The Best Fleet Tracking Software For Your Small Business

GPS fleet tracking can help businesses of all sizes and niches to better monitor the activities of their drivers and create strategies to boost efficiency. When they leave the office and head towards their destination points, you have next to no clue about their performance and commitment.

This changes with the integration of GPS fleet management software such as Fleetr into the mix.

Small fleets, just like big ones, can benefit heavily from the introduction of fleet tracking software because GPS tracking allows managers to better surveil their vehicles and drivers, and make decisions that matter the most. However, for a small fleet, your business needs a fleet management tool that fits the budget and delivers satisfactorily without breaking the bank with monthly rents.

This article will cover Fleetr can help you do just that, we’ll also share some top alternatives to Fleetr, and explore what matters the most when looking for the best fleet tracking software for small businesses.

Let’s get started!

Fleetr – The Perfect GPS Fleet Tracking Solution

If you’re looking for a premium-level fleet management software that delivers live updates on the locations of your fleet vehicles and lets you know if your drivers act neglectfully, without any binding contracts or exorbitant fees, then Fleetr is the perfect option to look for.

The team responsible for the creation of Fleetr has years of experience in the world of telematics and has made ground-breaking achievements with this software. As of now, Fleetr connects well over 20,000 vehicles with its servers and allows fleet managers and business owners to monitor the progress of their workers.

The best part about Fleetr is that the installation and operation are both super-simple. All you have to do is to plug in the device, connect it with your app and get tracking. Feel free to drop in any time and check the real-time location and trip details of your fleet either via your smartphone or your computer.

But the beauty of this fleet management software is that it does not force you to glue your eyes to the screen. Instead, feel free to do other stuff, and rest assured that all is going according to plan. However, if there’s any trouble at all, you’ll be the first one to know because the app notifies managers about any unacceptable behavior from the drivers (more on that later) or other news that matters.

The idea is to keep you in the loop of all that is happening without forcing you to commit hours from your tightly packed routine to fleet tracking and management. Powered by AI and valuable insights from the fleet tracking business, Fleetr knows exactly what to offer and does not fail to impress – that too for a mere $9.99 per month!

Top Alternates To Fleetr For Small-Scale GPS Fleet Management

While Fleetr is a leading GPS tracking solution for small businesses, you can check out a couple of alternatives available in the market:

1.    Samsara

This GPS fleet management system offers a whole lot of hardware options you can pick from such as simple plug-and-play devices and dash cams, all designed to make your fleet tracing efforts more effective and efficient. The software has been designed to track small fleets, however, its commitment requires a minimum of three vehicles – if you plan on tracking any less than that, then look elsewhere.

Samsara’s user interface, as with Fleetr, is pretty user-friendly and simple enough to be understood by anyone. Alerts and notifications are also enabled, and you can track your fleet in real-time. All of these features, coupled with its openness to integration with third-party elements, make Samsara a valued option.

The only drawback, as mentioned earlier, is the three-vehicle minimum limit, and then there are binding contracts that can make pulling away much harder if you feel like parting ways (Fleetr does not force you to sign any contracts, just install and get tracking!)

2.    Azuga

While its fleet tracking capabilities are quite limited, Azuga is worthy of your attention in the asset tracking area. This GPS tracking system is meant to track specific assets such as containers, moveable equipment, tractor-trailers, and so on. If you plan on tracking small fleet vehicles, then this option may not be the best one to look for.

However, when asset tracking comes into question, none does it better!

The software is simple and easy to operate, and you can use it for fleets of all sizes. Not only does the app deliver real-time location updates of your assets but also shares vital driver stats to help you monitor the efficiency and safety of operation.

This way, you can preempt disaster by stopping your drivers from over-speeding or driving harshly, to begin with. You can also monitor fuel usage and thus streamline the process by killing off any wastages. The only drawback here is that the software is not onboard with the Better Business Bureau.

3.    GPS TrackIt

GPS Trackit is an affordable fleet tracking system that offers value for the buck. Businesses just starting with fleet management, maintenance, and safety inspection can make good use of it. Not only will the system help you cut costs for tracking but also deliver solid results.

However, you can’t find an exact price on their website, instead, you’ll have to get a quote – this lack of transparency has not gone unnoticed by critics.

