If your business has been growing, your operational needs are likely changing too, along with the way you manage your vehicle fleet. The simple vehicle policy that once suited your small team won’t be enough as your team grows, new roles are added, and employees needs change. It’s time to ask yourself this question: Has your vehicle policy kept pace with your growing business?
If the answer’s “no”, then what your business needs is a well-structured Motor Vehicle Policy, that’s more than just a set of guidelines. It’s a policy that ensures efficiency, compliance, and cost-effectiveness, while drawing a clear distinction between fleet vehicles, which are tools of trade, and benefit vehicles, that are provided to your staff through car allowances or novated leases.
Fleet vs Benefit Vehicles: What’s the Difference?
A strong fleet policy should clearly define what a fleet vehicle is – be it a car, van, ute or truck – versus what a benefit vehicle is (typically a car or ute).
Fleet vehicles are best thought of as tools of trade that are essential to your business’s operations. They assist your employees in doing their work and may include company-owned work vehicles like vans, utes, or trucks for deliveries and fieldwork. They also include industry-specific vehicles for construction, mining, transport or service-based roles. Pool vehicles that are used for shared business-related travel are also fleet vehicles.
Efficient fleet management helps keep your business on the road to success. Fleetcare can help keep your fleet well-managed, reducing wear-and-tear expenses, and ensuring you always comply with safety regulations.
In contrast to fleet vehicles, benefit cars are provided for employee convenience, offering them financial flexibility and personal choice. There are a couple of options for them:
- A car allowance simply allows them to use their own vehicles while receiving a financial contribution from your business
- A Fleetcare novated lease enables them to lease a vehicle using their before tax salary, which could save them tax and potentially reduce your payroll tax at the same time
Benefit vehicles can be great for your business, providing greater freedom for your employees while reducing administrative tasks for you. A vital point to remember is that without a clear distinction between fleet vehicles and benefit cars, your business risks overpaying for underused assets.
The Importance of Scale
An effective vehicle policy ensures your business resources are used efficiently while providing employees with attractive and appropriate options. But it should never be a simple matter of set and forget - your policy needs to evolve as your business grows.
Any well-scaled policy needs to answer the following questions:
- Who qualifies for a fleet vehicle?
- When is a car allowance a better option?
- How should fleet vehicles be procured and managed?
- What are the tax and compliance considerations?
A structured approach is vital to prevent overspending on unnecessary fleet expenses, or not offering competitive benefit options, resulting in dissatisfied employees and inefficient operations.
Fleetcare’s Here to Help
Fleetcare has over 35 years’ experience helping businesses just like yours create a vehicle policy that works for your business, too. We’ll make sure your policy aligns with your business goals and industry requirements, and that your fleet vehicles are ordered, delivered and managed efficiently.
By partnering with Fleetcare you’ll gain from a unified approach to fleet management—reducing complexities, optimizing costs, and ensuring compliance. If your business has outgrown its original vehicle policy, now is the time to revisit it.
Fleetcare’s experience offers expert guidance to help businesses establish scalable vehicle policies that work in harmony with your operational needs and employee benefits. Whether it's managing tool of trade vehicles or supporting employees into benefit cars, Fleetcare can be your trusted fleet partner.
To find out more contact Fleetcare today on 134 333 for an obligation-free chat about your business’s fleet needs.