Have you decided that it’s time to implement a fleet toll management system for your trucking team? If toll road fees are slowing you down and causing a lot of administrative work, then there are undeniable benefits to integrating fleet management.
There are different providers and services available, which can make it feel a bit overwhelming when you are trying to choose the ideal solution for your transportation business. Here are a few important details to consider when you are hiring a provider and getting ready to integrate a fleet toll management system.
Toll Services: Making Fleet Management Easier
If you work in fleet management, then you know that there is a lot of logistical planning required to keep your trucks on the road and ensure timely delivery of the goods. Not only do you need to make sure that drivers are staying on schedule and clients are happy with these services, but it can be difficult to ensure that it is all completed in a cost-effective manner.
Toll management can be a big issue, resulting in expensive bills and ongoing administrative issues. While toll roads can be pretty convenient to shorten driving routes, there are many elements that need to be managed to ensure drivers and vehicles are complying with the toll requirements.
Since drivers are moving through different tolls across the country, the administrative challenge is keeping up with multiple toll providers. Often, trucking fleets have invoices and bills coming through different tolls throughout the month, creating a big task for someone in the office who needs to track the costs, pay the bills, and avoid fees and penalties. It can be messy and confusing, especially since the payment and reimbursement costs are coming from many different providers.
A fleet toll management system is a streamlined solution that makes it easier to keep up with toll payments, tracking, citations, violations, and more. One of the most notable benefits of fleet toll management is that everything is centralized in one system. Instead of dealing with multiple toll road providers, we centralize everything into one consolidated location. As a result, you have one monthly payment and don’t have to deal with small bills coming through all the time.
How Fleet Toll Management System Works
So, how does it work? How is it possible to manage all of these different tolls and fees in one location? A fleet toll management system is a third-party provider that has pre-negotiated agreements in place with most of the toll providers across the country. The purpose is to help fleet managers stay ahead of toll fees and also simplify things for the drivers.
Toll management services help with paying these costs. Not only are the toll rates negotiated to give a bulk discount, but staying on top of the payments is essential to avoid some of the most expensive issues relating to toll management: late fees and penalties.
When fleet managers are trying to keep up with toll payments on their own, it requires a high attention to detail to stay current with the ongoing payments and fees. Most people involved in this type of work agree that it is pretty time-consuming. A fleet toll management system is a way to outsource this responsibility because the toll management service handles all of the payments. You can log into the system at any time to see the status, data, and information about all of the tolls.
Benefits of Using a Fleet Toll Management System
There are undeniable benefits you can expect when you start using a fleet toll management system.
Customers love this service due to the efficiency. When a third-party provider is handling the toll payments and paperwork, it eliminates the need to have a fleet manager in the office taking care of these tasks.
You might be wondering how fleet toll management saves you money. The cost-savings benefits are also undeniable when you have a streamlined system. Toll management providers have strategic partnerships with the tolling authorities, which can decrease the cost of the tolls because of the higher purchasing power. Additionally, there are other cost savings that usually come by avoiding late charges and other fees that are incurred when payments are missed.
One other benefit of fleet toll management is that you have an online portal to view all relevant information about your fleet. You can log in at your convenience to see details about your routes. Ongoing data gives you valuable information and full visibility about the operations. Then, this information can be helpful for making decisions that will improve the routes and save money in the future.
How To Choose a Fleet Toll Management System
Here are few tips that can help in your decision when you are choosing a fleet toll management system:
- Evaluate Experience: How long has the fleet toll management provider been in business. Ideally, you want to be working with a provider that has been in the industry for many years. You will know that they already have agreements in place with the tolling authorities. Also, they already have a proven system that you can quickly implement into your logistics.
- Ask About Cost Strategy: When you are talking to a provider, ask questions about how they help to manage your cost savings. Examples might include how to avoid toll violations and tips for reducing toll costs overall. An experienced provider will have systems in place to ensure that everything is being paid on time to avoid the unnecessary charges that come with late fees and penalties.
- Compare Industries: Toll management services can be offered in multiple industries and subspecialties. Make sure the provider you are going to hire has experience with the specific type of business you are running: trucking, service fleets, cold storage transport, etc.
For the best results, you need to be working with a fleet toll management system that can be customized to your unique needs. Reach out to our experienced team to learn more about the ways that we can personalize these services to match your business. Innovative Toll Solutions is here to help; contact us to book a consultation.