There are a million and one reasons why a business might want to invest in a fleet of vehicles. And make no mistake, a fleet of vehicles definitely is an investment. The key to keeping your costs as low as possible and maximising your returns is to manage your fleet efficiently. Here’s what you need to know in order to do that.
Don’t Be Complacent About Driver Safety
It doesn’t matter whether your workers own their vehicles, or whether they are the property of your or your business; as long as they are representing your business, you are responsible for the safety of the drivers. Anyone who is driving a vehicle on behalf of your business, whether they are directly employed by you or not, is your responsibility, so make sure that they know how to operate their vehicles safely. The last thing you want is a picture in the papers showing the scene of a car crash with your company’s logo clearly visible on the vehicle that caused it.
Ensuring that your drivers operate safely will also reduce the rate of accidents and therefore keep your repair and maintenance costs to a minimum.
Make Sure You Give Your Vehicles Regular Check-ups
The other key to keeping your maintenance costs low is to give your vehicles regular check-ups. If your employees are going to be taking responsibility for their own individual vehicles, make sure you give them a maintenance checklist that they can run through to keep their vehicles in good shape.
If you can get all of your workers into the habit of routinely checking their vehicles and staying on top of looking after them, you won’t have to keep spending money on preventable problems.
Keep Records of Every Check-up
Getting your fleet checked regularly is a great idea, but if you aren’t keeping accurate logs of those check-ups, then you are missing out. Your vehicle’s check-up records are like their medical records, telling you what the current health of your vehicle is and how it has fluctuated over the years.
Make Sure You Have the Right Insurance
As with any other vehicle on UK roads, your business vehicles need to have insurance. You don’t have to buy an individual insurance policy for each vehicle though; you can insure them collectively with fleet insurance. Fleet insurance is insurance for multiple vehicles, whether as part of a household or a business. Quotezone has more information on their website, as well as a price comparison tool that you can use to find the best deal on your fleet insurance.
Operating a fleet of vehicles is always going to come with some unavoidable expenses – there is nothing you can do about that. However, if you play your cards right, then you can at least make sure you don’t pay any more than you need to. Stick to the advice above and you can maintain your business fleet in the most cost-efficient way possible.
