The cleaning industry has seen tremendous growth since 2020 as people become more aware of cleanliness in their homes and workplaces due to the global pandemic. If your cleaning business has expanded this past year, or you’re looking for ways to optimize your fleet of cleaning vehicles, installing a GPS device in your vehicles should be a priority.
Whether you have a maid service business, a janitorial business, or another cleaning services company, look for ways you can improve operational efficiency. When your fleet vehicles are better managed with operational software, job scheduling processes, and route planning, you can attract more customers, keep them happy, and increase your profits overall—all made possible with GPS tracking on your vehicles.
In this article, you’ll learn more about why cleaning businesses like yours need reliable GPS tracking, how to choose the ideal GPS tracker for your small cleaning company, and about a few helpful features available from GPS trackers on the market.
How GPS devices work
GPS (Global Positioning System) devices can help you pinpoint your cleaning vehicle’s exact location using GPS satellites. There are a total of 24 GPS satellites that orbit our earth. Your GPS tracker can triangulate your location when at least 4-8 of these satellites are within range.
This means that when you install GPS devices in your company vehicles, you’ll always know its location in real-time. But the reliability and cost of GPS devices for cleaning services companies varies depending on the manufacturer, model, and subscription package you choose.
Why your cleaning business needs GPS tracking
If you’re new to location tracking, it’s not too late to get started. By integrating trackers in your cleaning vehicles, you’ll open up a new way to improve business efficiency, reduce wasted costs, and improve your bottom line.
What are the top three benefits of using GPS trackers for your cleaning company?
- You can track fleet vehicles 24/7 from your mobile device
- You can schedule cleaning jobs based on driver locations to save on fuel and drive time
- You can use tracking software to manage vehicle maintenance schedules to avoid costly, unexpected repairs
It helps home cleaning companies report on time spent driving and time spent on a job site to assist with more accurate employee time tracking as well.
Why use GPS tracking as a business management solution?
There are many other attractive features and uses for GPS devices that can increase efficiencies in cleaning businesses:
- Stolen vehicle tracking: If someone steals your vehicle, your GPS tracker can help triangulate its location to aid in faster recovery.
- Get safety scores: Some commercial GPS trackers can monitor driver habits. This helps you see which drivers may need some coaching on safe driving practices.
- Customer management: Provide your customers with the certainty of knowing your drivers are on their way. Some GPS trackers include location-sharing links, so your cleaning crew can share their location with their next customer in real-time, eliminating the need for customers to call in wondering when their cleaning crew will arrive.
- Availability for emergency jobs: If a client has an emergency cleaning request, you can quickly check the GPS map to send the closest cleaning crew.
- Keep tabs on staff: GPS tracking will help you hold employees accountable for their whereabouts while on the clock and uncover whether they’re taking too long on their lunch break or using company vehicles for personal use.
- Monitor vehicle health: Integrated GPS trackers can report Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTC) and alerts in your vehicles. They can also notify you when a vehicle is low on fuel or battery power. Don’t forget that a well-maintained vehicle can help you save on insurance costs.
How to choose a GPS tracker for your cleaning business
When selecting a GPS tracking solution for your cleaning business, here are some features to compare:
- Expected battery life
- Availability and usability of the interface (mobile and/or desktop apps)
- Installation process
- Portability
- Data update intervals
- Accuracy range
- Monthly subscription fees
GPS location devices occasionally come with additional premium or included features that you may want to weigh in your decision. These include:
- Tracking driving habits
- Tracking fuel consumption and economy
- Route planning
- Vehicle maintenance tracking and reminders
- Live location sharing links
How much does a GPS device cost?
The GPS hardware costs vary depending on the model and any included features. Typically you can expect to pay $25 to $100 USD per unit.
In addition, you’ll likely also need to purchase a subscription for $10-40 per month for those premium features mentioned above, to take your cleaning business’s fleet tracking to the next level. This varies depending on how long you want data stored and other advanced features you may require.
5 popular GPS units suitable for cleaning companies
1. Amcrest GPS Tracker
If you don’t want to attach your GPS tracker permanently, the Amcrest GPS tracker is a good option for some cleaning companies. For cleaning vehicles double as personal vehicles, you can easily fit the device in a glove box or under a seat and move it from vehicle to vehicle when you need it. You could also use it to track assets like cleaning equipment to ensure your cleaning crew doesn’t leave any expensive equipment behind.
Cost: $25+ US per unit for hardware and monthly plans ranging from $19.99 to $34.99.
Top features for cleaning businesses:
- Get unlimited text and email alerts
- A magnetic, waterproof case is available for extra protection and durability
2. Force Fleet Tracking
Force Fleet Tracking caters to small businesses with fleets of 2 or more vehicles, starting at $20 a month with a free GPS device. Force’s GPS trackers are also equipped to track job history to help solve customer complaints (ie: “My cleaning crew arrived late”) and provide you and your customers with customizable alerts so you know where your drivers are in real-time. It also goes deeper than simple vehicle tracking and geofences, with vehicle diagnostic alerts to keep on top of your vehicles’ health and avoid costly, unexpected repairs or breakdowns.
Cost: $20 per month, per device
Top features for cleaning businesses:
- No contracts
- Live location sharing links for customers
Full suite of fleet management and customer retention tools and features
3. Matrack GPS trackers
If you’re not overly technologically savvy, installing a GPS in your cleaning company vehicles can be overwhelming. But the Matrack trackers are quick and easy to install. You can also set up Geofences to get real-time alerts when a vehicle enters or exits a specific area. This is a good way to monitor employees’ use of the company vehicle for personal trips outside your service area when they’re not at a cleaning job.
Cost: $50-135 US per unit for hardware and monthly plans starting at $12.95.
Top features for cleaning businesses:
- Compact design can affix to any cleaning vehicle—whether a compact car or cargo van
- Reviews consistently note high-quality customer service
4. Optimus 2.0
Your cleaning crews should ideally be spending more time on-site cleaning than driving. After all, service businesses only get paid when the task is done, not when they’re driving around town from job site to job site. The Optimus 2.0 GPS tracker can provide detailed driving habits (time moving, distance drive, start/end addresses) for each driver. If you discover a driver is spending too much time on the road, you can help optimize routes for that driver or take a deeper look into their driving habits, saving time and expenses—all of which affect your bottom line.
Cost: $39-59 USD per unit for hardware and monthly plans starting at $12.
Top features for cleaning businesses:
- Battery lasts up to one month
- Provides detailed driving records
Which GPS device is the best for your cleaning company?
While the best GPS technology for your cleaning services business will depend on the features you need, the Force Fleet Tracking GPS tracker has one of the most robust and detailed feature sets on the market for cleaning businesses, so you get everything you could possibly need—it has also been named as an emerging favorite for 2021 by Capterra.
Why? Its GPS triangulation is accurate to within 10 feet in ideal conditions (more precise than its competitors). It also offers a full suite of features, and you can use them to streamline your business to position it for growth and profitability.
Contact us for a free demo of Force Fleet Tracking and see how it can benefit your cleaning business.
