Regulatory trends could make fleet software obligatory, says FleetCheck

Long-term regulatory trends could result in fleet management software becoming obligatory in the future, FleetCheck suggests.

With increasing digitalisation of both fleet compliance and general financial records, momentum is coming from two different directions, managing director Peter Golding says.

“Over the last few years, we’ve seen the DVSA stipulate that software needs to be used for the Earned Recognition scheme in order to report the condition of truck fleets,” he said.

“At present, this is voluntary, but it is certainly possible that it becomes more widespread in the future.

“There’s also the DVSA’s desire to handle preventative maintenance inspections digitally.”

VAT and accountancy records also now need to be submitted to HMRC digitally, and this has prompted a huge shift towards smaller businesses using specialist accountancy software, according to FleetCheck.

“Our view is that it’s unlikely that the movement towards digitalisation will stop here and will increase over time, spreading into areas such as the company fleet,” said Golding. “How long this will take is difficult to say but it is very much the direction of travel.”

He continued: “Fleet data is already fed into official records when it comes to MOT tests and the Motor Insurance Database, as examples.

“It is arguably a logical step from here to perhaps being asked to record all walkaround checks on vehicles digitally and submit them to a central health and safety portal.

“Our view is that this type of development would be a good thing because it would help to professionalise fleet management at an SME level, providing those businesses with the benefits that software already provides to major fleet operators in terms of time saved, cost control, and higher levels of compliance.

“In the same way that accountancy packages such as Xero and QuickBooks becoming compulsory has helped many SMEs become much better at accountancy basics, similar improvements could be achieved for fleet performance.”

If this scenario materialises, the question facing the fleet software sector would be how to help fleets meet the demands of digitalisation, suggests Golding

“We have some some ideas that we are looking to bring to market in the near future that are  designed to meet this trend,” he added.

“To us, it’s not a question of looking to extract the maximum earnings from potential digitalisation but working to meet the needs of as many fleets as possible. There should be a balance.”