Fleet Management Software

So your company has invested in a fleet of vehicles. It is safe to assume these vehicles are used frequently. But are you really tracking all information about those vehicles? It can be a major business challenge to effectively manage vehicle depreciation, maintenance history, scheduled maintenance, and the other aspects of operating a vehicle fleet. Read on to find out more about the functionality available in fleet management systems and how they can benefit your business.

Fleet Management Systems

Fleet management software is a fairly broad term. It can be as simple as tracking your fleet assets from an accounting standpoint or as complex as using GPS hardware to track location of each vehicle. There are many commercially available software options that can better help you manage your fleet of vehicles.

Fleet management systems are not only useful in the trucking industry but also useful for service companies like HVAC businesses, plumbing companies, and other service related companies. These systems are also perfect for companies with their own route sales vehicles.

Tracking the Fleet as Assets

Vehicles can represent a substantial investment for many businesses. Tracking that investment properly not only has tax ramifications, it can help you more efficiently plan your overall costs, vehicle service, and asset maintenance so you are getting the most out of your investment.

• Procurement. Whether you are buying the vehicle outright, financing or leasing, ensure you are tracking the purchase information correctly. Date of purchase and amount of purchase.
• Vehicle info. Enter vehicle information including VIN, year, make, model, and modifications.
• Payment data. Manage payment information on financed purchases. Track terms of a loan or lease including payment amount, date, interest rate, and forecasted payoff date. Create amortization schedules to accelerate payoff.
• Asset disposal. Manage the disposal of assets including sale date of the vehicle, return to dealer, or write off of the vehicle if needed.
• Costing. In addition to tracking financing costs, maintain a history of other information related to the vehicle over its lifespan. You will be able to assign costs to the asset. Costs include such as maintenance, fuel, and labor. Associate costs to the equipment as well as to specific jobs.
• Valuation and depreciation. Maintaining an accurate value and depreciation schedule can help you make sure you are properly identifying company asset values and minimizing the corporate tax burden.

Advanced Functionality

Many basic systems allow for the simple tracking of assets as mentioned above. Other features associated with true fleet management solutions also include:

• Driver records. Management of driver information such as insurance information and driving history. This is especially useful for risk management.
• Service management. Create alerts for scheduled maintenance. Maintain a historical list of maintenance performed.
• Parts database. For those that maintain their fleet internally, track parts and materials used for maintenance.
• Mapping. Mapping systems can include GIS mapping and turn by turn instructions. View a map of all your assets to see their locations. This is especially handy when you need to find the closest capable driver.
• Vehicle location history. View animated vehicle history trails. Not only create a route for the vehicle but also see where the vehicle has been down to each turn, each stop and time at each stop. Decrease route times and hold your drivers accountable. The mapping function also allows you to see when your drivers are driving faster than posted speed limits.
• Route optimization. Route optimization will help your and your drivers to create the best and most efficient route that allows you make the most out of every driver. Also allows you to re-route drivers or technicians if needed.
• Maintenance. Whether you manage your fleet maintenance in house or you outsource to a third party, entering and tracking the data from those service calls is very important.

In-House Maintenance

Managing your fleet internally takes a lot of resources. Managing your fleet internally with the right software, can help you take some pressure off of those resources. Managing staff, scheduling work, managing parts and maintaining records takes a software program with right software can streamline your review process.

• Parts management. Track inventory of commonly used parts including filters, oil, and fuel. Also maintain an inventory of other parts that may not be used as frequently but also track what is on hand by make, model and year. Track usage of inventory and set up alerts to notify you when you are running low. Because you are scheduling your service work, it is easier to maintain a small inventory and order just before the maintenance is scheduled. This allows you to keep a small number of items on hand.

• Scheduling. When managing a small fleet, scheduling of work may not seem too difficult. When you are managing dozens of vehicles, scheduling becomes more important. You want to make sure you have the staff on hand to complete the work, the parts available and make sure you are able to get the vehicle back into service and back on the road.

Outsourced Maintenance

If you outsource your maintenance to a dealer or repair shop, it is still important to track the work completed. You need to keep a service history of those items and then associated the cost of the repair to the asset. Additionally, use the service history to determine when the vehicle needs to go in for scheduled maintenance. Have employees in multiple states? No problem. Have the driver mail or scan the invoice and service record into the system where the document can be stored with the vehicle for better records management. Gather records from different repair facilities and store those records in the software.

Taking the Next Steps

If you are at the point where you are ready to find which fleet management software options are right for you, we can help. Through a brief phone call, our software specialists will look to better understand your business and software needs to help you locate a handful of solutions that can address the issues you are currently experiencing. Get started today!