Tools and hired kit — what wears out, what you hire, and who pays
Your tools wear out, and some jobs need kit you hire. This guide shows how to put a replacement fund into your rate. It also covers buying or hiring, hired kit on a quote, and a tool that breaks mid-job. It ends with lending kit and leaving it on site.
Kit you own is an overhead. List each tool, its replacement price and its life in years. Add the yearly amounts and divide by your billable hours. Kit you hire for one job is a job cost. Give it its own line on the quote. A tool that breaks mid-job is your cost, not the client's.
Every trade has kit. Some you own, and it wears out. Some you hire for one job. The two costs work in different ways. If you mix them up, you either pay for the kit yourself or surprise the client with a bill.
Two kinds of kit cost
Kit you own is an overhead. It wears out slowly, and you pay for it across many jobs. Kit you hire for one job is a job cost, like materials. It belongs on that job's quote.
Kit you own: a replacement fund
You will buy every tool again one day. Build that cost into your rate now. Do it once a year, in four steps:
- List each tool that matters.
- Write the price to replace it and its life in years.
- Divide the price by the years. That is the yearly amount.
- Add the yearly amounts. Divide the total by the hours you expect to bill.
Here is an example. A drill set costs $900 and lasts 5 years, so $180 a year. A saw costs $1,200 and lasts 6 years, so $200. A laser level costs $600 and lasts 4 years, so $150. Ladders cost $800 and last 10 years, so $80. Hand tools cost $1,400 and last 7 years, so $200. The total is $810 a year. You expect to bill 900 hours. So the fund adds about 90 cents to every hour.
Add that amount to your overhead. The what to charge calculator takes an overhead figure. The overhead entry explains the wider idea. BizBinder does not track your tools. This sum is your own. Redo it once a year.
Buy or hire
Compare two yearly costs. For hire, multiply the days you use the kit by the hire day rate. For buying, divide the buy price by its life in years, then add upkeep.
Take a floor sander. Hire costs $120 a day. Buying costs $2,400 and lasts 8 years, so $300 a year. Upkeep adds $100. Buying costs $400 a year. Break-even is 400 divided by 120, so about 3.3 days. Use it 5 days a year and buying wins. Use it 3 days and hiring wins.
Count the hassle too. Owned kit needs storing and servicing. Hired kit needs collecting and returning.
Hired kit on a quote
Scaffolding, a skip or a mini digger all count as hired kit. The waste and disposal guide covers the waste that goes in the skip. Give hired kit its own line on the quote. Label it as hire. Add delivery and collection to the line. Then the client sees the cost and cannot mistake it for your labour.
Decide who pays for extra hire days. A client delay can keep the kit on site longer. Say in the quote that extra days cost extra. Write what you agreed in the job notes.
You may add a handling mark-up for the time you spend arranging the hire. The mark-up and margin calculator shows what a given mark-up leaves you.
When you invoice, add the hire as its own line with a clear description. BizBinder has no special hire line type. A plain line does the job.
When a tool breaks mid-job
A broken tool is your cost, not the client's. Do not add it to the bill. Tell the client early. Give a new date. Then fix or replace the tool.
The delays and overruns scripts have words for a change of date.
When a client asks to borrow a tool
Say no, politely. A lent tool can break, go missing, or hurt someone. Then you carry the cost and the risk. Offer a useful answer instead. Tell them where they can hire one.
Kit left on site overnight
Some jobs need kit to stay on site. Agree where it is kept before you leave it. Note it in the job notes. If kit goes missing or gets damaged, tell the client the same day. Ask your insurer what it covers.
This guide gives no tax advice. Ask your accountant how to treat tools and hire.
The scripts for all of this
The tools and hired kit pack has six scripts for these messages. Fill in your details once, and every script updates.
Common questions
Should I charge the client for my own tools?
Not as a line. Your tools are an overhead. Build a small amount for wear into your hourly rate, so every job pays its share.
Can I pass hire costs on to the client?
Yes, if the quote says so. Give the hire its own line. Include delivery and collection. Then the client sees what the kit costs.
Who pays when my tool breaks mid-job?
You do. A broken tool is your cost, not the client's. Tell the client early and give a new date.
Does BizBinder track my tools or my hire costs?
No. It has no tool list and no expense tracking. You can add hire as an invoice line with a clear description. The replacement fund is your own yearly sum.
Want the hire shown clearly on the invoice?
BizBinder has no tool list, no expense tracking and no equipment line type. You work out the replacement fund yourself, once a year. You can add hired kit to a quote or invoice as its own line with a clear description. You write down what you agreed in the job notes.
You are on the list.
A person reads every request. You will hear from us within one business day.
- 01 A person reads your note — not a queue.
- 02 You get an invite as spots open.
- 03 Your admin starts filing itself.
The free library is open while you wait. Nothing in it needs an account.
- guide How to price a job so the number holds up The quote works only if its number works. Start with the price, then write it up.
- tool Free Quote & Estimate Generator Fill in your business and client details. Add line items, mark any as optional, and set a deposit. A clean quote builds as you type. Turn it into an invoice with one click.
- tool Quote & invoice terms builder Tick the clauses that fit the job and fill in your numbers once. You get a plain-English terms block. Copy it, print it, or send it into the quote generator.