Running a small fleet of 2+ cars and/or 2+ vans? Read our Basic Fleet Management Plan below… ideal for smaller customers and perfect for our team to manage; this is what can also be referred to as a “micro-fleet leasing”.
For some bigger fleets, more in-depth fleet management is required and, as such, they do need bespoke systems and configurations to ensure the fleet is operated professionally and efficiently.
For the small fleet, the same level of assistance is simply unrequired as many of the potential pitfalls and issues can be overcome with practical steps.
The first consideration for any limited company is to consider the company car tax which is payable on the vehicle. While a monthly rental may seem attractive on a vehicle, you do have to consider the P11d value and C02 on the vehicle (taking into account your rate of tax) before jumping into a deal.
Operating a car through your company does offer certain tax advantages to the company but, as the employee is enjoying a benefit, there is tax payable – known as “benefit in kind”.
Essentially, the more expensive and more polluting the car, the higher your tax bill will be. This is why many drivers are now looking at electric vehicles and PHEV’s in order to minimise their exposure to tax. However, do note that the “eco vehicles” are generally more expensive and so the monthly rental the company pays will be higher than your generic petrol or diesel option.
Maintenance of the fleet is another consideration. With contract hire you have the option to go driver-maintained, which means that you service and maintain the vehicle or you can elect to utilise a funder-maintained agreement and include the cost of all servicing, tyres and maintenance within the agreement.
As we are a credit broker, we operate with a number of finance companies and this means that there are different terms and conditions on approach to maintenance.
All the cars were supply are brand-new and this means that they each have a warranty (between 3-7 years manufacturer dependent). A warranty does not cover your servicing obligations, it only exists to cover any faults or issues which arise through no fault of the driver. Modern cars require servicing based on service intervals, which will be a time period (every 12-24 months) or mileage based (every 10,000-20,000 miles).
When the car informs you that it needs works carrying out you need to arrange this. In some cases you will have to take the vehicle to a main dealer and in other cases any VAT registered garage with genuine manufacturer parts will be able to carry out the works.
Some maintenance policies will include replacement tyres for fair wear and tear whereas other will go further to include all punctures and damage.
Again, speak to your fleet manager or credit broker to check the exact T&Cs. Without maintenance, all tyre replacements are down to you and the business, so do ensure you use the same tyres as was supplied with the vehicle i.e. no budget tyres!
Make sure that you put in place basic steps to manage the cars:
· Created individual files for each vehicle containing the contract hire agreements – retain for 6 years for your tax records;
· Carry out annual inspections of the vehicle for damage/servicing/tyres – duty of care obligations;
· Carry out annual driving licence checks on the driver – obligations under insurance
· Consider a driver training day and company car policy – duty of care obligations;
· Keep copies of the servicing records and tyre replacements – retain for 6 years for your tax records ;
· Ensure a copy of the fleet insurance is kept within the vehicle; and
· Ensure the vehicles are covered by breakdown recovery for the term – new vehicles will have 1 to 3 year cover as standard.
For more info on fleet management, simply contact our dedicated fleet team here @CarLease UK or read more about micro fleet management in our help and advice article…
