Scope. This framework uses dates and prices entered by the reader. It contains no supplier rates, tax advice, finance assumptions, product recommendation or claim that one route is inherently more efficient.
The answer depends on use, not the label
Start with the work programme. A specialised tool needed once for a defined opening is a different decision from a drill used every week. Frequency alone is still incomplete: duration per job, mobilisation, availability, maintenance, storage, inspection and downtime can outweigh a simple weekly price.
Describe the requirement before comparing ownership models: task and specification, first and last required dates, likely repeat jobs, planned utilisation, contingency, delivery/access, operator competence, accessories/consumables and responsibility for loss or damage.
Hire can place supply, return and charging rules around a short requirement. Ownership can give immediate controlled access but moves maintenance, storage and capital responsibility to the owner. Neither statement is universal. Check actual terms and the organisation’s ability to manage the equipment.
Define the dates and utilisation
The Job Lab counts an inclusive calendar span: base days = end date − start date + 1. A Monday-through-Thursday period is four calendar days. Add entered contingency separately so the record shows the planned work span and the allowance rather than silently moving the return date. [ARITH]
Calendar possession and productive use are not the same. Record expected working shifts/hours and the reasons equipment may be idle: curing, access restrictions, other trades, weather, inspection or phased work. Supplier charging units may be daily, weekly or another defined period and may round partial periods under their terms.
For repeated jobs, build a dated forecast rather than saying “often”. Ten short jobs spread across distant sites can create more logistics and duplication than one ten-week job.
Separate certainty from opportunity. Signed work and a plausible pipeline should not receive the same utilisation weight. A purchase justified only by unconfirmed work needs that dependency written into the decision.
Put both options on the same cost basis
Use one currency and the same value-added tax (VAT) treatment. If one quote is VAT-inclusive and the other excludes VAT, normalise them before division. Keep refundable deposits out of cost but show cash-flow impact separately. Do not mix a bare hire rate with a delivered purchase bundle unless the differences are listed.
| Hire side | Purchase side |
|---|---|
| Base charging units and partial-period rules | Purchase price and finance/capital basis |
| Delivery, collection and branch/site trips | Delivery, setup and commissioning |
| Damage waiver, loss terms and deposit | Insurance, loss and theft exposure |
| Included/excluded maintenance and breakdown response | Inspection, service, repair and downtime |
| Accessories and consumables | Accessories and consumables |
Compare the same specification. A lower price for equipment that does not meet the task record is not a saving.
Time the quote comparison consistently. Hire availability and purchase lead time can change, and a promotional price may expire before the work. Record quote date, validity and what must be reserved or ordered.
Simple price ratio
The optional ratio is entered buy price ÷ entered weekly hire price. It answers one narrow question: how many entered weekly rates equal the entered purchase price. Always label it “at the prices you entered”. [ARITH]
It is not a break-even verdict because it ignores every excluded cost and benefit. It also does not model cash flow, time value, depreciation, resale, tax or the probability of future use. If the weekly rate is zero, absent or on a different basis, suppress the ratio.
Costs the simple ratio leaves out
On hire, include delivery/collection, minimum or partial-week charging, deposit cash flow, damage waiver, fuel/charge, cleaning, consumables, late return, loss and off-hire procedure. Read the actual supplier terms rather than assuming common practice.
On ownership, consider maintenance and statutory/insurer inspections where applicable, calibration, repairs, storage, security, transport, batteries/chargers, obsolescence, finance, administration and eventual disposal or resale. Put staff time and downtime in the record if they materially change the decision, but do not invent hourly values.
Availability cuts both ways. A hire item may be unavailable on the required date; an owned item may be broken, at another site or missing an accessory. Model a realistic disruption response for each route.
Competence does not come with either transaction. Training, supervision and the work method are separate. So are specialist supplier support and manufacturer restrictions.
Ownership may require someone to control issue/return, inspections, defects and records. Hire may require off-hire notices, collection access and condition evidence. Name who owns each action; otherwise an apparently minor administration cost can become a programme delay or dispute.
Residual value deserves the same discipline as other inputs. Do not assume a resale percentage without evidence about age, condition, demand, fees and disposal. Show it as a separate scenario so it cannot silently make ownership appear cheaper.
For high-consequence or specialist equipment, include the cost and lead time of competent inspection, calibration or certification where actually required. Do not add a generic percentage. Obtain the applicable requirement and quote, then use the same service level in both routes.
Worked example
An entered purchase price is £400 and an entered weekly hire price is £45 on the same VAT/currency basis. 400 ÷ 45 = 8.888…, displayed as 8.9 weeks at the prices you entered.
Next to that number, list: delivery/collection not included; hire damage terms not reviewed; purchase maintenance/storage/resale not valued; future use uncertain; availability unconfirmed. The exclusions prevent a simple ratio from masquerading as a complete comparison.
Now test two programme changes. If the job slips by two weeks, apply the actual hire charging terms rather than simply adding £90. If a second confirmed job appears, add its transport, inspection and scheduling effects to both sides before counting the same purchase twice as a saving.
Make and record the decision
Decision record
- State the task/specification and required dates.
- Show inclusive calendar span, productive use and contingency separately.
- Attach like-for-like quotes and their VAT/currency/charging basis.
- Record every included and excluded logistics, maintenance, custody and downtime item.
- Confirm availability, condition, competence and actual terms.
- Write why the chosen route fits the programme and what event would change it.
Stop the comparison
Do not publish a ratio when prices use different bases, the hire charging unit is unclear, the specification differs, or a material cost is known to be missing but cannot be estimated. Record “requires terms/price confirmation” instead.
The calculation claims no external formula authority; it is transparent user-input arithmetic. See the hire-duration register, Methodology and the other planning guides.
This framework does not recommend hire or ownership. Commercial, tax, finance, equipment and programme decisions remain with the person responsible for the job and the actual supplier/manufacturer terms.