When 16-year-old Rory Hopkins-Bond set up 007 Diggers in West Wales in June 2024, the business started with just a single Kubota digger and a family-designed logo. “We bought the business name, and that was it,” Rory explained. After investing in marketing throughout the winter, demand surged by spring 2025.
Orders poured in, and within a few months the fleet expanded to seven diggers. Today, the company offers self-drive Kubota micro, mini, and midi diggers ranging from 0.8t to 8t, tracked and driven dumpers, a variety of attachments, and trailers for hire. Customers include builders, farmers, DIYers, and gardeners. Before using Booqable, Rory tracked everything on a whiteboard and had customers sign paper rental contracts.
“Machine location and availability and tracking customers were a struggle,” he said. The switch to Booqable’s inventory management, invoices, and mobile app features meant that 007 Diggers could leave paper processes behind and focus on giving customers the service they expect. For a growing plant hire business, having the right equipment rental software made all the difference.
From one digger to a thriving fleet
007 Diggers was set up in June 2024 with one digger and a lot of determination. Rory and his family used the first winter to invest in marketing, placing adverts in industry and farming publications. “We spent the entire winter of 2024 investing in marketing both in industry magazines and farming publications,” Rory said.
When spring arrived in March 2025, all of that effort paid off, and the business was “flooded with orders.” That demand drove the expansion of the fleet from one to seven diggers in just a few months. What makes the company unique is Rory himself. At only 16, he has already been nominated as Carmarthenshire Young Business Person of the Year.
Customers appreciate his hands-on involvement in helping them choose the right equipment and learning how to operate it. “The reaction to most customers when they discover Rory is only 16 is amazing and they are so supportive of him,” his family noted.
Early on, the company relied on whiteboards and paper pads for tracking rentals, which quickly became difficult to manage. “Now they sign for them on Booqable using an iPad,” Rory explained. With Booqable in place, the team can log every order, manage availability, schedule deliveries, and capture customer signatures all in one place. Rory summed up the change: “It’s been a real change for us to automate everything and everyone loves signing for their digger on an iPad.”
Staying on top of invoices
Invoices were once one of the hardest parts of running the business. Paper invoices made it difficult to keep track of what had been paid and what was still outstanding. With Booqable, Rory can now generate an auto-filled invoice with a single click using the invoice template link attached to each order he submits.
From that same screen, the invoice can be easily emailed to the customer, and every document has been edited to include the business’s bank details for payment. Each invoice is automatically stored in Booqable, so Rory and his family always have a complete record to refer back to whenever they need it.
Here’s what the invoicing feature does for 007 Diggers:
-
Generates invoices as soon as bookings are confirmed
-
Stores every invoice within Booqable for quick reference
-
Registers bank payments within the system
Now, instead of chasing paperwork, the team can keep every job organized. The practical benefit is clear: invoices no longer get lost, and payment records are always up to date. What was once a bottleneck is now part of the normal booking process.
Taking digital signatures with the mobile app
Deliveries often bring challenges in rental businesses. Customers want fast handovers, but paper-based signatures can slow things down. The Booqable mobile app gives 007 Diggers a way to generate a contract directly from the iPad at delivery, so customers can read the terms and conditions and digitally sign before taking their equipment.
That contract is then securely stored in Booqable, giving both the business and the customer confidence that everything is handled properly. The app has also become a vital tool at trade shows. Rory often uses it to take future bookings on the spot, giving potential customers the same smooth experience they would get back in the yard.
The mobile app makes a difference for Rory’s business by:
-
Capturing digital signatures and storing them securely in Booqable
-
Allowing quotes and bookings to be taken directly at trade shows
-
Giving customers instant confirmations by email
These features mean the business can handle bookings anywhere, whether on the road, in the yard, or at an agricultural show. The practical benefit is simple: customers get the paperwork they need right away, and 007 Diggers stays organized without relying on paper copies.
Looking ahead
From one machine to a fleet of seven, 007 Diggers has already achieved remarkable growth. With help from Booqable’s digger rental software, Rory can focus on building relationships with his customers instead of worrying about lost paperwork or double bookings.
As he puts it, “It just makes things much easier.” The move from whiteboards and triplicate pads to digital bookings, invoices, and mobile contracts shows how the right equipment rental website and tools can help even the youngest entrepreneurs grow a thriving business.
