Fleet compliance for plant and tool hire firms
Your vans, pickups, tippers and beavertail trucks spend the day taking machines out to customers and bringing them back. VCT checks every vehicle's MOT or annual test and road tax overnight, puts the daily walkaround check on each driver's phone and keeps the records ready if an insurer or customer asks.
A walkaround check before the truck leaves the depot
In VCT drivers open their phone's browser, see the vehicle they have today and tap each item green, amber or red.
Anything amber or red reaches the office straight away with the driver's note. You hear about a damaged ramp or a soft tyre before the first machine is dropped off.
- Nothing to install from an app store, and no paper sheets to collect
- Edit the checklist for your vehicles, with items such as ramps, the winch, straps and tie-down points
- Drivers can take a different vehicle or hand one back without phoning the office
- Drivers only ever see their own vehicle and details
Where hire fleets get caught out
Loads go on and off all day, and vehicles move between depots and drivers. That is where things slip.
Vans and trucks on two clocks
A van's first MOT comes at three years. A new truck's first annual test is due 12 months after registration. VCT takes each expiry date straight from DVSA.
Loads on and off all day
HSE's guidance on keeping work vehicles safe says employers should have arrangements for securing loads. Add load items to your checklist.
Vehicles that go home
Some drivers take a van home and go straight to a customer. They do the check on their phone wherever the vehicle is parked.
Proving it later
Insurers and customers may ask how you check your vehicles. The compliance pack PDF shows every inspection, every defect and how fast each one was fixed.
Every defect has an owner
In VCT, every red or amber item becomes work in the queue, with critical items at the top. Give it an owner and track it to done.
The defect only clears when a later check marks the same item green. A truck doesn't drop off the list because somebody said it was sorted.
- One work queue across every depot, worst first
- See which drivers are checking and which aren't, over the last 30 days
- Service records and costs on each vehicle
Beavertails, tippers and plant trailers
VCT reads HGV annual test results from DVSA the same way as van MOTs, and checks HGV road tax with DVLA. DVSA's heavy-vehicle test history starts in 2018. See HGV fleet compliance and our HGV walkaround check guide for the daily check.
Trailers have no registration number, so VCT can't check them automatically. GOV.UK's page on the annual test for HGVs, buses and trailers lists which trailers need testing.
GOV.UK explains that you need a goods vehicle operator's licence if your goods vehicle has a gross plated weight over 3,500kg, or if a vehicle and trailer have gross plated weights that add up to more than 3,500kg. Some vehicles are exempt.
From your spreadsheet to checked vehicles
- Import your vehicles. Upload your spreadsheet as a CSV. VCT shows exactly what will change before anything is saved.
- Set up your checklist. Start from the standard list and add ramps, winches, straps or anything else your vehicles carry.
- Assign drivers. The bookings timeline shows who has which vehicle and when, and catches clashes.
- VCT checks overnight. Road tax with DVLA and the MOT or annual test with DVSA, with reminder emails before anything runs out.
- You see what needs action. The Action centre lists what needs doing, worst first.
Still keeping the fleet on a spreadsheet? See VCT vs spreadsheets.
Staff cars and records in the same place
If hire desk or sales staff drive their own cars to customers and sites, those cars are your grey fleet. HSE's guidance on driving for work says the law applies to grey fleet vehicles as well as company vehicles. VCT checks staff cars every night and shows their business insurance expiry. More on grey fleet compliance.
The compliance pack is a PDF for a period and depot you choose. It covers road-legal status, inspections, defects and how fast they were fixed, MOT tests, services and costs.
- Reminder emails before an MOT or tax runs out, with a Due soon window of 30 days. See MOT and tax reminders.
- Record driving licence checks and consent, and see when checks are due. Automatic licence checks with DVLA are coming soon.
What it costs for a hire fleet
£3.50 per vehicle a month, falling to £2.50 per vehicle for bigger fleets (minimum £35 a month), ex VAT. Every vehicle costs the rate for your fleet's size band. Trucks cost the same as vans, and staff cars count too. You pay monthly, with no contract.
For example, 14 vans and pickups cost 14 × £3.50 = £49 a month. A depot with 24 vans, 4 beavertail trucks and 4 staff cars has 32 vehicles, which cost 32 × £3.25 = £104 a month. 65 vehicles across several depots cost 65 × £3.00 = £195 a month. Over 200 vehicles, get in touch.
Texts are the only add-on, at £10 a month for up to 200 texts. If prices go up, existing customers keep the price they signed up at. See full pricing.
Plant hire fleet software FAQs
Does VCT cover beavertail trucks and tippers?
Yes. VCT checks each truck's road tax with DVLA and its annual test with DVSA every night, the same way it checks van MOTs. It doesn't do PMI scheduling, operator licence management or tachograph analysis.
Can VCT check our plant trailers?
Not automatically. Trailers have no registration number, so VCT can't look them up with DVSA. You can add coupling, lights and load items to the walkaround check for the vehicle that tows them.
Does VCT track LOLER or PUWER inspections on our hire machines?
No. VCT is for road vehicles. It doesn't track the machines you hire out, so it won't record thorough examinations, PUWER inspections or plant servicing for them.
Do staff cars count towards the price?
Yes. Staff cars used for work count as vehicles, the same as your vans and trucks, and every vehicle costs the rate for your fleet's size band.
Is there a free trial?
There is no free trial. Enter a registration and your email on the homepage instead, and we'll email you a link to a demo with your own vehicle looked up live.
There's more on daily checks on the walkaround check app page, and in our van walkaround checklist.
See it with one of your own vehicles
Enter a registration and your email on the homepage. We'll send you a link to a demo of VCT with your vehicle looked up live with DVLA and DVSA.