How Can I Track All My Work Vans?
If your business runs several vans, GPS vehicle tracking lets you see them from one tracking account, rather than having to contact each driver to ask where they are.
A GPS tracker installed in each vehicle sends location information to a tracking platform. From your phone or computer, you can then see your vehicles on a map, look back at previous journeys and use alerts to help you keep track of vehicle activity.
You don't need a huge fleet for vehicle tracking to be useful. Even if your business only runs two or three vans, having one place to see what's happening can make day-to-day vehicle management much simpler.
Can I see all my work vans on one map?
Yes.
Each van has its own GPS tracker, but the vehicles can be displayed within the same tracking account.
That means you don't need a separate app or login for every vehicle.
Instead, you can open your tracking platform and see your business vehicles together, whether you're using your phone, tablet or computer.
For a small business, that can answer a very simple question quickly:
“Where are my vans right now?”
Can I see which van is closest to the next job?
Seeing your vehicles on one map can help you understand where they are in relation to your customers and jobs.
For example, if an urgent call comes in, you can check your vehicle locations rather than ringing several drivers to ask where they are.
You still make the decision about who should attend the job, but having location information available can make that decision quicker and easier.
Can I see where a van went yesterday?
Yes. Journey history lets you look back at previous vehicle movements.
That can be useful when you need to check:
- Which jobs a vehicle visited
- Approximate arrival and departure information
- Previous routes
- Vehicle activity during the working day
- Mileage and journey information
Instead of relying entirely on memory, diaries or phone calls, you have tracking information available within the platform.
Can vehicle tracking help with customer queries?
It can.
Imagine a customer calls and asks:
“What time was your engineer here yesterday?”
Rather than trying to remember, find paperwork or contact the driver, journey information can help you check the vehicle's activity.
Tracking doesn't replace good job-management records, but it can provide another useful source of information when you're trying to understand what happened on a particular day.
Can I tell when a van leaves the yard?
Yes. You can use geofences to monitor when vehicles enter or leave particular locations.
A geofence is a virtual boundary that you create around an area on the map.
For a business, that might be:
- Your yard
- Your office
- A depot
- A regular customer site
- A storage location
Your tracking system can then generate an alert when a vehicle enters or leaves the area you've defined.
Can I get an alert if a work van moves outside working hours?
Movement alerts can notify you when a tracked vehicle starts moving.
That can be useful for vehicles that are expected to remain parked overnight or over a weekend.
An unexpected movement alert doesn't automatically mean that a vehicle has been stolen or misused, but it gives you information that allows you to check what's happening.
Do my drivers need an app on their phones?
Not simply for the vehicle tracker to report its location.
The GPS tracking device is installed in the vehicle and communicates with the tracking platform independently of the driver's personal phone.
That means you don't need to rely on a driver remembering to open an app or manually check in before you can see tracking information from the vehicle.
This is one of the advantages of a dedicated vehicle tracking system.
Can I track my work vans from my phone?
Yes.
Global Trackers customers can access their tracking information from a phone or computer, including through the GPS Monitor Plus app.
So you don't need to be sitting in an office to check your vehicles.
We've explained how phone-based access works in more detail in Can I Track My Car From My Phone? The same underlying principle applies when several business vehicles are connected to one tracking account.
Can I add more vans later?
Yes.
You don't need to wait until you operate a large fleet before using vehicle tracking.
A small business can begin with the vehicles it has now and add further trackers as the business grows.
That makes GPS tracking suitable for businesses running anything from a couple of vehicles upwards.
How much does it cost to track several work vans?
There are two costs to consider: the tracking device installed in each vehicle and the ongoing tracking service.
Global Trackers' current vehicle tracking subscription is £5.99 per tracker per month including VAT.
That means the subscription cost would be:
- 2 vehicles — £11.98 per month
- 3 vehicles — £17.97 per month
- 5 vehicles — £29.95 per month
- 10 vehicles — £59.90 per month
The cost of the tracking devices themselves depends on which tracker is suitable for each vehicle.
For more information about device prices and tracking costs, see How Much Does a Car Tracker Cost in the UK?
Why does each van need its own tracker and SIM?
Each vehicle needs its own tracking device so that its location and activity can be identified separately.
The tracker uses satellite positioning to determine its location and mobile connectivity to send tracking information to the platform.
Global Trackers' tracking service includes the multi-network M2M SIM used by each tracker.
We've explained how that works in Why Do GPS Trackers Need a SIM Card and Subscription?
Which GPS tracker is best for a work van?
That depends on the vehicle and how you want the tracker installed.
For business vehicles, a discreet hardwired tracker may be preferable in some circumstances. In others, a plug-in OBD tracker may provide the simplicity you want.
There's no need to buy a more complicated tracker simply because the vehicle belongs to a business.
The right choice is the device that suits the vehicle and what you need from the tracking service.
See Hardwired vs OBD GPS Trackers: Which Is Right for You? for a comparison of the installation options.
Is it legal to track company vans in the UK?
Businesses can use vehicle tracking, but employee privacy and data-protection responsibilities need to be considered when tracking vehicles used by staff.
Exactly what a business needs to do depends on how the vehicles are used and what information is being collected.
Rather than oversimplifying an important subject here, we'll cover it separately in Can I Legally Track My Employees' Company Vehicles in the UK?
That guide will look specifically at employee vehicle tracking, privacy and UK data-protection considerations.
What can GPS tracking do for a small business?
For a small business, vehicle tracking doesn't need to be about complicated fleet-management systems.
Sometimes the value is much simpler:
Where are my vans?
Which vehicle is nearest to the next job?
Did that van visit the customer yesterday?
When did it leave the yard?
Why is that vehicle moving when I wasn't expecting it to?
A GPS tracking platform puts that information in one place so you don't have to rely entirely on phone calls, driver check-ins or memory.
So, how can I track all my work vans?
Install a GPS vehicle tracker in each van and connect them to the same tracking account.
You can then use your phone or computer to view your vehicles, check previous journeys and receive the alerts you've chosen to set up.
You don't need dozens of vehicles before tracking becomes useful.
If you run a small business with a handful of vans and simply want an easier way to know where your vehicles are, GPS tracking can give you that visibility without making fleet management unnecessarily complicated.
If you're not sure which trackers would suit your vehicles, tell us how many vehicles you have, what they are and what you'd like to achieve. We'll help you work out the simplest suitable setup.