GPS Fleet Tracking for Small Trade Businesses: Is It Worth It?

Fleet tracking used to be something only courier companies and logistics firms bothered with. But hardware costs have dropped, and the benefits for trade businesses are now hard to ignore. If you've got 3+ vans on the road, here's what you need to know.

What Fleet Tracking Actually Does

At its simplest, a GPS tracker in each van gives you:

• Live location: Where every van is, right now

• Trip history: Where each van has been, when, and for how long

• Mileage logging: Automatic, accurate mileage per vehicle

• Geofence alerts: Notifications when a van arrives at or leaves a site

• Driver behaviour: Speed, harsh braking, idling

That's the basics. The real value comes from how you use this data.

The Business Case

1. Accurate Job Costing

If you don't know how many miles your vans drive per job, you can't cost jobs properly. Tracking gives you real mileage data that feeds into your quoting. A plumber driving 40 miles round-trip to a job should be pricing differently to one driving 5 miles.

2. Customer ETAs

"Your engineer is 10 minutes away" — sent automatically from live van location. This one feature transforms customer experience. No more "they'll be there between 8 and 12."

3. Evidence of Attendance

Disputes about when you arrived or how long you were on site disappear. GPS records show exactly when the van arrived and left. Essential for commercial contracts and SLA compliance.

4. Fuel Savings

Most trade businesses see 10–15% fuel savings after installing trackers. Partly from better route planning, partly from reduced personal use, and partly from identifying excessive idling.

5. Insurance Discounts

Some van insurers offer 5–15% discounts for tracked vehicles. Ask your broker — the savings can cover the tracker cost.

6. Theft Recovery

Vans are targets. A tracked van is far more likely to be recovered quickly. The police prioritise vehicles with active trackers.

What It Costs

Typical costs for trade-focused fleet tracking in 2026:

For a 5-van fleet on Gaffer, that's £60/month — less than one tank of diesel.

When It's NOT Worth It

Be honest with yourself:

• Solo trader with one van: You know where your van is. Tracking adds cost with minimal benefit.

• If you won't look at the data: A dashboard you never check is wasted money.

• If trust is the real issue: Tracking won't fix a management problem. If you're installing trackers because you don't trust your team, address that first.

What to Look For

Not all tracking solutions are equal. For trade businesses, you want:

• Integration with your job software: Tracking that connects to jobs, quotes, and invoicing

• Self-install options: OBD-II plug-in trackers take 30 seconds. No engineer visit needed.

• Geofence alerts: Know when your team arrives and leaves job sites

• Driver scores: Fair, transparent scoring that improves driving without creating Big Brother paranoia

• No long contracts: Avoid 3-year hardware leases. Monthly rolling is standard now.

Privacy and Your Team

Be upfront with your team. Fleet tracking is legal in the UK for company vehicles during work hours, but transparency matters:

• Tell your team before installing trackers

• Explain the business reasons (costing, ETAs, safety — not surveillance)

• Make driver scores visible to the drivers themselves

• Don't track outside work hours (or let drivers disable tracking when off duty)

Teams that understand the "why" generally accept tracking. Teams that discover it by accident won't.

Getting Started

If you're on the fence, start with one or two vans. Measure the fuel savings and time benefits over a month. If it pays for itself (it usually does), roll it out to the full fleet.

Gaffer's vehicle tracking is built into the platform — live map, trip history, geofences, driver scores, and fuel analytics. Trackers are £12/month per vehicle including hardware, SIM, and data. No contracts, cancel any time.