MaintenancePro and Simply Fleet alternatives for small and mixed fleets
Updated · Reviewed by Israel Margulies, founder and CEO of High Point GPS
If you are weighing alternatives to MaintenancePro or Simply Fleet, list what your fleet runs today and what records you must keep, then test each option on three jobs: logging a meter, handling a driver’s defect report and pulling cost per unit. Small fleets that add equipment, a second yard or DOT-regulated trucks often find their needs have changed more than the tool has. The only product described here is FleetZap; nothing on this page is a claim about the others named.
Signs your fleet has outgrown its current setup
Searches for “maintenance pro”, “simply fleet” and “simple fleet” often come from owners and fleet managers of small operations: a landscaping company with 15 trucks and 40 mowers, a contractor with service vans and a few excavators, a municipal shop that inherited a spreadsheet. What sends them looking is usually a change in the business itself.
Write down what changed. Maybe you now run machines on engine hours alongside trucks on miles. Maybe a second person needs to see the schedule, or drivers keep reporting problems by text message and the texts get lost. Maybe the owner asked what each truck cost last year and nobody could answer without a weekend in a spreadsheet. Each of those points to a specific requirement you can test.
A checklist for small and mixed fleets
Take this list to every demo and trial. Mark each line yes, no or workaround.
- Trucks on miles, equipment on engine hours and trailers on the calendar, all in one list
- Service reminders that open a work order, rather than only sending an email
- Drivers and operators able to do a pre-trip or pre-use check on their phone, with photos
- A failed check item that turns into a repair the shop can see
- Parts on hand, with what each repair used costed to the unit
- Outside shop repairs recorded with their invoice amount
- Cost per unit and cost per mile or per hour without building a report
- More than one user, with technicians limited to the work they need
- Your data exportable at any time
The DOT records your system should hold
If you operate commercial motor vehicles under FMCSA rules, your maintenance software is where your records live, so check it against the regulations. Under 49 CFR 396.3, a motor carrier must keep, for each vehicle it controls for 30 consecutive days, an identification of the vehicle (company number, make, serial number and year), a means to show the nature and due date of inspection and maintenance operations, and a record of inspections, repairs and maintenance with their date and nature. Those records stay where the vehicle is housed or maintained for one year, and for six months after the vehicle leaves your control.
Driver vehicle inspection reports have their own rules in 49 CFR 396.11. Drivers report defects that would affect safety or cause a breakdown, the carrier repairs safety defects before the vehicle runs again and certifies the repair, and the report and certification are kept for three months. The regulation allows these reports to be created and kept electronically. Separately, 49 CFR 396.17 requires each commercial motor vehicle to pass a periodic inspection at least once every 12 months, with documentation on the vehicle.
In a trial, file a fake defect on one truck and follow it: does the system record who reported it, link the repair, and let you show the certification later? That one test covers most of what an auditor will ask about.
Test the three jobs that fill your week
Small fleets don’t have a planner. The owner, the shop lead or one office person does the maintenance admin between other jobs, so speed on the common tasks matters more than depth.
The mowers are where small fleets slip. Suppose each mower runs about 40 hours a week in peak season and its engine manual calls for an oil change every 100 hours: across 40 mowers that is roughly 16 services a week, so the hour readings have to come in from the crews, not from a shop visit. A crew lead who logs the hour meter at the Friday blade change keeps every mower’s due date honest. The winter prep then runs as one batch of work orders in November.
- Trucks: oil and filter on miles at the engine maker’s interval, a brake and tire inspection every second oil change, and the annual inspection on the calendar for every truck that counts as a commercial motor vehicle
- Mowers: blade sharpening weekly in season, engine oil and filter at the engine maker’s hour interval, air filter and belt checks at the manual’s shorter interval, and a winter prep task on the calendar
- Trailers: bearings, lights, brakes and tires on a 12-month calendar schedule, since they carry no meter
- Skid steer: daily grease, engine oil at the manual’s hour interval, hydraulic filters at the longer interval
Switching without losing your history
Export everything from your current tool or spreadsheet before you start: the unit list with numbers, VINs or serials, current meters and service intervals, plus your service history. Clean the unit list first, since every other record hangs on it. Give each unit one ID and use it everywhere, including on a label on the unit itself.
Load the units and their schedules first, and check that the next due dates look right before you switch over. Bring service history in if the new system imports it, or keep the old file as an archive for the DOT retention periods. Pick a Monday to start, and have every new job go into the new system from that day.
Where FleetZap fits for small fleets
FleetZap is cloud maintenance software that small and mixed fleets can set up from a spreadsheet: the importer recognizes common column names and shows problem rows before anything is saved, or our team loads your file for you. Each unit gets a schedule on miles, engine hours or the calendar, and the PM engine opens the work order when it is due, with its checklist attached. Print a QR label for every unit; drivers and operators scan it to run their pre-trip or pre-use check or report a problem with up to five photos, without an account, and a failed item opens a repair.
Technicians close work in the field app in their phone’s browser. Parts deduct from stock when used, outside shop charges add to the job, and each unit shows lifetime and 12-month maintenance cost, cost per hour and a keep, watch or replace verdict. Roles keep technicians to their own work. Optional modules add rentals, dispatch, GPS and QuickBooks Online when you need them. Pricing is quoted for your fleet, with a free trial and a live demo to explore first. For a side-by-side checklist with another fleet tool, see our Fleetio alternative page.
MaintenancePro and Simply Fleet are trademarks of their owners, and no statement on this page concerns their products or pricing.
Key takeaways
- If your fleet runs more than one meter type, reject any tool that can't show trucks, mowers and trailers in one due list.
- Put the hour reading for seasonal equipment on a fixed weekly crew task; it is the reading most often missed.
- Schedule winter prep and spring start-up as calendar tasks per machine, so they open even when the meter hasn't moved.
- Clean the unit list and give each unit one ID before importing anything else, and put that ID on a label on the machine.
- Keep the old system’s history as an archive if it won’t import, for as long as your retention rules require.
Sources
FleetZap Maintenance
Work orders, PM, parts, compliance, assets and KPIs. Explore FleetZap Maintenance.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good alternative to Maintenance?
A good alternative is one that fits how your fleet works now. Check that it handles miles and engine hours in one list, lets drivers do inspections on a phone, turns defects into repairs, tracks parts and outside repairs per unit and exports your data. Test it with your own units and a real defect report before you decide.
Is there simple fleet maintenance software for a small business?
Yes. Several cloud tools aim at small fleets. Look for one you can set up from a spreadsheet in a day, that works on a phone without training, and that shows cost per unit without building reports. FleetZap is one option, with a free trial and a live demo you can open without a sales call.
What maintenance records does the DOT require?
Under 49 CFR 396.3, motor carriers keep, for each vehicle they control for 30 consecutive days, the vehicle’s identification, the nature and due date of inspection and maintenance operations, and a record of inspections, repairs and maintenance with dates. Records stay one year where the vehicle is housed or maintained, and six months after it leaves your control.
Can drivers do DVIRs on a phone?
Yes. 49 CFR 396.11 allows driver vehicle inspection reports to be created and kept in electronic format. The report must identify the vehicle, list defects that affect safety or could cause a breakdown, and be signed by the driver. The carrier must certify repairs before the vehicle runs again and keep the report for three months.
Can one system handle trucks and equipment together?
It can, if the software tracks each unit on its own meter. Trucks follow the odometer, loaders and generators follow engine hours, and trailers or attachments follow the calendar. Check that one list shows all of them, with schedules, inspections and costs, so you don’t end up running a second spreadsheet for the machines.