Scaffold design and estimating software in the UK (2026)

How we compared UK scaffolding software

We opened every vendor’s own product, pricing and help pages on 23 October 2026 and wrote down only what they state. Where a page is silent, the table says «not stated» rather than guessing. We did not test every product hands-on, and no vendor paid to appear here. We make ScaFix, which is in the table as well; read its row with that in mind.

The UK market has two features you will not find in most international comparisons. First, the NASC TG20:21 guidance and its compliance sheets decide whether a tube-and-fitting scaffold needs a bespoke design. Second, many firms run their own hire yard, so stock, hire periods and paperwork matter as much as the drawing. For a broader view across Europe and the US, see the wider scaffold software comparison.

Which tools are on the shortlist?

SMART Scaffolder and CADS: the UK specialist

SMART Scaffolder is the most UK-shaped suite on the list. Its home page says it was developed by CADS and that the team co-authored the TG20 and TG30 guidance with the NASC. The suite is split into products: SMART Estimator for take-off, auto-generated quotations and labour and hire estimates, with invoicing data passed to QuickBooks, Sage and Xero (Estimator page); SMART Compliance, which checks a scaffold in line with recognised standards including TG20 and exports calculations, tie loads and leg loads to Word or PDF (Compliance page); SMART Manager for running contracts, with extra hire tracking; and the SMART Inspector and SMART Handover mobile apps for site inspections and handover certificates. Prices are on request, after a demo.

CADS itself describes itself as a civil and structural engineering software company. Its SMART Calculations product checks leg loads, ties and bridge beams on independent tube-and-fitting scaffolds, supports TG20:21 tie patterns, and is pitched as a companion to SMART Estimator’s TG20:21 check or the NASC’s own eGuide. That matters: the compliance sheet itself comes from the NASC, not from a vendor.

Strengths: TG20 inside the quote, UK accounting links, inspection apps. Watch out for: a multi-product subscription; check which modules you actually need.

Scaffcalc: browser-based engineering

Scaffcalc is a Swedish company from Göteborg that runs entirely in the browser: a 3D project is shared as a link that opens on a phone, tablet or desktop without installing anything. It lists AT-PAC, Layher, PERI and HAKI among its systems and advertises an IFC-to-scaffold workflow. Its plans page lists four tiers (Go, Pro, Expert, Enterprise) and three packages (quotation, project planning and engineering, the last with verified load analysis by FEM). The page states unlimited users, although the wording differs between plans, so confirm it for the tier you want. The site does not mention TG20, so a UK firm using it for tube-and-fitting work would still produce its compliance sheets elsewhere.

Avontus Designer and Quantify: design plus the hire yard

Avontus Designer covers ringlock, cuplock and kwikstage, with over 40 manufacturer catalogues. It imports IFC, PDF and AutoCAD files, exports DWG and PDF, links to Navisworks for BIM coordination, and sends models to the Viewer app for phones and tablets. The purchase page says it runs on Windows only and publishes a pay-as-you-go price billed every 28 days, in pounds among other currencies, with outright ownership on request.

Avontus Quantify is the part UK hire yards look at. It invoices in advance, in arrears or first in advance then in arrears (FATA), handles off-rent and continuation periods, takes daily, weekly or monthly rates, and lets crews scan QR-coded scaffold tags with Quantify Web on a phone. It connects to QuickBooks, Xero and Sage.

ScaffPlan: design inside SketchUp or Tekla

ScaffPlan works inside SketchUp and Tekla, runs its engineering checks in Tekla and lists Revit as coming. Its site shows customer logos, including Altrad, Bilfinger and Layher. The pricing page is per user and billed annually, with monthly payment as instalments on a twelve-month commitment, and a SketchUp or Tekla licence is needed on top. Strong for design offices that already live in those programs; heavy for a two-van firm.

The Scaffold Software, iScaf and StrikeSoft: running the jobs

These three are easy to confuse, and they are different companies.

• [The Scaffold Software](https://thescaffoldsoftware.co.uk/) is a UK limited company. It covers quotes, gangs, site paperwork and payment claims, an enquiry pipeline, gang scheduling and extra-hire tracking. Weekly inspections are signed by the inspector on site, with photos, and stored as signed PDFs; its quote builder, inspection scheduler and handover certificate templates are described as TG20:21-aware. It runs entirely in the browser, offers 3D modelling as a plan option, and links to an App Store app. Monthly and annual plans are published.
• [iScaf](https://www.scaffoldingsoftware.com/) comes from Scaffolding Software, which gives an Australian phone number and says it is used in 34 countries. iScaf draws plans, elevations and 3D with material lists; iQuote produces quotations and iRent handles inventory and invoicing.
• [StrikeSoft](https://www.strikesoft.co.uk/), based in Ware, Hertfordshire, sells the Alpha estimating editions with a TG20 compliance checker. It runs on your own PC and the company says it is the only software officially endorsed by Layher Ltd.

NTI SCAFFPLANNER: for Revit teams

NTI SCAFFPLANNER is a Revit plug-in for scaffold planning, described by NTI as a BIM tool covering several manufacturers, with material lists and weights. NTI’s product page refused automated access when we checked, so confirm the supported Revit versions and brands with NTI before you buy. It fits a contractor working on BIM-led projects where the main contractor already coordinates in Revit; it is not a quick-quote tool.

