How to keep a vehicle maintenance log for a small fleet

If your business runs on a couple of vans or trucks, a breakdown costs more than the repair: missed deliveries, rescheduled jobs, a rental. A maintenance log, kept up, prevents most of them and shows what each vehicle really costs.

1. Log every service

Each service is one record:

• Vehicle (required)
• Mileage at the time of service
• Service: oil change, tires, inspection or repair
• Cost

2. Track it from booked to back on the road

1. Book: book a shop appointment.
2. Servicing: the vehicle is in the shop.
3. Back in service: record the cost.

3. Schedule the routine work

Oil changes every three months, annual inspections, tire rotations: set them up as scheduled tickets so they appear on time without anyone tracking dates.

4. Let drivers report problems

Put a QR code in each vehicle's glove box. Drivers scan it to report a warning light or a strange noise from the road.

5. Track each vehicle as equipment

Add each van as an asset with its own page: model, purchase date, photos and every repair in one history. When a van's repair costs pass its value, you'll see it.

6. Compare vehicles

A report of cost by vehicle shows which one is costing the most to keep running.

Using the template

The free vehicle maintenance log template sets up the fields and three steps. Pair it with equipment and asset tracking for a page and QR label per vehicle, and read how a business tracks every machine and repair.