Small fleets don't need to buy hardware to see where vehicles are. Here is how phone tracking works, and when a fitted tracker is better.
Fitted GPS trackers cost money to buy, install and run. For many small and growing fleets, the driver's smartphone already does the job: it has GPS, it has data, and it is with the driver for the whole shift.
How phone tracking works
In Handova, the driver starts a shift in the app. From then until the shift ends, the phone shares its location with the company. Managers see the vehicle live on the map and the full route afterwards. When the shift ends, sharing stops.
Keep it running in the background
Phones pause GPS for web pages that are not on screen. The Handova phone app for Android and iPhone uses the phone's background location service, so tracking keeps going when the driver opens maps, takes a call or locks the screen.
Be open with drivers
Drivers should know when they are tracked and why. Handova asks for their consent before the first tracked shift and never tracks outside shifts.
When a fitted tracker is better
If vehicles or machines work without a driver's phone, park overnight in risky places, or you need 24/7 tracking for insurance, a fitted tracker is the right choice. On the Ultimate plan Handova accepts locations from GPS trackers fitted in vehicles, and you can mix phones and trackers in one fleet.