They do offer flexibility in payment solutions and you can avail of a 30-day money back guarantee if things don’t work according to your satisfaction. You will have quick access to all important on-board stats and data such as vehicle speed, temperature, and driving behavior.

The diagnostics alerts will also be of great help in preempting disaster on the road. However, the monthly price that you’ll pay for the subscription will NOT cover installation of this system’s hardware, in contrast to Fleetr which offers coverage for the device within the monthly payment sum.

What Features To Look For In Fleet Management Software For Small Businesses

So what makes Fleetr or these other options mentioned above worthy of your attention. What should you look for when selecting a fleet management system for small businesses? This section will help answer just that.

Real-Time GPS Fleet Tracking

We’ve mentioned real-time GPS tracking a couple of times now, and this is where we explain what it is and how it works. The idea is simple: you get to monitor the displacement of your fleet vehicles as they happen, in real-time!

On your end, you’ll see a marker or an icon moving over a real-time map, representing the movements of your vehicle. This form of GPS tracking contrasts with interval-tracking that only shares the location updates after fixed intervals.

Cheap fleet tracking systems use the latter, and while they are better than nothing, they suffer from an inherent flaw: there is no way of knowing what happened in between two intervals. Real-time tracking is the answer here as it shows the changes unfold as they happen without losing a moment.

The working principle is a bit high-tech; it involves a tracking device plugged with the vehicle, which constantly transmits wireless signals. These signals travel via the internet and get picked up by the Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites which then reflect them to the user’s end.

Via the internet, you can graphically witness the change in location (or no change) on your screen.

The same also applies to other stats and data shared via the internet.

On-Board Stats & Diagnostics

An effective GPS fleet management software also delivers a ton of other data entries and useful stats to keep the process streamlined and to avoid any problems. Knowing stuff like average vehicle speed, temperature, and taking a look at the diagnostic reports every now and then will help you better manage your fleet.

Even small businesses benefit greatly from an improvement in the system efficiency. If you have all the data at your disposal, you can find ways to avoid money drains. Fuel consumption is the major economic hemorrhage for any business involving a transportation component.

Your vehicles burn through fuel by opting for longer routes, idling, or speeding. If you can keep tabs on fuel usage, you’ll be able to better assess the problem areas and communicate with your drivers. This way, the costs of running the operation will be cut, but the earnings will be the same.

Consider doing this with a couple of vehicles, and you’ll have saved a fortune over the year!

Alerts About Unsafe Driver Behavior

As the employer, you are legally required to keep tabs on your drivers’ behaviors and ensure that they don’t become a threat to the public. Car crashes result in thousands of fatalities throughout the USA every year. The economic damages incurred upon the accident victims and their families through such events are staggering.

But there is one more party that has to suffer a substantial loss, and that is the employer of the at-fault driver.

Companies are forced to dole out hundreds of thousands of dollars in financial compensation for the wrongdoing of their drivers.

You must preempt such a disaster.

The leading causes of automobile accidents include distracted driving and unsafe driving behavior.

A decent fleet tracking system can help you better keep an eye on unsafe driving practices and communicate with your driver at once if you see something out of the ordinary. Over-speeding, hard pressing against the brakes, swift acceleration, and reckless driving are all completely unacceptable.

Not only will a capable fleet management system record such deviations but will also notify you when something like this happens because stuff like this demands immediate attention. This way, you won’t have to keep your eyes peeled at the screen all the time and instead focus on running your business more effectively.

You can create a reward-based system encouraging all of our drivers to be at their best on the road.

Trip Details

Another aspect of fleet monitoring is knowing exactly what happened with every trip, and of course, you can’t teleport to the passenger seat of every vehicle – at least not in the present times. Instead, you’ll have to make peace with the details offered by your fleet management software.

Your fleet tracking app will not only record the starting point and the destinations but also the time taken to travel, distance, average speed during the travel, and so on. It would be like monitoring every trip first-hand, only from the comfort of your office (or even your home).

Through these details and stats, you won’t have to rely on the honesty of your workers (not that you should doubt their honesty – just try not to rely upon it). You will also eliminate the need for manual logs and records which are prone to error and manipulations.

