Want to set up company cars for your business? Here's a brief summary of what you need to know about small business fleet leasing – including leasing options, costs, safety and operational considerations. Whilst running your own fleet may appear to be a daunting option, planning ahead and taking account of the key considerations will help you with the process.

Let’s take a look at what’s involved when starting a small business fleet.

1. Why start a small business fleet?

Starting a small business fleet does require hard work and plenty of research, but it can provide your business with many benefits. By taking your time and getting advice from professional providers, you will be able to assemble your own fleet. A business fleet can help you boost your company’s brand image and reputation, attract top employees and  grow your business.

2. Small business fleet leasing options

When it comes to business fleet leasing options, Toyota Fleet Management (TFM) provides two options for small businesses:

Complete Lease– as the name implies, this bundles together all costs connected with vehicle leasing, including servicing, registration, tyres and maintenance. If you wish, you could add in extras such as roadside assistance, business fuel cards and vehicle insurance. All you need to do is choose your vehicle, decide on term of lease and kilometre usage. You will then be provided with just one monthly payment.

Benefits include improved cash flow (no deposit), choice of lease term, predictable monthly payments, one monthly invoice (no matter how many vehicles) and in-depth reporting on the performance of your fleet vehicles. You can spend your time running your business rather than getting involved with vehicle management.

Maintained Chattel Mortgage - bringing with it some great tax benefits, this is an easy-to-use product. All you need to do is choose your vehicle, your deposit amount, loan term and kilometer usage. You then receive one monthly invoice with the option of adding in roadside assistance, a TFM fuel card and motor vehicle insurance.

Benefits include tax advantages in that GST, depreciation and interest charges may be claimed back and you may be able to offset the fuel input tax credit. The product provides a choice of loan terms, one set monthly payment (no matter how many vehicles) and in-depth reporting on the performance of your fleet vehicles.

3.  Small business fleet tips

Manage your fleet efficiently and reduce spending by following our small business fleet tips:

• Identify and stick with a reliable vehicle repair and maintenance company

  Avoid vehicles being out of action for too long, disrepairs and causing accidents. Opt for a company that can handle vehicle mechanics and windscreens.

• Ensure that your employees drive safely and efficiently

  Reckless driving uses more fuel, may incur fines and can impact upon the vehicle’s quality of care. Include a minimum vehicle care standard to ensure that the interior and exterior are kept in a clean presentable manner by drivers. We also suggest providing a safe-driver handbook.

• Store vehicle documentation digitally

  Cut down on unnecessary paperwork and keep an easy-to-use vehicle database that can be accessed remotely. This is useful in case of an accident where drivers need to view insurance documents.

• Telematics mobile technology to monitor your fleet of vehicles

  View and analyse driver behaviour and journey details with the help of technology like ForceField Telematics from Toyota Fleet Management. Where required, implement driver training and look at options for making all journeys more cost-effective.

• Choose vehicles wisely

  Consider, emissions, size, journey types, usual terrain.

4. Know the applicable laws

When operating a small business fleet, there are certain laws that both managers and drivers need to comply with. These include (but are not limited to) road safety laws, zero drink-driving, minimum vehicle standards and general Health & Safety regulations (as applied in the workplace).

It makes sense to create a detailed Driver Handbook to avoid misunderstanding or misuse by employees.

5. Small business fleet guidelines

What vehicles do you need?

The purpose of your fleet may determine whether a car or a van is more suitable. For example, different vehicle types may, serve a specific task, be more suitable as executive vehicles or provide an employee incentive. You may even wish to consider factoring in things like reliability or your company’s environmental policy (thereby opting for vehicles with low emissions).

TFM’s Fleet Advisory Service can help by providing you with a comprehensive range of options when it comes to decision making. Based upon your type of business, they will enable you to identify the most suitable vehicles to suit your needs, thereby maximising efficiency.

Leasing a car vs buying – what’s better?

When considering leasing, it is sensible to look for providers with the best reputation. You may even wish to outsource your fleet management, avoiding the need to get involved with logistics, maintenance or servicing.

Buying a fleet is more expensive so look at how much buying a vehicle will cost for the whole of its working life, considering fuel, depreciation, servicing and maintenance. Try and look for providers with the best reputation instead of focusing on the lowest leasing prices. You may even wish to outsource your fleet management, avoiding the need to get involved with logistics, maintenance or servicing.

Keep your costs down

● Fuel: Look at economy vehicles, track fuel use, ensure drivers use vehicles economically and keep tyre pressures inflated. Consider fuel cards.

● Insurance: Research vehicles with the best insurance ratings. Fleet insurance policies tend to cost less than individual policies.

● Service, maintenance and repairs: If you are leasing, maintenance should be included.

● Tax: Calculate the total amount that you will have to pay.

● Vehicle tracking software: Should you opt to use this, factor in the cost of the software you choose, calculating the cost for the total number of vehicles you have in your fleet.

Summary 

If you are considering running your vehicles as a small fleet for your business but can’t afford to employ a fleet manager to assist, Toyota Fleet Management (TFM) can help. TFM has a range of products and services, specifically developed with small businesses in mind. They employ small business specialists who understand the challenges you face. This, in conjunction with their dealership network, means that the TFM small business team can help keep your small business fleet running smoothly. That way you can focus on company growth and success.

If your business has up to 20 vehicles then Toyota Fleet Management (TFM) can help to ease the load and save you time and money. Make an enquiry to hear back from a TFM expert here.