A fleet is exactly what you need if you’re a new business owner and require additional help in delivering your products or service. However, shopping for a fleet can be overwhelming, but as with any business investment, you need to prioritize one thing: getting the best value for your money. This doesn’t always mean buying brand-new and state-of-the-art vehicles. What it means is purchasing something that you know will see a ton of use. In this article, we’ll be going over how new business owners can shop for a fleet.
Determine What You Need
Before you start shopping, it’s important to determine what kind and how many vehicles you need. The first step is to figure out what type or types of vehicles your organization needs. Do you need delivery trucks for your sales force? Or does the maintenance staff use vans for moving equipment around the company’s facilities? Once you know what kind of vehicle is required, it’s time to consider how many are necessary.
How many drivers are going to be active per day? What type of cargo will they be hauling? This information can help determine whether one large van or several smaller ones would better suit your needs. Ask yourself what kind of deliveries must be made on any given day. Do they require large trucks that carry heavy loads over long distances? Do they need small cars with less capacity that require frequent stops at different locations along their route? You’ll need to consider these factors carefully as you browse your options.
Get Everything Registered
After securing enough vehicles to assemble your fleet, your next step is registering it. Fleets are more complicated than new business owners might realize at first. Before any one of your recently acquired vehicles can hit the road, they must be registered with the state. Secondly, you must have an active fleet insurance policy to protect your business and drivers. Fleet insurance is a special type of car insurance that lets you add as many vehicles as you want onto a single policy.
This lets you spend less money compared to what you would have spent on multiple policies for each vehicle. Last, you’ll need to procure a VIN for each vehicle. VIN is short for vehicle identification number; think of these as a social security number. They’re how each vehicle can be identified and how you can keep track of registrations, warranties, and even safety recalls.
Keep Your Eye on Fuel Costs
It’s no secret that the bigger the vehicle, the more fuel they’re going to need. Fuel costs are one of the more expensive costs you’ll fund as a business owner. This is why it’s highly recommended to be absolutely certain about what vehicles you need for your fleet. A sole trader fuel card is recommended to lower cost. While the price for gas does differ by state, the costs can rack up tremendously, especially when there are multiple vehicles involved. A great way to lower fuel costs is to manually plan out routes for each driver so they don’t have to waste anything by taking detours.