Frank Key Group

About Frank Key Group

Frank Key Group is an established UK building materials supplier and plant & tool hire business, operating since 1907 with branches across Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Yorkshire and surrounding regions. The business serves both trade customers and DIY professionals, providing building materials, landscaping products, and operating a dedicated plant and tool hire division, offering a wide range of equipment, from small tools to large plant machinery.

A partnership spanning more than 16 years

Klipboard spoke with Group Operations Director Richard Meeks and Tool Hire Branch Manager Martin Hewitt to explore how Frank Key Group has relied on Klipboard’s OnRent Office system to support its hire operations for more than 16 years.

Prior to adopting OnRent Office, Frank Key Group was using systems and processes that struggled to keep pace with the company’s expansion, particularly as the business grew through acquisitions. The organisation required a scalable, robust hire management solution capable of supporting increasingly complex operations, including managing a large and varied fleet, tracking depreciation across both unique and non-unique assets, handling diverse pricing structures, maintaining financial control, and enabling efficient, real-time order processing.

To address these challenges, Frank Key Group partnered with Klipboard and implemented OnRent Office, a specialist rental management platform designed for the plant and tool hire sector. Richard Meeks explains: “We initially chose OnRent Office for its strong market presence and Windows-based functionality, but both the system and our business have evolved together over the past 16 years.”

As the company continued to grow, including the acquisition of a ten-branch hire business in 2016, the platform played a key role in ensuring smooth integration and operational continuity.

By bringing all hire branches onto a single system, we were able to streamline operations, standardise processes and gain clearer visibility across the business.

Richard Meeks

As a result, the company achieved centralised management across multiple locations, consistent reporting and improved insight into fleet performance and financial data. Crucially, the scalability of OnRent Office has enabled Frank Key Group to continue expanding without disruption, providing a strong foundation for future growth.

Key features & benefits

Martin Hewitt, Tool Hire Branch Manager, comments: “What used to involve paperwork and manual processes can now be completed in just a few clicks. It’s made a real difference to the speed and efficiency of our day-to-day operations.”

Advanced fleet management: OnRent Office provides detailed control over hire assets, enabling Frank Key Group to manage both unique and non-unique items, track depreciation and maintain full visibility of equipment throughout its lifecycle. “This level of oversight supports more accurate financial planning and maximises asset utilisation.”

Flexible pricing structures: ”In an industry where pricing requirements can vary widely, the platform offers the flexibility needed to stay competitive.” Frank Key Group can apply customer-specific pricing matrices, manage multiple pricing structures across contracts and adapt to complex hire scenarios without compromising profitability.

Streamlined operations: OnRent Office simplifies day-to-day processes. “Our teams can create new customer accounts instantly; process hires and orders in real time and efficiently manage on-hire and off-hire activity. Both account and cash transactions can be handled seamlessly within the same platform.”

Financial visibility & control: “Real-time financial insights give us greater control over performance.” The system enables teams to track customer balances and deposits, monitor outstanding payments and access accurate reporting to support informed decision-making - helping maintain strong cash flow management.

User-friendly experience: Ease of use has been key to the system’s success across the organisation. “Staff can quickly learn the platform and apply it across a variety of roles, from hire desk operations and sales processing to account management. Once trained, users find the system intuitive, enabling them to work more efficiently and confidently.”

The result

Beyond the technology itself, the long-term relationship with Klipboard has been a key success factor for Frank Key Group.

 What really sets Klipboard apart is the partnership. We’ve always felt listened to and valued, from the account management team right through to the leadership. That level of support and collaboration gives us real confidence as we continue to grow. 

 Richard Meeks 

The implementation of OnRent Office has delivered measurable benefits across the business, including:

• Increased operational efficiency.
• Reduced reliance on manual processes.
• Enhanced accuracy in financial and asset management.
• Improved customer service through faster transactions.
• Scalable infrastructure to support ongoing growth.

Reflecting on the impact of the system, Richard adds: “OnRent Office has played a key role in the way we’ve developed our hire business over the past 16 years. Klipboard has provided a flexible and reliable system that’s grown with us, helping us streamline operations and improve the service we offer our customers. It’s a solution we trust, and one I’d be happy to recommend to other companies in the hire sector.”

Graham Dobbs, Klipboard Rental Managing Director, adds: “Frank Key Group is a strong example of how the right technology can support long-term growth. By combining operational expertise with our OnRent Office platform, the business has modernised processes and continues to deliver excellent service to its customers.

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