ScaFixSoftware
Scaffolding estimating and quoting software
A scaffolding quote is a cost build-up, not a square-metre guess: labour to erect and strike, the hire period and what happens after it, transport, design, inspections and permits. Here is what belongs in each line in the UK and the US, and which estimating tools price it.
By Ole Emil Frikstad Urstad · How the numbers are computed ·
What goes into a scaffolding estimate, and which tools price it?
A scaffolding estimate adds up erect and strike labour, materials or hire for a stated base period, extended hire, transport, design, inspections and permits. Estimating suites such as SMART Estimator or StrikeSoft Alpha price labour and hire, rental systems such as Avontus Quantify bill the periods, and design tools supply the quantities behind every line.
What goes into a scaffolding estimate?
Getting the scaffold right is only half of a quote; the other half is not missing a line. A complete build-up for a facade or a house usually has these parts:
| Line | What drives it | Typical unit |
|---|---|---|
| Erect and strike labour | Gang size, access, lifts, corners, adaptations | Hours or days per gang |
| Materials or hire | Tube and fittings or system kit on site for the period | Per week, or per hire period |
| Extended hire | Weeks beyond the base period | Per week |
| Transport | Loads in, loads out, return visits | Per load |
| Design | TG20:21 compliance sheet, or a bespoke design | Per scaffold |
| Inspections | Statutory inspections and reports during the hire | Per visit |
| Permits | Highway licence, hoarding, parking suspension | Per application |
| Adaptations | Moving lifts, adding loading bays, alterations | Per visit |
The unit column is common practice, not a rule; the point is that each line has its own driver. A software tool earns its keep when it calculates these from one model instead of from six spreadsheets. Our cost guide shows what UK and US customers actually pay for the result.
How should hire periods appear in a quote?
The hire period needs the most precise wording in a scaffolding contract. Write down three things: the base period included in the price, the rate per week (or per period) after that, and when the clock starts and stops. Rental software shows how many ways this can be billed: Avontus Quantify invoices in advance, in arrears, or first in advance and then in arrears (FATA), with off-rent and continuation periods and daily, weekly or monthly rates. If you erect for your own contracts, the simplest version is enough, but it must be in writing, so the «extra hire» invoice in week nine is not a surprise.
When does design belong in the estimate?
Design is a line with a lead time, not only a cost. In Great Britain a scaffold inside TG20:21 or the manufacturer’s configurations needs a compliance sheet from the NASC eGuide, which is office time; anything outside them needs a bespoke design by a competent person, which is a fee plus days or weeks in the programme. The legal background is in UK scaffolding regulations. Put both the fee and the lead time in the quote, because a client who asks for a loading bay or a cantilever after the order has changed the design line, not just the material line.
Why do inspections and permits change the price?
Inspections are labour the client does not see. A working platform from which someone could fall 2 m or more has to be inspected within the previous 7 days under regulation 12, with a written report, so a twelve-week hire carries at least twelve visits, plus any after bad weather or alterations. Price them per visit or include them in the weekly hire, but say which. Permits work the same way: a highway licence, a hoarding licence or a parking suspension has a fee, an application time and a drawing, and the council will want a drawing of the footway and kerb. Either price them or list them as an explicit exclusion.
Which tool computes which line of the estimate?
Most firms do not need one tool that does everything; they need to know which tool owns which line. The matrix below maps each line of the estimate to the tools that, on their own sites on 23 October 2026, say they calculate it. Vendor details, platforms and pricing models are in our UK scaffold software comparison and, across Europe and the US, in the wider software comparison.
