How To Choose The Best Fleet Management Software?

Are you looking for the best ways to optimize your fleet operation without increasing your workload? 

A fleet manager is responsible for various activities, such as managing assets, vehicles, & employees, recording data, optimizing fleet budget, improving safety, and many more. While there is much to do, you cannot expect them to focus on revenue-generating activities, such as finding new loads. 

Luckily, you can find fleet management software in the market that can reduce the fleet manager’s workload and help them to focus on important. 

A fleet management software can help you bring out the best and most of the fleet operation to get an optimal and efficient outcome. It can help you fulfill one of the most important responsibilities as a fleet manager, i.e., improving the fleet’s efficiency. 

A fleet management software is more than a simple tracking software. With the radical advancement of GPS technology & telematics, it can provide you with crucial data or statistics about your fleet and help you make significant decisions efficiently. 

But if you haven’t seen any of these results with your existing software or are in doubt whether it will help in any way or not, here is an article for you. We will help you to know more about fleet management software and how to find an ideal one for your business. 

What Is Fleet Management Software? 

Fleet management software is a tool that helps organizations to organize and coordinate vehicles with the help of a central information system. 

It accumulates, stores, processes, and generates detailed reports of different fleet activities. It uses these data to provide important information such as road conditions, fuel consumption, driver’s behavior, accident reconstruction, etc. 

 A good fleet management software can help you improve driver’s performance, boost communication, and help comply with the existing rules and regulations. You can also combine these platforms with other systems for complex compensation packages.

Some of the functions it can perform are:

• Route management
• Vehicle tracking
• Fleet maintenance and diagnostics
• HoS compliance
• Drivers safety
• Fuel consumption
• Shipment management

How Does It Work? 

A fleet management software works on a combination of GPS tracking technology and Data analytics. 

It includes telematics hardware and a cloud waste platform that interprets tease data and produces real-time information regarding the fleet. 

Here is a detailed overview:

• As you plug the GPS tracker into the vehicle, it starts capturing data. It uses a satellite network to provide your real-time location updates with a high degree of accuracy. 

Apart from the location, it also derives other information from the engine. 

• Then the data collected is encrypted for security and transmitted via a cellular network to the cloud-based system. The data analytical tool receives the data and visualizes it for better understanding. 

• The fleet management portal allows you to access fleet-related information at your fingertips. You can use this data to make effective decisions for your business.

Do You Need Fleet Management Software?

A fleet management software is a must for every type of business. Telematics can impart several benefits, whether you are responsible for managing the shipping or construction business. For example, it can help you monitor vehicles in real-time, reduce fuel consumption & idle time, improve driver safety or stay updated on vehicle maintenance dates, etc. 

Drive safety should be the priority for any fleet manager. We have accumulated a list of some significate steps you can take to maximize driver safety in your fleets. Read 8 essential tricks drivers’ safety tips to minimize risk

You can use fleet management software for a variety of vehicles or assets, such as:

• Cars
• Light vans or trucks
• Single axle trailers
• Tractor units
• Heavy vehicles such as haulage trucks
• Buses or coaches
• Specialist vehicles such as tow trucks, dump trucks, or cement trucks
• Or any other type of vehicle- diggers, maulers, graders, & cranes. 

Cost Associated With Fleet Management Software 

A fleet management software is worth every dollar you spend on it. It can cost around $15 to $100 per month. It varies according to various factors. 

Some of them are:

• Vendor: 

Different vendors offer software at various prices. Some prices are less than others; therefore, you should look at different vendors before choosing one. 

• Size of the fleet:

If you are planning to buy fleet management software for ten or more vehicles, it will cost you more than the one who only uses it for five or fewer trucks. 

• Functionality:

The more advanced features a company provides, the more it will charge. 

• Add-ons:

Some vendors allow you to integrate your fleet management software with additional features such as dash cam, fuel card, freight factoring service, etc. 

What Are The Qualities Of A Good Fleet Management Software?

Before choosing fleet management software, you need to know what is- ideal or substandard software. 

An ideal fleet management system has a solution focus approach to fleet management. 

On the other hand, substandard fleet management software will have a hardware-based approach. 

The good one provides you with better flexibility and reconfigurability. On the other hand, the bad one will be more static and have a one-dimensional system. So it will not provide you with a comprehensive solution. Additionally, you cannot tailor it according to your business needs.

• A good feed management software will provide better control over the insights. It will allow you to customize and modify the reports according to your need. You will be able to generate a variety of statistics with analytics. 

• An ideal fleet management software will also provide the ability to plan and execute your plan. You can use a variety of information to make an effective decision. For example, you can access real-time insights such as the number of stops, distance, and live traffic conditions while planning routes. 

