Overview

HiveSuite covers the workflow from enquiry to return: an embedded form captures party details, creates a customer record, and drafts a quote; bookings are checked against equipment availability; and the system supports deposits, invoicing, delivery scheduling, online booking, and return tracking. That joined-up scope is a strong fit for businesses coordinating hired equipment and logistics, rather than a general-purpose choice for every service company.

Customers can use a branded portal to review booking details, approve quotes, and pay invoices. Stripe is included on every plan, while businesses can also use their own payment methods. QuickBooks and Xero are included integrations, with accounting data sync supported.

Key features

Bookings, inventory, and delivery work

Inventory tracking ties equipment to bookings and shows availability, helping operators avoid double bookings. HivePlanner adds a visual drag-and-drop calendar for deliveries and collections, with job assignment to team members. Together, these tools address the practical coordination burden of hire businesses; the value will depend on whether the plan has enough admin and crew seats for the people who need access.

Mobile crew and customer access

HiveCrew is a native Android app and an installable Progressive Web App on iOS, with push notifications. That gives crews a mobile route into the workflow without an iOS native app being promised. The customer portal can reduce back-and-forth by letting customers approve quotes and pay invoices themselves.

Reporting and privacy

HiveIntel accepts plain-English questions about business data and returns charts, tables, or dashboards, which can make reporting more approachable than building each view manually. HiveSuite says data submitted to HiveIntel or HiveAssist may go to third-party AI providers, so businesses should follow its advice not to submit unnecessary sensitive personal data.

HiveSuite says it is UK GDPR compliant, registered with the ICO, does not sell personal data, and hashes account passwords with bcrypt. It advertises UK-based support and gives support@hivesuite.co.uk and 020 3984 5366 for contact.

Pricing

HiveSuite has no free plan and offers a 30-day trial. All five plans include all features, so the main distinction is capacity by admin and crew seats. Users who exceed a plan's limit need to upgrade, making headcount an important part of the buying decision.

Solo: £34.99 per month, billed monthly and including VAT, or £349 per year, including VAT. It allows 1 admin and 2 crew, making it the entry tier for a small operation that fits those limits.
Small Team: £89.99 per month, billed monthly and including VAT, or £899 per year, including VAT. It allows 5 admins and 5 crew, a better fit when several office users and a small crew need access.
Growing Team: £149.99 per month, billed monthly and including VAT, or £1,499 per year, including VAT. Its 10 admin and 10 crew seats suit a larger team, though growing beyond either cap means moving up.
Professional: £249.99 per month, billed monthly and including VAT, or £2,499 per year, including VAT. It provides 20 admin seats and unlimited crew, which removes the crew cap for larger field teams.
Enterprise: £499.99 per month, billed monthly and including VAT, or £4,999 per year, including VAT. It raises the admin allowance to 50 while retaining unlimited crew, for operators whose office access needs exceed Professional.

The cheaper plans do not give up features; they give up seats. That is useful for smaller businesses, but a low starting price can cease to fit once the team crosses its cap. The annual options are stated as yearly amounts, while the monthly options are billed monthly.

Platforms

HiveSuite supports Android, iOS, macOS, web, and Windows. Crew access is specifically described as native on Android and through an installable web app on iOS.

Who it's for

HiveSuite is designed for UK service businesses, especially party-hire operators such as bouncy castle, photo booth, hot tub, soft play, and decoration hire companies. It is a particularly suitable choice when equipment availability, delivery and collection scheduling, quotes, and customer approvals need to work together. Businesses needing seats beyond the listed caps should account for the required upgrade; teams wary of third-party AI processing should keep sensitive personal data out of HiveIntel and HiveAssist.

Pros and cons

Pro: Every plan includes the full feature set, so smaller operators can get inventory, scheduling, portals, and integrations without buying a higher feature tier.
Pro: Booking-linked equipment availability and delivery scheduling address two central coordination needs for party-hire businesses.
Pro: Stripe is included, customers can pay invoices through a branded portal, and QuickBooks and Xero can sync accounting data.
Con: Seat caps vary by tier and exceeding them requires an upgrade, which can increase cost as the team grows.
Con: iOS crew access is an installable Progressive Web App rather than a stated native app.
Con: AI queries may send submitted data to third-party providers, a consideration for businesses handling sensitive customer information.

Alternatives

For other categories, compare Event Rental Software, or browse Security System Installer Software, Roofing Software, Fire Protection Software, Garage Door Software, and Carpet Cleaning Software.

SedonaOffice is another paid option with Android, iOS, web, Windows, API, and self-hosted platforms. Ember Software is a paid option for Android, iOS, and web with custom pricing. Uptick is a paid option across Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, web, and Windows, with a monthly platform fee and per-user pricing. AlarmOps offers a free trial and a Starter plan at 59.00 GBP per month for up to 3 engineers, with no job limits, BAFE compliance, digital forms, mobile apps, email support, and live chat. Ascora offers a free trial and per-user monthly plans at 45.00 USD for Essentials and 59.00 USD for Elite. SecurityTrax has no free trial and charges 0.15 USD per active customer record per month, counting toward a $250 monthly minimum. Tradescraft offers a free trial and a Core plan at 29.00 AUD per user monthly, with GST included where applicable in Australia and New Zealand. Uleadz has a Standard plan at 89.00 USD per month with 2 users, unlimited technicians, 1000 SMS, 750 minutes, 2 dedicated lines, and 24/7 chat support.

Verdict

HiveSuite is a strong fit for UK party-hire businesses that want bookings, inventory, delivery work, and customer payments in one workflow, and whose team fits a defined seat tier. Its all-feature plans avoid feature gating, but seat-based upgrades and the AI data-sharing caveat are meaningful trade-offs. Look elsewhere if your team cannot fit the seat structure or your work does not depend on hire inventory and delivery coordination.

	HiveSuite	Smart Book
Free plan	No	No
Free trial	Yes	Yes
Paid from	£34.99/mo	$25/mo
Open source	No	No
Platforms	Android, iOS, macOS, Web, Windows	Android, iOS, Web
Free plan	No	No
Online booking	Yes	—
Paid from	—	30 /mo
Mobile app	—	Yes

HiveSuite vs Smart Book

HiveSuite

Smart Book