Spreadsheets Vs Fleet Management System
December 7, 2024

Spreadsheets vs Fleet Management Software: Which One Should I Use?

Modern fleet management software (FMS) offers many benefits over spreadsheets as they are designed keeping all aspects of fleet management in mind. It includes features that help track fuel consumption, maintenance schedules, vehicle locations, driver activity, and other important information about your fleet vehicles. These include automating processes, generating reports, managing multiple vehicle maintenance and integrating with external systems.

spreadsheet vs fleet management system

Fleet managers are often forced to use outdated spreadsheet software because it's what they know how to use. However, there are many benefits to switching over to a fleet management solution for your fleet maintenance tasks.

Ensuring Data Accuracy:

Spreadsheets are great tools for organizing information, but it's easy to make mistakes. In fact, according to Gartner Research, spreadsheet errors cost businesses $1 trillion annually. Simply Fleet validates user inputs at different stages and alerts the users to verify the values before saving.

Ease in Data Collection:

The most significant benefit of FMS is that it eliminates the bottleneck of data entry. This saves you countless hours of work collecting the same data manually every month. You no longer have to spend time entering vehicle mileage into spreadsheets or manually updating maintenance records. Data for fuel transactions, service history can be added with ease by drivers directly.

Simplifying Data Analysis:

Spreadsheets may help businesses record and document their fleets' operational facts and figures, but they don't provide much insight into what's happening under the hood. As a result, many fleet managers have to manually analyze data, which takes time away from managing the fleet itself.

That's why using a tool that offers FMS along with data analysis capabilities is crucial. This way, you can spend less time doing manual tasks and more time making smart decisions about your business.

Providing Real-Time Updates:

The Fleet Management System (FMS) is a critical component of any organization's operations. But without accurate information about how well it's performing, you won't know whether it needs maintenance or repairs or if it's ready to take on another job.

Real-time data gives you a comprehensive view of your fleet's current state, allowing you to make better decisions about where to spend your resources. And because FMS systems are often used across multiple departments, having access to real-time data allows everyone involved to collaborate effectively.

Fostering Collaboration Across Teams:

Spreadsheets are great tools for tracking data, but they're terrible for sharing information across multiple people. They require too much manual effort to update and maintain and don't scale easily.

Fleet management tool offers a different approach. Instead of forcing you to use one excel spreadsheet per team, it allows you to manage your fleet in one place. This way, everyone knows what's happening with each vehicle, and there's no confusion about who owns what bringing about accountability even amongst drivers.

Centralizing Data in an Organized Software:

FMS is a must-have tool for every business or fleet owner. With one centralized database, you'll be able to organize your information quickly and efficiently. This way, you'll know where each vehicle is located, what work has been done, and what repairs are needed. You'll even be able to schedule maintenance and repairs at the best times. Plus, you'll save money because you won't have to pay for multiple trips to the mechanic.

Centralizing data into software makes tracking maintenance needs and maintenance costs much more accessible. And since you'll be able to see exactly what's going on in your fleet in real time, you'll be able to avoid costly mistakes.

Other Benefits:

Enabling Mobility

A Mobile-friendly FMS allows instant collaboration between teams. A mobile app enables workers to access information quickly and efficiently, increasing productivity and saving money.

Drivers can upload all supporting documents for fill-ups and expenses like receipts, parking tickets, and fines, along with the logs. Simply Fleet allows them to carry out vehicle inspections also directly via the app, and you can also upload photos of the issue if an inspection fails. All that information is instantly available on the cloud for all to view.

Fleet managers can receive notifications on their devices or emails about a service which is due or if an inspection fails.

Reduce Paperwork

FMS allows you to generate reports and documents without having to print them out. Instead, you can store all of this information digitally so you can access it whenever you need it. This also includes unnecessary paperwork from Vehicle Inspections.

Save Money

FMS offers more advanced reporting capabilities than traditional excel spreadsheets. These solutions allow you to easily see where your money is being spent and which areas could be improved.

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Moving from spreadsheets to fleet software doesn't have to be a big task:

Automated fleet management software helps reduce operation costs and administration time and aids compliance. With Simply Fleet you can easily import Vehicle and Fuel Data from CSV files. To do so, click on the menu icon (3 dots) on the respective screens and select ‘Import from CSV’. Upload your CSV file and click Next. On the next screen, map your columns to the fields available in Simply Fleet and then click the Import File button to get all your data into Simply Fleet. This feature comes in handy whenever you want to import your data in bulk. This could be when you are migrating from another application or if you get your fill-ups from an external system like a fuel card database.

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