Audio-Visual - Managing an AV Equipment Hire Job

Create the job record immediately on written booking confirmation. Record customer name, event date, venue, access time, breakdown time, and client technical requirements. Assign the job number to all subsequent documents.

Build the kit list per technical discipline. Identify cross-hire items and confirm supplier availability before finalizing the list or communicating kit availability to the customer.

Raise one PO per cross-hire supplier. State the event date prominently. Get written booking confirmation from the supplier before treating kit as secured. Apply 20-35% margin to cross-hire costs in the customer price.

Grade each item A, B, or C. Record serial numbers for high-value items on a prep sheet. Obtain warehouse supervisor sign-off. Photograph any pre-existing damage on C-grade items.

Count all items against the prep sheet before loading. Brief the lead technician with the serial number list and condition records. Send a dispatch confirmation to the customer.

Manage additions through a single on-site client liaison. Record each addition in writing with the customer's name and agreed charge before the work proceeds. No verbal-only confirmations.

Check each item against the prep sheet before the vehicle leaves. Compare return condition against pre-dispatch grade. Photograph new damage and issue same-day written notice to the customer for chargeable items.

Match cross-hire invoices to POs. Record consumables and burdened prep/derig labor. Add show-day additions at confirmed rates. Issue the final invoice the same day reconciliation is complete.

Cross-hire costs arrive without matching purchase orders, making it impossible to verify the agreed rate or reconcile the supplier invoice before paying.

Prep and derig labor and consumables are treated as overhead rather than job costs, so margin is invisible until the job has already lost money.

Show-day additions are recorded informally or not at all, meaning several hundred dollars of billable work disappears between the event and the invoice.

When should cross-hire stock be confirmed - before or after quoting?

Before. Cross-hire availability should be confirmed with the supplier before the kit list is finalized in the customer quote. Booking without confirmed availability creates scheduling risk: if the supplier cannot fulfill on the event date, you either scramble for an alternative or let the customer down. Availability confirmation costs nothing; a failed job costs far more.

How should consumables be recorded against a hire job?

Either at actuals - recording each consumable item used and its cost - or at a standard cost rate per event type, reviewed quarterly. Consumables treated as overhead inflate overhead figures and hide their true cost per job. At 15-20 events per month, even a modest per-event consumable cost compounds to $500-$1,200 per month in unrecovered expense.

What is the correct way to handle kit damage discovered after return?

Photograph the damage before moving the item from the return area. Issue a same-day written notice to the customer citing the specific item, the pre-dispatch condition record (A/B/C grade), and the damage observed on return. Do not wait until invoicing to raise it. Same-day notification with photographic evidence is far stronger than a damage charge added to an invoice days later.