It is important to have a clear understanding of where your fleet management dollars are being spent. Like a personal weekly budget, having a strong grasp on where costs can be cut can strengthen your financial position for the long term.
Similar to most of the important budgets in our social or professional lives, fleet management budgets are multidimensional financial plans that must cover several important facets of fleet management.
10 essentials in a fleet management budget
- Staff costs / labour - Accurately calculate how much is being spent on the labour going into repairs. This includes the costs of both technicians and overhead staff.
- Maintenance costs - Keep up to date with market prices and know how much your organisation is spending on maintenance. This will increase your ability to negotiate better prices and enhance your buying power.
- Asset utilisation - Track and manage your fleet’s peak utilisation and minimum utilisation requirements to ensure your fleet matches its ideal size and type.
- Fuel costs - Which of your assets are the most/least fuel efficient?
- Recurring costs (Insurance, replacement, etc.) - Be sure to include all appropriate monthly costs to allow for accurate tracking.
- Commercial charges - Are there opportunities to perform more outside work in-house (to reduce costs and delays) or to send work out (maintenance providers) so you can focus on the tasks you need to perform?
- Vehicle pool rentals - Consider leasing out fleet vehicles that are under-utilised or not being used (common issues for large fleet organisations).
- Everyday expenses (Car washes, tolls, etc.) - Remember to consider fees that aren’t just shop-related
- Mark-up costs - On top of all the previously listed costs associated with fleet management, you may also need to add mark ups to recover these expenses.
- Asset depreciation - Accurately measuring the costs of asset depreciation must be considered when calculating revenue.