Layher LayPLAN and PERI: one brand done thoroughly

The LayPLAN suite has LayPLAN CLASSIC, a stand-alone Windows program for predefined facade scaffolds that produces a proposal, a material list, 2D sketches and a 3D view; LayPLAN CAD for AutoCAD or BricsCAD; and LayPLAN TO RSTAB, which passes the model to Dlubal RSTAB 8 for frame analysis. It can be used for 30 days before a licence through myLayher is needed. PERI’s QuickSolve is web-based, needs no licence purchase, and gives PERI formwork and scaffolding a parts list, a PDF datasheet and a 3D view, and the Scaffold Estimation Tool builds a PERI UP parts list with article numbers and weights that exports to Excel. Both are excellent if the yard holds one brand and useless for anything else.

How do you choose scaffolding software in the UK?

Start from TG20:21 and the design threshold

Under the Work at Height Regulations 2005, Schedule 3 Part 2, strength and stability calculations are required unless a note of calculations already covers the arrangement or the scaffold is built to a generally recognised standard configuration (para 7), and a competent person must draw up an assembly, use and dismantling plan (para 8). HSE names TG20 and manufacturers’ guidance as such standards and says anything outside them must be designed by bespoke calculation by a competent person. TG20 now runs in the NASC ePortal; the NASC reported 14,021 compliance sheets downloaded in July and added 1.5 m lifts and returns in early September 2026. So ask each vendor one question: does the tool produce or import the compliance sheet, or will you still open the eGuide separately?

Match the tool to your cards and your crew

CISRS has around 70,000 cardholders in the UK, with card grades from labourer and trainee through scaffolder, advanced scaffolder, inspection and supervisor. Inspection apps should let you record who inspected and what card they hold. The NASC’s SG04 guidance on preventing falls is the reference many method statements follow; a good system keeps it attached to the job file.

Decide whether hire is your business

If your income is hire, pick the stock system first (Quantify, iRent, SMART Manager, The Scaffold Software) and the drawing tool second. If you erect for your own jobs, a hire module adds cost and data entry with little return.

Count the paperwork beyond the scaffold

Under regulation 12, a working platform from which a person could fall 2 m or more needs inspections and written reports, and a scaffold on the public highway needs a council licence with its own drawing; UK scaffolding regulations has the full rule set. Software that produces the drawing, the handover certificate and the inspection record from one job saves the most office time. For how each line of a quote is priced, see scaffolding estimating software.

Test it on a job you have already built

Model a house or a block you scaffolded last month and compare the tool’s list with the delivery note. A difference in ties, boards or fittings tells you more than any feature list. For the general picture of what each stage of software does, see what scaffold software does. Among these tools, ScaFix sits at the light end: it runs in a browser and as an iPhone app, turns wall dimensions or a PDF drawing into a 3D scaffold and a full parts list for 76 scaffold systems, and makes quotes in its Pro plan, but it produces no TG20 compliance sheet, no structural check and no hire billing.

What do UK buyers most often get wrong?

• Buying the design tool when the pain is paperwork. Before you buy, count where the office hours go: handover certificates, inspection reports and hire chasing can outweigh the drawing work in a small firm.
• Assuming a vendor check equals a compliance sheet. A tool that says «TG20» may check tie patterns against the guidance, which is not the same as the NASC compliance sheet from the ePortal. Ask the vendor for a sample output and check which of the two it is.
• Ignoring the host program. LayPLAN CAD needs AutoCAD or BricsCAD, ScaffPlan needs SketchUp or Tekla, NTI needs a current Revit licence. Those licences belong in the comparison.
• Forgetting mixed fleets. A yard holding tube and fittings, Cuplok and a system scaffold needs a multi-brand tool, or accepts two tools.

This page compares software, not scaffold designs. In Great Britain the Work at Height Regulations 2005, enforced by HSE, decide what may be built; a scaffold outside TG20:21 or the manufacturer’s configurations needs a bespoke design by a competent person, and a competent person must inspect it before use and keep the reports.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

Primary sources used for this article, with the date each was read.

• SMART Scaffolder: home and product overview (read 23 October 2026)
• SMART Scaffolder: SMART Estimator (read 23 October 2026)
• SMART Scaffolder: SMART Compliance (read 23 October 2026)
• CADS: company (read 23 October 2026)
• CADS: SMART Calculations (read 23 October 2026)
• Scaffcalc (read 23 October 2026)
• Scaffcalc: plans (read 23 October 2026)
• Avontus Designer (read 23 October 2026)
• Avontus Designer: purchase (read 23 October 2026)
• Avontus Quantify (read 23 October 2026)
• ScaffPlan (read 23 October 2026)
• ScaffPlan: pricing (read 23 October 2026)
• The Scaffold Software (read 23 October 2026)
• Scaffolding Software: iScaf, iQuote, iRent (read 23 October 2026)
• StrikeSoft: Alpha estimating (read 23 October 2026)
• NTI: SCAFFPLANNER (read 23 October 2026)
• Layher: LayPLAN suite (read 23 October 2026)
• PERI UK: QuickSolve (read 23 October 2026)
• PERI: Scaffold Estimation Tool (read 23 October 2026)
• NASC: about (read 23 October 2026)
• NASC: TG20 update, 1.5 m lifts and returns in the ePortal (read 23 October 2026)
• NASC: SG04 Preventing falls in scaffolding operations (read 23 October 2026)
• CISRS: home (read 23 October 2026)
• CISRS: cards (read 23 October 2026)
• HSE: scaffolding information (read 23 October 2026)
• legislation.gov.uk: Work at Height Regulations 2005, Schedule 3 (read 23 October 2026)
• legislation.gov.uk: Work at Height Regulations 2005, regulation 12 (read 23 October 2026)