Do you need fleet management software for your rental business?

What is Fleet Management software? How does it benefit your car rental business? Should you invest in such softwares? These are the queries almost every person faces while thinking of fleet management software. But stick till the end, so you can get answers to all these queries.

Tracking and managing are not the only task of fleet management softwares but much more than that. With new emerging technologies and management criteria, the features of the software keep evolving. For the established fleet management softwares, it is difficult to always keep up with the upcoming trends and decide whether to install it in their softwares or not.

What is fleet management software?

A software that can help you in focusing on the other parts of the business by just keeping a record of your vehicles, customers, users, reservations, at a place. The fleet management software industry has grown so well in the past decade due to the benefits it offers to businesses. Earlier only a few options were available but nowadays, there are many options in the market with their USPs, different user interfaces, integrations, and other offerings.

But do you need fleet management software for your rental business?

Though there are many businesses who hire a fleet manager and keep up with the management themselves but using a fleet management solution has its own advantages. Do you wish to know how? Let begin.

What are the basic features of fleet management software?

Consider the fleet management software as a virtual fleet manager completing all the tasks, and streamlining all the processes for easy access by the users of the organization. You can also think of it as a combination of all fleet management integrations like telematics information, inspections, GPS tracking, fuel costs, vehicle information, reservation plug-ins, business expense calculation, and alot more.

You get service reminders, automated notifications, easy access to all the data, and data sharing, depending on the features that different softwares use. Good fleet management softwares are generated over years of experience, and mistakes. An ideal fleet management software is the one:

• that makes the work done for you and generates the important measurements and insights automatically.
• Perform more calculations in a shorter span of time.
• Finds out errors that are hard by manual notice.
• Sends you service reminders, important notifications for inspections, aware you of the work orders, or an appearance of diagnostic trouble code on a vehicle.
• Customizable agreements.
• Sending mails directly from the software.

You just need to set up your account, store your specific data, perform some settings and you are good to go. The best thing about fleet management softwares is that it can be used anytime, anywhere, and on any device be it smartphones, tablets, or desktops. Use it either in the form of a website or by installing the app. 

You really need fleet management software for your car rental business when it is a combination of accuracy, confidentiality, speed, and accessibility, which is far better than older paper forms. There is a lot more than fleet management software can offer. Let’s dig deep into it:

1. Work is because you are

What does this mean? Until or unless you are safe and your vehicles are safe, there can be no efficient work done. Thus, keep safety as your first priority for any fleet as the risks for drivers facing mishaps on the roads are very high. Fleet management cannot help you during or after the mishap but can definitely protect you from the expected accidents.

You can keep an eye on your driver’s behavior with the vehicle by storing data like the route selected with the use of GPS and telematics. This will encourage you and your drivers to maintain safety on the road. False driving behavior not only affects the safety of your driver but also reduces the efficiency of the fleet. Thus, keep vehicles and drivers safe from wear and tear by encouraging right road etiquette.

An idle fleet management software:

a. will warn you about the expected time of servicing and inspection to protect you from the potential issues vehicles can face. This will maintain the efficiency of the fleet thus, preventing them from being a liability to the drivers. The data stored in your software will be helpful during the legal actions after any mishap. It will also give you a regular check on the vehicle warranty.

b. Allows you to store information like work orders, daily vehicle inspection reports, post pictures of licenses, certificates, insurance. These will act as proof in resolving road mishaps.

Weren’t these a great reason to get fleet management software for your car rental business.

2. Edits and following rules made easy

The software requires very little manual input, thus you can edit the information added quickly. It is far better than revising all the documents in paper form. Solid record-keeping in one place helps you in quickly searching them when in hurry. 

As we have seen, it helps in lawsuits after an accident, it also makes us remain in compliance with the legal guidelines. It paves the way quickly for all documentation at the time of audits or CVSA Roadchecks. 

Using this fleet management software, be prepared for the audit with electronic DVIRs that can be easily stored and maintained in comparison to paper documents. Drivers can do these in both website and fleet management mobile app and then upload results in the system. Thus, any errors, issues can be easily caught saving your time during inspections.

If there are any specific guidelines for your fleet or industry that needs to be followed like ELD requirements, or emissions standards, then fleet management software will make it alot easier to keep the data ready for analyzing the output of operations on a daily basis. This can be further used for demonstrations in front of officials.

3. It is not just a vehicle tracking software

One of the common misconceptions about fleet management software is that its primary use is just keeping track of the assets in a fleet. While that is an important and necessary function, that perception undercuts the impact other software features can have on an operation.

Fleet management software not only allows you to organize all of your assets in one place but also begins to quantify the health of those assets over time. You can compile data around mileage, hours of service, and inspections, as well as create preventive maintenance schedules and corresponding notifications that allow for the most uptime possible, while still getting your vehicles the service they need when they need it.

As you track vehicle health over time, you can take that same data and analyze your fleet from a financial standpoint. Fleet management software can automate reports around vehicle utilization, the total cost of ownership (TCO) and expenses so that you get to prioritize your company’s bottom line as well as your assets.

The variety of integrations that can be utilized in fleet management software extends its power as an analytical tool. Connecting your GPS and telematics devices lets you keep tabs on driver behavior, idle hours, and route optimizations, and fuel card integrations help you stay aware of fuel purchases and ahead of potential theft.

Another common misconception – fleet management software doesn’t have to mean just tracking vehicles! Many fleet management softwares include features that let you track stationary equipment and power tools so that all of your assets are accounted for.

The most significant effect a fleet management system can have is the ability to see all of these measurements in a singular setting, uniting all of your data for a more comprehensive picture of what’s happening in your fleet. It goes far beyond simply tracking your vehicles – it can become a powerful resource for seeing your fleet from all sides.

Thats it from our side. waiting to know your views in the comment section below.