| Line of the estimate | Which tool computes it | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Erect and strike labour | SMART Estimator (labour and hire estimation), StrikeSoft Alpha (estimating to invoicing) | Whether gang rates and corners or adaptations change the hours |
| Materials and quantities | Design tools: Scaffcalc (area and weight in its quotation package), ScaffPlan, iScaf from Scaffolding Software, ScaFix | Whether the list feeds the quote or has to be retyped |
| Base hire and extended hire | Avontus Quantify (advance, arrears or FATA), iRent, The Scaffold Software (extra-hire tracking) | When the clock starts and stops, and how continuation periods are billed |
| Transport | Usually the estimating suite or a spreadsheet | Loads in, loads out and return visits for alterations |
| Design | SMART Estimator’s Check IT TG20:21 as named by CADS, StrikeSoft’s TG20 compliance checker, the NASC eGuide itself | Whether the tool issues the compliance sheet or only checks against TG20 |
| Inspections | SMART Inspector, The Scaffold Software (signed PDF inspections) | Whether visits are priced or only recorded |
| Quote document | SMART Estimator (auto-generated quotations), iQuote, ScaffPlan’s sales product, Scaffcalc’s branded PDF proposals | Your own terms, exclusions and hire wording in the output |
Two patterns follow from the matrix. A firm whose margin is in labour starts with the estimating suite and takes quantities from wherever they are cheapest to produce. A firm whose margin is in hire starts with the rental system, because a missed extension week costs more than a slow quote.
Spreadsheet or estimating software?
A spreadsheet works while one estimator prices a handful of similar houses and remembers every exception. It breaks when two people quote, when hire is extended mid-job, or when the client asks for the same job in two systems. The test is simple: price a job you finished last month in the new tool and compare it with the final account, not with the original quote. If it catches the extra hire, the second transport and the alteration visit, it is worth the subscription.
How does a parts list feed the quote?
Quantities drive cost even when you sell by area. The parts list tells you how many loads go to site and how long a gang will take; the area or bay count is what the customer compares between bids. ScaFix covers this step: it turns wall dimensions or a PDF drawing into a 3D scaffold with a full parts list, and in Pro the checked list becomes a customer quote priced per part, per square metre or with separate hire, erection, dismantling and transport lines; it does not issue TG20 sheets, invoices or hire statements.
What changes for a US estimate?
In the US, 29 CFR 1926.451(a)(6) says scaffolds shall be designed by a qualified person and built and loaded to that design, so a non-standard frame or system scaffold carries an engineering line, and 1926.451(f)(3) requires a competent person to inspect for visible defects before each work shift, which is labour on every working day of the hire. The wider rules are in OSHA scaffolding requirements.
An estimate is not a design. In Great Britain the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and HSE guidance decide when a scaffold needs a TG20:21 compliance sheet or a bespoke design, and in the US OSHA’s 29 CFR 1926 Subpart L requires a qualified person’s design; a competent person must inspect the scaffold before it is used, whatever the quote says.
Frequently asked questions
How do scaffolders price a job?
Most build the price from labour to erect and strike, the hire period and extensions, transport, design, inspections and permits, then compare the total with a rate per square metre or per bay as a sense check.
Should a scaffold quote include extra hire?
It should state the base period included and the rate for each period after it, plus when hire starts and ends. That turns extra hire into an agreed line instead of a dispute.
Do I need to price a TG20 compliance sheet?
If the scaffold falls within TG20:21, the compliance sheet is office time; if it does not, HSE says it needs a bespoke design by a competent person, which is a fee and a lead time to include.
What is the difference between estimating and hire software?
Estimating software prices a job before you win it. Hire or rental software, such as Avontus Quantify or iRent, tracks the kit on site and bills the periods afterwards. Some suites, such as SMART Scaffolder, cover both.
Sources
Primary sources used for this article, with the date each was read.
- SMART Scaffolder: SMART Estimator (read 23 October 2026)
- StrikeSoft: Alpha estimating (read 23 October 2026)
- The Scaffold Software (read 23 October 2026)
- Avontus Quantify (read 23 October 2026)
- Scaffcalc: plans and packages (read 23 October 2026)
- Scaffolding Software: iScaf, iQuote, iRent (read 23 October 2026)
- Cornell LII: 29 CFR 1926.451 (read 23 October 2026)
- legislation.gov.uk: Work at Height Regulations 2005, regulation 12 (read 23 October 2026)
- CADS: SMART Calculations (names SMART Estimator’s Check IT TG20:21) (read 23 October 2026)