ProLast reviewed 28 May 2026 · 4 min read

Scaffold hire, invoicing and pavement licences

Hire is calculated in whole weeks from the date erected. "Invoice hire to date" pushes that figure straight onto the booking invoice. Pavement and highway licence end dates get a 3-day reminder, and the dashboard warns if your strike date drifts past the licence end.

How hire is calculated

TradeBooked tracks scaffold hire in whole weeks from the date you marked it erected (or, if already struck, up to the strike date).

Weeks up = full 7-day weeks elapsed, rounded down. 6 days is 0 weeks; 13 days is 1 week; 14 days is 2 weeks.
Hire to date = weeks up × the hire rate per week

Rounding down means the customer is only billed for completed weeks. This is the most defensible default and the standard the trade expects. If you want to charge part-weeks, do it manually on the invoice.

The Hire card on the scaffold detail page

Open a scaffold from the Scaffolds dashboard. The Hire card shows three numbers, updated live:

Rate / wk
Weeks up
Hire to date

If you change the hire rate on the scaffold, Hire to date recalculates immediately.

Why pavement and highway licences matter

If your scaffold sits on the pavement or projects over the highway, you need a licence from the local council. The licence has a start and end date, often costs a weekly fee, and lapses cleanly: there is no grace period in law.

TradeBooked tracks the council, licence number, start, end and weekly fee so the lifecycle is one job, not three.

Setup steps are in your dashboard

This is a Pro feature. Sign in on a Pro plan to see the step-by-step setup for your number.

Common questions

Can I bill weekly automatically?

Not in v1. Use the Invoice hire to date button when you want to bill (weekly, monthly, end of hire, however you run it). Automatic weekly invoicing is on the roadmap.

Does Hire to date include part-weeks?

No. Weeks are counted in completed 7-day blocks, rounded down. Six days is zero weeks; thirteen days is one week. This protects you in a dispute and matches what most customers expect.

How do I pass on a pavement licence fee?

Add it to your invoice as its own line ("Pavement licence fee, £X / week × Y weeks"). The licence fee per week field on the scaffold is for your reference; it does not auto-bill.

What if the licence end and the strike date no longer match?

The warning banner on the scaffold detail page is your prompt. Either renew the licence with the council and update the new end date on the scaffold, or pull the strike date forward to within the licence period.

What plan do I need?

Hire tracking, invoice-hire and licence reminders are part of the scaffold tracker, on the Pro and Autopilot plans.