Today we're launching HiveFleet: one place for your vans, cars, trucks, trailers and plant. The key dates and reminders, who has which vehicle, daily checks and problems from HiveCrew, mileage and fuel, fines, and what each vehicle costs on your jobs - all in HiveSuite, next to your customers and your schedule.
HiveFleet is included on every plan. An Administrator switches it on from the Modules page, and the HiveFleet guide inside HiveSuite explains every page and setting, step by step.
Built for small teams first
HiveFleet started with a customer request in June. Our first version was built for big haulage operators, with operator licences, tachographs and trackers front and centre. Most HiveSuite customers aren't that: they're plumbers, electricians, gardeners, cleaners and scaffolders running a handful of vans, maybe a trailer and some plant.
What they need is simpler: know when the MOT, tax and insurance run out, know who has which van, get the daily check done and hear about problems, and deal with the odd parking ticket without a scramble. So we rebuilt HiveFleet around that, in plain English, and moved the heavy tools into optional packs you only switch on if you need them.
Add a vehicle in seconds
Once HiveFleet is on, it appears in the sidebar, in the HivePlanner job form and as My vehicle in HiveCrew. Turning it off hides it again and keeps everything you entered.
- Look it up
- Choose a van, car, truck, trailer or plant, type the registration and press Look it up. HiveFleet fills in the make, model, colour, year, fuel and MOT date, works out whether it's a car, a small, medium or large van or a truck, and brings in the full MOT history. There's nothing to sign up for.
- Trailers and plant
- No registration needed - give them a fleet number instead. Plant counts hours rather than miles, and its service can be due at a number of hours.
- One overview
- How many vehicles you have, what needs attention (most urgent first), what's off the road, open problems, and who has which vehicle today.
- Desktop and phone
- Every main page has a version made for phones, including the overview, the vehicles list, each vehicle, checks and problems, and fines.
If a registration is mistyped or can't be found, you're told plainly and can type the details in yourself.
Never miss an MOT again
Keep each vehicle's MOT, road tax, insurance, service and breakdown cover dates, plus any documents with an expiry date, such as a V5C or insurance certificate. Choose how far ahead you're reminded.
Reminders that suit you
Reminders arrive as notifications, with an optional daily email. You can also choose to get a text for an expired MOT, tax or insurance, or a vehicle that isn't safe to drive. Drivers can be reminded about their own vehicle and their own licence.
Dates in plain English
"MOT runs out in 2 weeks" or "Tax ran out over 9 years ago", instead of counting days.
MOT history done properly
Every test in the right order with the test number, including a fail and a retest on the same day. Vehicles marked off the road stop showing MOT, tax and insurance reminders until they're back.
The daily check, done on the phone
Crew see the vehicle they're in today under My vehicle in HiveCrew: the one they chose, the one booked on their job or their usual vehicle. They can change vehicle or say they're not driving today, if you allow it.
- Daily vehicle check
- A quick check each morning. Trailers and plant get their own pre-use check. You can ask crew to do it before their first job of the day.
- Report a problem
- A note, a photo and how serious it is. A vehicle that isn't safe to drive is taken off the road, so it can't be booked onto jobs.
- Checks & defects board
- The office sees every problem in one place and marks it as being fixed or fixed. When it's fixed, the vehicle goes back on the road.
- Mileage and fuel
- Crew log mileage and fuel with a photo of the receipt, and can add a reading when they set off and finish a job.
No signal? In the HiveSuite Android app, vehicle checks, problems, mileage and fuel can be done with no signal and are sent when the phone is back online.
Book vehicles from HivePlanner
Pick vehicles in the job form or the job panel in HivePlanner. HiveFleet checks each one first: already booked on another job at that time, MOT, tax or insurance expired, a serious problem, or off the road. Moving a job on the planner checks again.
Block or allow with a reason
Choose which of these stop a booking. If you allow overrides, the reason is kept in the vehicle's history with who allowed it and when, and shows as "Booked anyway by" on the job.
No double bookings
Two people booking the same vehicle at the same moment can't both succeed. Cancelling or deleting a job frees its vehicles, and reopening a job puts them back if they're still free.
Repeating jobs
Every visit of a repeating job gets the series' vehicle, including visits created later. If the vehicle is booked elsewhere for a visit, that visit gets a note saying so.
