Business vehicle tracking for smaller companies

Managing a small fleet—whether cars are company-owned, employee-owned, or a combination—can be time-consuming. Tracking mileage, fuel costs, insurance, and maintenance can add complexity.

Many small businesses assume vehicle tracking systems are expensive and complicated. But if you’re looking for easy-to-implement and cost-effective business vehicle tracking options, keep reading.

Determining the best vehicle tracking solution for your company depends on factors like: 

• Are vehicles company-owned, employee-owned, or a combination?
• Are you currently reimbursing your employees for business-related mileage or fuel?  
• Do you need to monitor driver performance, plan or dispatch routes, or be notified when a vehicle needs maintenance?
• Is it important to have access to location data in real time? 
• How will employees respond to being tracked?

In this blog, we will provide an overview of how you can track your company vehicles and discuss the pros and cons of each solution. 

Typically, if your company has a smaller fleet and real-time location information about vehicles isn't a requirement, you can choose a more straightforward and cost-efficient solution, such as mobile-based tracking. But let’s dive in!

Mobile-based tracking solutions and apps

Mobile-based tracking solutions, such as a mileage tracker app, use the smartphone's GPS to track and document relevant journeys.

How it works: You download the app, adjust your settings, and then you're ready to begin.

Of course, when using a mileage tracker app companywide, you should have standard rules and settings. These include reimbursement rates, deadlines for when employees have to submit mileage, and a reporting format that makes it easy for the approver to get an overview of relevant journeys. Having an admin to oversee this short process is a good idea.  

In a solution like Driversnote, the employees (individual drivers) primarily interact with the solution through the app, while the admin can access the solution from a desktop application. The journeys can be categorised as either private or business automatically, which makes it easy to see the percentile split between private and business miles.

For business solutions, you can subscribe monthly or annually; the pricing depends on the number of licenses. 

Pros:

• Low implementation cost
• No hardware installation required
• Familiar technology for employees
• Less intrusive than permanent GPS trackers
• Easy reporting for employees

Cons:

• Dependent on employees’ smartphone battery life
• Requires employee compliance to activate tracking
• It may not capture detailed vehicle diagnostics, such as engine performance, fuel efficiency, or maintenance alerts

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GPS trackers

A GPS tracker is a small hardware device that can track an asset, including cars. It provides real-time location data, and depending on the tracker, it might also give you data about route history, speed, and more.  

How it works: When you install the GPS tracker in the vehicle, it will appear on a connected map service, such as Google Maps. Depending on your needs and goals, it can also be connected to more comprehensive management software. 

Pros:

• Accurate location information
• Data is collected automatically 
• Can be transferred between vehicles, depending on the installation process
• Low implementation cost 

Cons:

• Additional hardware cost
• Requires installation (though typically simple)
• May raise privacy concerns with employees, especially those using personal vehicles

iBeacon technology

An iBeacon is a small Bluetooth transmitter that connects to a smartphone and triggers the mileage tracker app. Unlike a GPS tracker, it only begins to track when the phone is close by and the car is in motion. The iBeacon doesn’t require installation and can easily be moved between vehicles.

How it works: The beacon communicates with the employee's mileage tracker app, automatically activating business journey tracking when they enter the vehicle. This means that journey and mileage tracking is automatic. 

Pros:

• Automated trip logging
• No manual activation is required
• Non-intrusive
• Can be easily moved between vehicles
• It can be set only to track trips during work hours
• Helps avoid irrelevant entries in the logbook
• Only activate the app when needed, saving the phone battery. 

Cons:

• Requires both hardware and mobile app
• Dependent on Bluetooth connectivity

Comprehensive vehicle telematics systems

Telematics systems combine telecommunication and informatics. These comprehensive systems help with remote monitoring and control of vehicles. 

Through hardware devices, like GPS, cameras, and other sensors installed in the vehicles, they gather data such as location, speed, and driver or vehicle performance. The data can be transferred to a central server or a cloud platform for further analysis and process support. 

The systems can oversee driver safety and maintain operational efficiency, making it useful for advanced fleet management and connected car services.
 

How it works: Vehicle telematics systems consist of hardware installed in vehicles that transmit data to a central management system or fleet management software. They can help fleet managers with route planning, call dispatching, messaging, hands-free calls in the car, vehicle diagnostics, driver safety and performance, and more.

Pros:

• Comprehensive data collection
• Driver behaviour insights
• Vehicle health monitoring
• Real-time tracking capabilities

Cons:

• Higher implementation cost
• More complex installation
• It may be excessive for small fleets
• Not suitable for grey fleets
• It can be costly to transmit high volumes of data through cellular networks

Fleet management software

Fleet management software resembles telematics systems, and there is some overlap in the types of information gathered by the different solutions. In general, you could argue that fleet management is more about processes, analysis and reporting, and telematics is more about data collection. However, the lines are blurred. 

The typical fleet management platform is a comprehensive software platform that integrates tracking, maintenance scheduling, expense management, and compliance. The primary users are fleet managers. 

How it works: Cloud-based software that works with various hardware options or mobile apps to provide a complete management solution.

Pros:

• All-in-one solution
• Help streamline associated administrative processes
• Extensive reporting capabilities
• Compliance management tools are often part of the package

Cons:

• Higher cost
• Higher complexity
• Requires dedicated internal resources
• May require training to utilise effectively
• Not suitable for grey fleets 

Barriers to implementation: What will employees think?

Besides being on top of your technical requirements and specifications for vehicle tracking solutions, considering potential barriers can also help you secure a smoother implementation. If you manage a so-called grey fleet, where employees use their private cars for business, they might be hesitant to the idea of being tracked in any way.

Make it easy to comply 

To address concerns, opt for a system that only tracks activity during working hours and gives employees as much control over the tracking settings as possible. This allows them to disable tracking outside of business use. Also, keep in mind that the simpler the tracking solution, the more likely employees are to use it willingly.

Higher compliance leads to more accurate data, especially if the system isn't fully automated. Employees' comfort with technology can vary, so opt for a user-friendly, no-fuss solution. If your solution relies on a mobile app, ensure compatibility with both iOS and Android.

Example: Implementing a mileage tracker app combined with iBeacon

Let's look at how mobile-based tracking–a mileage tracker app–combined with an iBeacon could be implemented.

Scenario: Taylor & Associates, a Manchester-based consulting firm with 18 employees using their personal vehicles for client visits, faced challenges with mileage reporting and processing mileage allowance payments.

Challenges included consultants who forgot to log journeys, submitted inaccurate mileage claims, and spent valuable time on tedious manual reporting.

Solution: The company implemented a solution with a mileage tracker app and iBeacon.

The set-up was simple: Each consultant got a small iBeacon for their car and downloaded the app. Now, journeys are tracked automatically. The consultants only have to send the monthly reports to the finance team, who will then approve and handle reimbursements. 

Benefits:

• Reduction in time spent documenting and processing mileage
• Decrease in reported mileage (suggesting previous over-reporting)
• Improved client billing accuracy for site visits
• Consultants appreciated the automatic trip detection and minimal privacy impact
• The finance team received consolidated monthly reports for each employee for quicker approval.

Exploring business mileage tracking solutions for your team

An effective mileage tracking solution for businesses should balance employee privacy, minimal administrative burden, and compliance with HMRC requirements for mileage claims–especially when it comes to grey or smaller fleets. With our Teams solution, you can streamline approvals and keep administration simple, making it easier to manage.

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