All in all, these details and stats can help you make your business more efficient and streamlined.

Notifications

You can’t spend all day staring at the screen, hoping that everything turns out to be great and at the same time wondering why you’re busy doing other stuff. Though modern fleet tracking systems offer real-time visibility and unhindered access to your vehicle’s stats, they don’t demand your presence all the time.

Instead, you can get busy doing stuff that matters while the app keeps tabs on all that is going on.

If something that deserves your attention comes to happen, you’ll be the first one to know as the app will dispatch immediate notifications and alerts to inform you.

Thus you no longer need to worry if your drivers are exhibiting unsafe behavior or if something is wrong because if anything is worth your attention, the app will share it with you.

In the meantime, you should relax and focus on furthering your business.

System Compatibility

A decent fleet management system should be compatible with both smartphones and computers and that too with multiple operating systems. With so many OS on the rise, you never know which one is supported by a certain app and which one is not.

You should thus do your research beforehand and see if the app you plan on using is available on multiple platforms or not (at least on the ones you use), i.e. windows, mac, iOS, Linux, and Android.

The wider the support compatibility, the better.

Affordability

For a small-sized fleet, you can’t go for a product that costs more than what it offers. The transportation giants can have all the high-tech and expensive trackers they need, but you should look for cost-effectiveness above all.

The whole idea behind getting a fleet management system is to make your business more profitable and your fleet safer. You can’t allow the opposite to happen by either getting something inadequate or excessively expensive.

Your goal is to find something that not only fits your budget nicely but also offers all the good stuff for an affordable monthly rent.

And, ideally, the device they offer should be covered in the monthly payment instead of having to pay for it separately.

Luckily, Fleetr is very considerate in this matter and does not demand any separate payments for their tracking hardware!

Why Do You Need Fleet Tracking Software For A Small Fleet?

So why do small fleets even need fleet tracking systems? Isn’t this something that the business titans should concern themselves with? How will your small fleet benefit from Fleetr or a similar GPS fleet management software?

Well, we know that fleet management systems work for small businesses because thousands of them are using such systems to boost their productivity.

How exactly does that happen? Let’s explore:

Improved Efficiency

Through enhanced performance monitoring, better transparency, direct communication channels, and improved data input, you can get the best out of your fleet. Any business is only as good as the person calling the shots – that’s you – and your performance and involvement will depend heavily on how much you can see and access.

With fleet management systems, it’s as if managers and business owners are present at multiple locations at once. Not only do these apps show you all that you need to see about your fleet but do so as soon as those things happen.

Thus you can act immediately if something does not feel right.

Scheduling & Route Optimization

One of the biggest advantages of running fleet tracking systems is knowing where to go and when to go. Effective scheduling and route optimization are quintessential for the success of every business that involves a transportation component.

For instance, if you own a repair service, you can’t have your client waiting for hours before your crew shows up even though they were meant to be there long before that.

These sorts of problems are almost unavoidable because traffic conditions are subject to fluctuations. Similarly, your driver may have taken a single wrong turn which resulted in unnecessary delay and wastage of fuel.

Human error is an ever-present possibility, and you can’t blame your drivers for making a non-ideal choice.

Thus you should eliminate this whole intuition-based thing. Instead, you can use a fleet tracking app to map out the most suitable route based on distance, traffic flow, and other conditions (i.e. there may be construction work in progress on the main route).

Similarly, you can schedule the appointments smarty and save up on time and money, and save yourself from the embarrassment of being late.

And, the best part is that if your crew is running late due to unavoidable reasons, you’ll know that beforehand and be able to communicate this with the client – remember, communication is one of the core pillars for every successful business.

Automation Of Records

No need to rely on manual registers and logs for keeping tabs on performance and expenditures. It is not unheard of drivers to steal company time and assets to get their side-hustles done and then manipulate the company records to hide their commitments elsewhere.

While you have no reason to doubt someone’s honesty unless you can prove them otherwise, it pays to be cautious – literally.

You can simply eliminate the need for manual registers and logs, and instead, keep tabs on your workers through the fleet management software. The best part about this shift is that it not only saves you from data manipulation but also ensures that every second of company time is spent on company work.

