5 ways landscaping equipment management apps help your business

Operating a successful landscaping business requires a major investment in the right pieces of equipment, whether it’s mowers, excavators, sprinkler systems, or equipment-hauling trailers. 

Buying and maintaining vehicles is one of the most significant investments for landscaping businesses–second only to labor—and one of its largest cost drivers.

What are landscaping equipment management apps?

Landscaping equipment management apps are software solutions designed to help landscapers manage their equipment with features such as:

• GPS tracking 
• Maintenance scheduling 
• Monitoring fuel levels
• Tracking inventory

They also provide easy access to data for reporting and analytics purposes. With an equipment management app, landscaping businesses can:

✓ Save time 

✓ Reduce costs

✓ Increase efficiency

As companies scale, asset management becomes more challenging 

Landscaping business owners find it increasingly difficult to stay on top of equipment tracking as their companies grow and fleets expand, let alone manage a documented schedule for maintenance and repair—especially if they’re keeping track of all of it in their head or with a clunky equipment management system.

With a user-friendly landscaping equipment management app, landscaping professionals can automate and streamline their business operations from the office to the job site, gaining access to real-time data that informs how they manage:

• Preventive maintenance
• Job scheduling
• Repair maintenance
• Cost
• Depreciation
• Equipment utilization

This article explains what features to look for when choosing a landscaping business equipment tracking app, the benefits of using one, and how the right landscape business software can help keep equipment costs in check and your service business profitable.

What is business management software for landscapers? 

Lawn care businesses use landscaping software with equipment management functionality to bring onsite and office crew members closer together by facilitating:

• Cooperative workflow
• Team and customer communication 
• GPS location tracking of equipment with Azuga and FleetSharp integrations 

Equipped with GPS tracking and accessible from a tablet (Android or iOS) or laptop, the landscaping industry can use a software platform to streamline equipment management, gain better visibility into equipment utilization, and keep landscaping equipment costs in line.

High-quality data gives landscaping contractors the power to make responsive management decisions

By using landscaping software and GPS location tracking, you can stay on top of:

• Equipment assignments for every landscaping job
• Requests for service and maintenance
• Scheduled and completed safety inspections

With the superior equipment-tracking functionality of Aspire’s end-to-end business management platform, you can:

• Track the use of vehicles and equipment by:
• Manufacturer and model
• Size and class
• Route
• Follow up on details related to service and maintenance, such as:
• Date
• Type of service
• Mechanic
• Cost
• Trigger maintenance alerts at the specified intervals you set, and receive consistent messaging for all logged hours and mileage.
• Create custom equipment and vehicle inspections for crews to conduct from the mobile app before leaving the yard for their route.
• Access and review digital vehicle inspection reports (DVIRs) on mobile or via the web app to demonstrate compliance with state-specific safety inspection requirements.
• Generate service requests from mobile for vehicle and equipment issues on the job.

5 benefits of landscaping equipment management apps

A smooth-running equipment inventory management system helps landscaping business owners to: 

• Operate more efficiently
• Keep equipment costs in check
• Stay in compliance with local and state safety regulations

Crew members also need good, working equipment to complete their work orders. You may even be making your labor problem worse by supplying inferior tools and equipment that make it hard for your teams to get the job done.

Utilizing a landscaping equipment management solution not only helps your equipment run better but also improves your day-to-day job management. 

Here are five ways landscaping equipment management apps help your business:

1. Keep track of your equipment

Next to your employees, landscaping equipment is probably one of your most valuable assets. And like most things in life, if you fail to maintain or use it properly, it falls into disrepair and loses its value. With a landscaping equipment management app to automate your equipment time-tracking process, you can extend the life of your landscaping equipment by:

• Performing periodic maintenance
• Tracking equipment usage
• Training employees on handling equipment

The equipment module in Aspire’s field service management software allows you to track mileage, fuel rates and costs, service histories, and engine hours for every piece of equipment you own, as well as:

• Create depreciation schedules
• Monitor equipment life cycles
• Manage final asset disposition. 

If equipment breaks down on the job, techs can immediately send a request from their mobile device to schedule repairs.

2. Increase visibility

Just like you need to track time for your employees using timesheets or scheduling software, busy landscapers also need to automate tracking and receive real-time GPS alerts from the field to gain clear visibility into their equipment utilization.

With the Aspire landscaping business equipment tracking app, you can simplify the log entry process to know the exact GPS location of each vehicle, and piece of equipment. 

Aspire also seamlessly integrates with Azuga and FleetSharp fleet-tracking systems, giving you greater visibility into crew drive time or idle time in a vehicle as well as time spent on a job site. Other tracked data includes:

• Driver performance metrics
• Route history
• Equipment utilization

3. Monitor usage trends

In addition to knowing the location of your equipment, you need to know how it’s being used and the actual engine hours performed on each landscaping job. 

This data helps to reduce downtime and increase the service life of some of your most valuable assets.

Using an app to monitor vehicle and equipment usage not only ensures regular maintenance or required service is performed, but it also helps to automate:

• Tracking of vehicle location and idle time
• Custom equipment and vehicle inspections for crews to conduct before leaving the yard
• Notifications for speeding or harsh braking when driving company vehicles
• GPS location devices to track down stolen equipment
• Digital vehicle inspection reports (DVIRs) to comply with safety inspection requirements

4. Forecast business needs

Using customized landscape business reporting from a management platform enables you to identify equipment and fuel usage trends and inventory gaps to better understand your vehicle and equipment needs. 

This allows you to forecast the future, budget accordingly, and even create a plan for hiring and retaining great employees.

Aspire can produce reporting for:

• Preventive maintenance schedules
• Total repair and maintenance cost
• Equipment depreciation
• Equipment utilization
• Fuel burn for equipment and vehicles with tracked fuel costs and rates

Discover the data you need to run your business more effectively, from knowing when to dispose of certain assets to building out routes in advance, according to your projected growth plan.

5. Ensure equipment maintenance

Larger landscaping businesses often face greater scrutiny and compliance regulations when it comes to ensuring equipment safety, especially when crossing state lines to deliver services. 

And as your company grows, it becomes increasingly difficult to keep track of a large number of vehicles and equipment used on every job or a maintenance schedule.

→ Aspire allows crews to conduct mobile vehicle and equipment inspections and provides quick access to digital vehicle inspection reports (DVIRs).

With an end-to-end platform, it’s easy to assign a piece of equipment to a specific crew or property. Using an integrated GPS fleet tracking system, meter readings (i.e. miles and hours) can also be tracked and documented.

Is a landscaping equipment management app necessary?

Yes, particularly if you’re interested in protecting one of the largest investments you’ll make in running a successful landscaping company. 

Your crew needs equipment that works when needed, and the ability to notify you immediately when it breaks down or needs repair.

A landscaping equipment management app makes your business run better, giving you the data and insight to grow your landscaping business and earn more profits.

>> Ready to see how Aspire's equipment-tracking functionality can take your landscaping business to the next level? Request a free demo today.