hire items to a HivePlanner job, then dispatch and return them.

Frequently asked questions

Is HiveHire included in my plan?

Yes. HiveHire is included on every HiveSuite plan at no extra cost, from Solo at £34.99/month inc. VAT. An admin switches it on from HiveHire Settings or the Modules page in the Customisation Hub.

Can HiveHire track individual machines as well as stock counts?

Yes. Each hire item is either a quantity pool, such as 150 fence panels, or serialised, where every machine is its own unit with a fleet number and optional serial number. Serialised units are booked, dispatched, returned and invoiced individually.

Can I charge Monday to Friday only?

Yes. Every rate card sets its own charging days. On a Monday to Friday card the weekend is free, a week is five working days and a month is 21 charge days.

How does HiveHire invoice long hires?

Each hire job can be invoiced on return, on a set date, or on a recurring schedule (monthly on a chosen day or every few weeks) until the kit comes back. Scheduled invoices are always created as drafts so you can check them before sending, and nothing is billed twice.

Can HiveHire price delivery by distance?

Yes. Set a main yard and, if you use regions, a yard per region. Delivery and collection can be priced per mile or from distance bands, with free miles, a minimum charge and a surcharge for heavy kit. Or keep entering prices by hand.

What happens to my data if I switch HiveHire off?

Nothing is deleted. HiveHire can be switched off once no kit is out on hire, and items keep their hire setup ready for when you switch it back on.

Try HiveHire Free

Start your free 30-day trial and switch on HiveHire - rate cards, live availability, dispatch and return, delivery pricing and hire invoicing, included on every plan. No credit card required.

Start Free 30-Day Trial

Related HiveSuite features

HiveHire Equipment Hire Software Plant Hire Software HivePlanner Inventory Management

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