What vehicles cost on each job
A fair share of each vehicle's running cost - a day rate - is added to job profit, shared between the jobs it was on that day. An overnight job counts as one day.
You can also show the registration on job cards, filter the planner by vehicle, show vehicles on the map, and choose to show the vehicle and the driver's first name on the customer portal job page.
The paperwork that usually lives in a drawer
- Driving licences
- Keep everyone's licence details and expiry, record each DVLA licence check with the check code, and be reminded when the next check is due.
- Fines and PCNs
- Log parking tickets, bus lane and speeding notices, congestion and clean air charges, with a photo of the notice. HiveFleet suggests who was driving at the time from your jobs, fills in the usual deadlines (for example 28 days to name the driver for speeding) and records the cost when you pay. Mark it to recharge to the driver or the customer.
- One current reading
- Every reading is kept in the mileage history, and the current reading is always the latest one by date, so typing in an old service or MOT never winds it back. A lower reading has to be confirmed by a fleet manager, and crew can't lower a reading.
Stock on board, and a tidy finish
Load stock from your stock list onto a vehicle and unload it again. The stock list shows where everything is: at the yard or on which vehicle. When crew take materials for a job, they come off their vehicle first, then the yard, and nobody can take more than is really there.
When a vehicle is sold, scrapped, written off or stolen, record the date, the price or payout, VAT, who it went to and any reference. The vehicle page then shows what it cost you overall. Its stock goes back to the yard, reminders stop and it can't be booked onto jobs.
Switch on only what you use
Under HiveFleet Settings you can turn on extra tool packs. Each one is off by default.
| Tool pack | What it adds |
|---|---|
| Operator licence and HGV tools | 6-weekly safety inspections, drivers' hours, tachograph details and an audit pack to help you prepare for DVSA or FORS visits |
| Workshop tools | Garages and suppliers with scorecards, work orders, three quotes before big spends, warranties, and reading garage invoices for you |
| Finance tools | Lease and finance agreements, depreciation, company car tax (P11D), charging vehicles between companies, and profit and loss per vehicle |
| Tracking | Connect a vehicle tracker for trips, watched areas and driving scores |
And you can ask HiveIntel fleet questions, such as "Which vehicles have an MOT due in the next 30 days?"
HiveFleet helps you keep the records that show your vehicles are looked after, but it isn't approved or endorsed by DVSA, FORS or any other scheme. Daily checks on vans under 3.5 tonnes are good practice rather than a legal schedule.
HiveFleet questions
Does HiveFleet cost extra?
No. HiveFleet is included on every HiveSuite plan, from Solo at £34.99/month inc. VAT. An Administrator switches it on from the Modules page or the Customisation Hub. Optional text reminders use your SMS credits.
What vehicles does HiveFleet handle?
Vans, cars, trucks, trailers and plant. Trailers and plant don't need a registration - they use a fleet number - and plant counts hours rather than miles.
Do I need to set anything up for the registration lookup?
No. Type a registration and press Look it up. HiveFleet fills in the make, model, colour, year, fuel and MOT date and brings in the full MOT history. If it can't find a vehicle, you're told plainly and can type the details in yourself.
Can crew do vehicle checks without signal?
Yes, in the HiveSuite Android app. Vehicle checks, problems, mileage and fuel can be done with no signal and are sent when the phone is back online. On iPhone, HiveCrew runs as a web app and needs a connection.
Will HiveFleet stop me booking a van with an expired MOT?
You choose. HiveFleet checks every vehicle you book onto a job for double bookings, an expired MOT, tax or insurance, a serious problem or being off the road. You decide which of those stop a booking and whether a manager can book it anyway with a reason.
Is HiveFleet approved by DVSA?
No. HiveFleet helps you keep the records that show your vehicles are looked after, but it isn't approved or endorsed by DVSA, FORS or any other scheme. If you run goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes, the Operator licence and HGV tools add 6-weekly safety inspections, drivers' hours, tachograph details and an audit pack.
What happens to my data if I switch HiveFleet off?
Nothing is deleted. Turning HiveFleet off hides it again and keeps everything you entered, ready for when you switch it back on.
Add your first van today.
Start a free trial, switch on HiveFleet from the Modules page and type in a registration. Your MOT history will be there before the kettle boils.
30-day free trial. No credit card required. Every feature on every plan, from Solo at £34.99 per month (1 admin/staff, 2 crew), prices include VAT.