This way, you will boost productivity and eliminate unprofessionalism without offending anyone – why would anyone be mad about not having to log in their entries every day?

All of this, and you’ll simplify things for yourself when filing tax returns (by knowing the fuel costs).

Better Performance Evaluation

How do you reward good performance or reprimand negative behavior without knowing when either happened? Luckily, fleet management is the best approach to simplifying this problem, and you don’t have to do anything about it!

The automation of data allows users to better evaluate their workers’ performances. This way, you won’t have to spend hours leafing through manual logs (which may be misleading), trying to find out who did a fine job.

Based on the unaltered stats and records reported by the fleet tracking system, you can (and should) reward drivers who did a fine job. This will create a sense of friendly competition among the workers, and they will hopefully work on their shortcomings.

And if you ever have to confront someone regarding their poor performance, they won’t be able to deny the authenticity of your claims.

Decent Return On Investment

The best approach towards any investment is to judge what it will bring on board and what will be the costs associated. As mentioned earlier, small businesses cannot afford to spend exorbitant sums on high-tech features of which they will have no use.

Thus affordability and return on investment are the two aspects where apps like Fleetr shine the most when it comes to small businesses.

Why? They offer all the features and functions needed to ensure the fleet’s safety and help cut down the costs (and don’t cost that much themselves either).

Since we’ve discussed the cost cuts early on, let’s shift the focus on safety.

Theft is an ever-present danger for vehicles, however, not only does GPS tracking help trace a stolen vehicle, but a simple mention of this tracking technology on the vehicle acts as a perfect deterrent against such an action.

Thus, these systems pay you back many times as much as they cost.

Why Fleetr Is The Best GPS Fleet Tracking Service For Small Businesses

Now comes the main question: why Fleetr? Of all the options you may come across online, why does this one stand out the most? The answer is “simplicity” – not just with the operation and interface, simplicity with every aspect of the system.

Here’s how Fleetr makes fleet tracking convenient and worthwhile:

Simple Installation Process

GPS fleet tracking systems can make use of hardwired tracking devices or plug-and-play types. Fleetr uses the latter kind which is easier to set up and doesn’t cost all that much either. In fact, you won’t have to pay a penny for Fleetr’s tracking device.

The monthly rent will cover the expense.

If you were concerned that installation was going to take hours from your precious business routine, then you’d be glad to know that this is not the case. Instead, the Fleetr device only needs to be hooked up with your vehicle, linked with the app, and that’s it.

The beauty of Fleetr is that everything is so simple!

No Contracts

Most fleet tracking systems demand certain commitments from their clients, and they make you sign binding contracts. These contracts not only restrict your freedom of choice (i.e. if you want to do away with a system in favor of another one) but are also very uninteresting.

Who even reads them anyway?

Well, good for you because Fleetr has simply done away with all the contracts and binding commitments. All you have to do is order the device, hook it up, link it with your app (on your smartphone or computer), and get tracking.

There is no way that things could be any simpler than this!

Perfectly Cost-Effective

You won’t have to pay a penny in initiation fees, or for activation, or any hidden charges. The delivery of your tracking device is also completely free, and so is the device. All you have to pay for is the $9.99 per month for a vehicle that you’re going to track with the device.

That’s it – no extra fees or charges whatsoever!

Summing Up The Fleetr Package

When you sign up for Fleetr, you get:

• A tracking device meant to be connected with the OBD II port of your vehicle
• An app that you can download either from the Fleetr website or through the Google Play Store
• Wireless data prepaid by Fleetr, with coverage extending all over the USA
• Customer support in the English medium for all users

All of this without any contracts, initiation fees, or hidden charges!

Bottom Line

Fleet tracking has helped thousands of business owners transform their businesses and evolve according to the trends of the modern century. Not only do such systems help companies save up money and ensure the safety of their assets, but also bridge the gap between the management and the drivers.

Short of putting you in the field, these systems have your back with everything.

Real-time tracking, constant updates, detailed stats and information about drivers’ behaviors, automation of data, easy assessment of performance, and streamlining of the transportation business – all of these features have earned GPS fleet tracking a deeply entrenched position in many successful businesses.

Systems like Fleetr, which is used and admired by thousands, have proven their utility to many before and hopefully, now, to you as well!