• An ideal system will be API-ready and capable of integrating existing customer systems. 

• Good fleet management should be flexible and capable enough to adapt to your growing business needs. For example, if in the future your fleet expands, it should be able to change to a new size. And the cost of the configuration should be reasonable. 

Things To Consider While Choosing A Fleet Management Software 

Easy To Use

A fleet management software should be easy to use so that when adapting to this new technology, no one in your organization faces difficulty. A simple and user-friendly interface allows drivers and managers to access information when required and improve the efficiency of different operations. 

Price 

A fleet management software is significant for your business, but it does not mean you should disturb your budget. You can go with the fleet management software that falls within your budget and provides you with advanced features. 

One such fleet management software is Matrack. It is a simple and affordable system that can optimize your fleet operation and improve business productivity. 

Easy Installation Process

After spending dollars on software, you don’t want to pay another whopping sum of installation price. A system with complicated installation processes requires professional assistance. 

And therefore, look for software with a simple installation process so that you or your driver can easily install it on the vehicles.

Flexibility And Configuration

One of the most important things you should look for in fleet management software is flexibility and configuration. The need of a business is changing, and so is the size. Therefore if you are investing in fleet management software, it should be able to meet and adjust to the needs of your fleet in upcoming years. 

Integration

Look for fleet management software that can integrate with other systems, such as HR software. 

Data Insights 

Another important and obvious thing you should look for in fleet management software is data insights. 

Look for a system that provides different data insights so that you can optimize each aspect of your fleet.  

Fuel Consumption Monitoring

Fuel expenses are the expenses of a fleet budget. Look for software that provides you with a fuel consumption monitoring feature. It enables you to identify areas that are consuming more fuel. It should also help you to identify vehicle idling time. 

Vehicle ident idling contributes to a significant part of fuel consumption and increases the need for vehicle maintenance. As a good fleet manager, it is your responsibility to identify behavior & reduce it for your business and the environment. 

In a fleet, a large chunk of a fleet budget goes to fuel bills, and you need to control this expense to manage your expenditure. Here is the list of the best fuel cards.

Real-time Visibility

As a fleet manager, you are responsible for keeping tabs on different vehicles in your fleet and planning routes. It is a TDS task until fleet management software comes into play. 

A fleet management software comes with GPS tracking capabilities that help track the vehicle locations of different trucks in your fleet. You can stay updated on where your vehicle is and when it will complete the given task. 

Compliance

There are several rules and regulations that a fleet needs to stay in compliance with to avoid fines and violations. Some of them are ELD rules and HoS regulations. 

Safety

Another significant role of a manager is to ensure safety in a fleet. A good feed management software will help you to improve safety and restrict reckless driving behavior. It will provide real-time alerts for bad driving behavior and a detailed report. 

How To Choose A Fleet Management Software? 

Finding the right fleet management software is essential for the growth of your business. 

These are some simple steps you can follow while choosing one for your business:

Determine Your Fleet Size

The first step includes determining- the size and types of vehicles in your fleet.   

Identify Your Business Need

The next step you should follow is identifying your business needs. You should consider your goals and tally them with the given solution so that you can fill them and improve the productivity of your business. 

Look For Fleet Management Software Providers Online

Now you can look online for some fleet management software. Look for a solution that fits your budget and provides various features to optimize the fleet operation, such as fuel consumption monitoring, maintenance & diagnostic, driver behavior analytics, etc.

Do A Little Background Search About Them

After finalizing a solution, you can do a little background research. You can use search engines and look for reviews, features, and benefits. 

Another great tip would be to look for the experience of its existing customers. 

Why? Because they will provide you with reviews as they have first-hand experience with the product. 

Talk To The Professional Adviser

Now that you are sure about the solution, you can contact the company’s advisor to provide you with more information and a demo.

Matrack Fleet Management Software – The Best Solution For Your Fleet 

Do you find going through all the stuff tedious and cumbersome? Well, here is our recommendation for you- Matrack. 

Matrack is one of the best fleet management software providers in this industry. It provides affordable and reliable solutions that can help you optimize the fleet operation and improve efficiency. 

What Do You Get? 

• Matrack OBD-$85/ MA Hardwired Classic-$50/ MA Hardwired Silver-$135
• An ELD
• No contract- Pay as you go
• Lowest monthly subscription fees
• Lifetime warranty

Highlights

• Real-time GPS tracking
• Vehicle maintenance and diagnostics
• User-friendly solution
• Boost communication 
• Easy installation
• Better compliance with the rules
• Exceptional customer service 

Final Words 

A fleet management software is a must for every fleet. But it will not benefit you if it doesn’t meet your business needs.

And therefore, you need to consider various factors when choosing good fleet management software. 

If you have any questions, let us know in the comment section below.