Smartphone apps can help you manage your fleet vehicles

Technology is making life easier for fleet car operators and small businesses looking to make the most of their company vehicles — and a new breed of logbook-style smartphone apps is part of the mix.

Remember the days of scribbling into a paper logbook to record where you drove and when? If you forgot to check the odometer prior to hitting the road there could be plenty of backtracking to try work out who drove where. If the pen went for a holiday under the seat. Well, the whole thing was thrown into chaos as you tried to remember a whole lot of numbers that have nothing to do with the job you’re about to do. And don’t even mention that spilt coffee or coke…

Now monitoring work expenses is so much easier — thanks to advances in technology.

There are a number of smartphone apps which can track your vehicle costs and movements — all with the aim of simplifying your accounting. Look for one that is compliant with the Australian Tax Office requirements.

Popular choices include Drive Appy, Travel Logs, Driversnote and Mydeductions.

“Small businesses should be leveraging all the technology available to them to help with better monitoring fleet vehicle usage and maximising value,” says Ash Harris, Shell Card Business Manager.

Part of that technology mix is an app that can leverage the data already collected by a fuel card such as a Shell Card.

Through using smartphone apps, you and your team can easily separate work-related trips from those taken for personal reasons. This makes the tax preparation component of a company vehicle return much easier to manage.

Combined with a fuel card such as the Shell Card, it also means almost real time monitoring of the vehicles in your fleet.

Once your drivers get the hang of activating the app as they leave for a job, they’ll soon realise it’s also a bonus for them. Less paperwork and no need to chase things up later. All of which means more time and less stress.

Don’t worry if they forget to activate the app prior to a trip. Most will allow you to enter it manually later, ensuring all those work expenses are properly accounted for.

All of which makes running a fleet that little bit easier, with the help of technology. It allows your team to focus on doing the job safely and you to ensure you’re maximising the value of your fleet without getting bogged down in admin and paperwork.

To find out more about how a Shell Card can help your business visit shell.com.au