How GPS Trackers Are Saving Landscaping Companies Money

You know your landscaping company inside and out and can instantly quote how long it will take a given size crew to work at any particular job site, which is essential for improving your margins. At the same time, you have an idea that you could boost your bottom line by using technology when organizing and allocating work to your employees.
A landscaping company’s success will depend on hiring reliable, honest employees and protecting expensive assets — including trucks and the equipment they carry from site to site.
Since one important variable in your revenue flow has to do with transporting crews from one job to the next, many landscaping business owners have come to see the benefits of using a GPS tracker on each vehicle in the fleet.

The Role of Fleet Tracking Devices in a Landscaping Business

Whether you run a residential or commercial landscaping business, the use of fleet tracking devices can help you save money by protecting equipment against theft as well as increasing productivity.
What’s more, fuel costs will go down when you use GPS tracking data to identify inefficient routes (as well as unauthorized side trips).
How long do you estimate it will take crew members to mow and edge lawns and use blowers to clean up debris at the first location on their route today? If you noticed that they always take a bit longer for a job than you’d expect, it might be because they are making an unauthorized stop — such as to pick up breakfast because they were late leaving the house that day.
Before the existence of the Global Positioning System of satellites, you wouldn’t be able to see where your crew happens to be at any given time. Yet the GPS devices that show commuters where to turn next to reach their destination can also be used to track a vehicle’s progress when going from point A to point B. The data that is collected includes timestamps, so you will know exactly where a vehicle was and when. It’s a trivial matter to conceal a GPS tracker on each vehicle in your landscaping company’s fleet. The device can transmit information in real time, so you can look at your computer or smartphone to learn where your crews are and how long it should take them to reach their next site. Or, you can set up the GPS tracker to store information and then upload it to you periodically.
You can even harness the GPS data for weekly reports, such as a timesheet that your employees will need to sign, attesting that the records of their movements throughout the day are accurate and complete.
While this approach toward employee time cards may not be suitable for every landscaping business, it can be beneficial to owners who have already experienced some problems with employee time theft. The insult of paying landscaping workers an hourly rate while they are spending time in a bar, at the movies or attending to personal errands will be a thing of the past when you start to rely on state-of-the-art GPS tracking equipment for the fleet.
Not only will GPS trackers reveal driving patterns to help keep your workers honest, they can minimize the risk of losing valuable assets — namely, your vehicles and equipment. A stolen truck outfitted with a GPS tracker will keep broadcasting its position, which the police will use to find and arrest the criminals and return what they stole.

GPS Technology Basics

Keep these facts in mind when determining which type of system to get:
• You can hide a GPS tracker in a variety of locations — such as inside a bumper, under a seat or behind a sun visor.
• The GPS device can get power from the vehicle or from its own battery.
• GPS trackers can relay information to you through the cellular data network or with satellite connectivity (best in areas with spotty smartphone coverage).

Streamline Equipment Tracking and Reduce Costs With a GPS System

It’s natural that you will have questions about how to get started with equipment tracking — from what model and type of GPS tracking device to get, to the software that you use to process the information. The team at GPSONEPLUS is aware of the concerns of landscaping companies that want to get started with a GPS system. Call today for help sourcing suitable GPS trackers for your fleet.