4 handy tools for managing your business fleet

When you've got a fleet for work, you need to ensure it's overseen and maintained properly. We show you how.

Got a business fleet in place? You need the right tools to make sure it's managed well and optimised effectively.

So today, we're taking a look at 4 of the most useful tools for looking after your fleet – and how they can save you cash in the process.

1. Fuel cards

When you've got a fleet in place, it can be a nightmare to organise fuel expenses for your team. You've got to wrangle receipts, chase up individual drivers, organise reimbursements and ensure that it's all happening in a timely fashion.

A fuel card can help streamline the process. You're able to equip employees with charge cards that give you control over spending while providing staff with the funds they need for fuel.

There is a range of different fuel cards on the market so it's important to find one aligned with your needs. To give you an idea of the type of available features, let's take a look at the Caltex StarCard.

The Caltex StarCard is a fleet card that allows businesses to effectively control their fleet expenditure.

For example, you may incorporate a spend limit on each card, to ensure that driver spending is within your set parameters.

Alternatively, you can also decide whether you card is used for fuel and oil only, all vehicle expenses or all products. The StarCard Online Service Centre allows you to keep an eye on usage and change your preferences anytime.

The StarCard Online Service Centre also allows you to easily manage your account 24/7 and provides functionality such as:

• Visibility of all transactions made on an account
• Ability to request a copy of any receipt
• Set product controls on all cards on an account
• Set a new PIN and change PIN status
• View and set up annual and quartely activity reports

2. Inventory and asset management software

Inventory and asset management is critical for any business.

If you don't have clear visibility into the types of resources you have at hand, you're placing your business at risk of overspending or potentially neglecting areas in urgent need of resources.

Fortunately, there are a variety of software systems available on the market that can help you catalogue your resources. These let you identify potential areas for reduced spending within the business. You'll also gain insight into areas where more spending may be required.

This type of software can also provide staff with a clear picture of what resources are available, who is authorised to use them and who currently has possession of a given item.

By having a "source of truth", you can avoid conflicts within the workplace as well as under- or over-resourcing further down the line.

3. Fleet maintenance alerts and logs

Managing maintenance for your fleet is closely tied to inventory and asset management.

After all, if you don't have a reliable record of when the most recent maintenance occurred, it raises serious questions about the safety of your equipment.

So maintenance alerts and logs are essential for any business that uses a fleet.

By using software to automate the maintenance process and keep track of previous issues, you have an easy reference point for both staff and mechanics.

This ensures that everyone is on the same page and that there's no ambiguity about whether a vehicle has been recently serviced or not.

Regular maintenance also offers a number of key benefits, including:

• Longer lifespan for fleet vehicles
• Reduced long-term costs from having to replace equipment
• Enhanced driver safety – errors are spotted and dealt with sooner
• Vehicles are more likely to retain resale/trade-in value
• Reduced compliance issues

4. Digital document management

Any business generates a lot of paperwork. And that paperwork has to be stored somewhere – which in turn means you need more floorspace to run your operations.

This means you're looking at additional rent for space you're not even really "using" in a functional way.

So investing in digital document management gives you easy access to all of your records without clogging up your office.

Digitised records also mean you're able to find key information without digging through a huge selection of filing cabinets. Just a few clicks of the mouse and you're on your way to finding the information you need.

For example, with the StarCard online portal, you can track and manage your fleet's fuel expenditure from anywhere. This simplifies expense management, reporting and other accounting tasks.

This can speed up internal processes immensely and free up staff to focus on their core tasks.

Of course, just because you've got digital records doesn't mean that everyone in the organisation should necessarily be able to see all of them.

There are still considerations such as client confidentiality and chain of command in a digital environment.

So when you're looking for a digital document management system, invest in one that offers good external cybersecurity and can restrict document access internally.

Learn more about the Caltex StarCard

Compare other fuel cards here