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Force is our choice for the best fleet management system for expanding local businesses. It’s affordable, boasts a 10-second refresh rate, and provides detailed trip histories and an intuitive dashboard. It’s ideal for managing service calls or deliveries.
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Check out The Best Fleet Management Services of 2024 business.com recommends.
Force Fleet Tracking (formerly called Force by Mojio) is our pick for the best fleet management system for small businesses aiming to grow and expand their operations. It’s an excellent option for businesses that deliver packages or provide services to local homes and businesses, including HVAC, landscaping, roofing and pest control companies. Force is a user-friendly, affordable and scalable GPS fleet tracking solution that can grow with your business. Users enjoy a 10-second refresh rate, informative trip histories, and a sharp focus on driver safety and performance.
9 / 10
Force is an intuitive, competitively priced and well-executed system that provides many essential GPS fleet tracking features for small and growing businesses. This platform isn’t as comprehensive as those of some other GPS tracking solutions we reviewed. However, most growing businesses don’t need all those features just yet. Force tells you what you need to know at a glance, like where your vehicles are and how safely they’re being driven. The system helps you optimize dispatching, job allocation and route planning – essential factors for reducing delays and maximizing overall fleet performance.
Previously, Force capped its capacity to 30 vehicles. However, the company has lifted this restriction, making Force’s scalable services more appealing to businesses of all sizes. The system now also supports Class 6, 7 and 8 vehicles.
Businesses tend to expand organically to cover wider geographical areas. Force can easily accommodate customers as they open new business locations, add vehicles to their fleet system and assign them to specific use cases for easier management. For all these reasons and more, Force is our pick for the best fleet management service for expanding local businesses. However, Force’s reasonable pricing, functionality and usability will also appeal to businesses that serve a local clientele and have no plans to expand.
Home services businesses, like those served by Force, should also evaluate our picks for the best CRM software – a vital tool for managing customers and tracking leads.
Force’s dashboard is minimalist and easy to use for vehicle tracking. Source: Force Fleet Tracking
After logging in, navigating the Force platform is easy. The desktop and mobile screens are designed with intelligent use of space; options are pared down to make it easy to find the functions you need. We appreciate this straightforward layout, as many competitors we reviewed sometimes overwhelm users with too many navigation choices.
The main control panel appears on the left and is permanently on screen. To the right, you’re presented with a dashboard showing a map of driver and vehicle locations. You can assign drivers to different groups and switch between those groups just above the map.
Other options include the following:
Force has an informative user interface that doesn’t compromise ease of use. Source: Force
Below are some features that help Force excel as a GPS fleet management system for growing businesses that provide deliveries and services to domestic and commercial clients in their local areas.
Housecall Pro Integration
Force integrates with Housecall Pro, a small-scale enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform for home services businesses, like electrical contractors, plumbers and HVAC companies. The software includes a calendar, dispatching functionality, and estimates and invoicing so company owners in the home services sector can operate their fleets and other services with ease.
With this integration, you can send messages to tell customers their rep is on the way and schedule or move appointments to maximize time, reduce fleet idle time and increase efficiency.
Housecall Pro is Force’s only true integration, though it does have partnerships with advisory platforms like CertainPath, Conquer and The Blue Collar Success Group.
If you want access to the broadest choice of integrations, check out our review of Motive, which details some of the 150-plus apps users can connect to.
Force’s integration with Housecall Pro is perfect for businesses in home services industries. Source: Force
With Force’s suite of proactive and preventive maintenance and management tools and telematics data, you can keep your growing fleet running smoothly while meeting customer obligations.
Force provides robust job scheduling and vehicle tracking functions:
Vehicle trails on the Force dashboard let you see exactly where a driver has traveled. Source: Force
Unlike many providers we reviewed, Force doesn’t charge for hardware on top of its subscription fee. This was a huge plus for us. Its GPS tracking device slots into the OBD-II port of modern vehicles (post-1996 models) and sends GPS, vehicle diagnostic, fuel and battery level, driver behavior (like hard braking, aggressive cornering and rapid acceleration), and physical disturbance data to your dashboard via 4G cellular networks. Force’s hardware sends data back every 10 seconds, which is more frequent than most of its peers.
Unlike many competitors, Force doesn’t offer dashcams, so videography isn’t an option. However, a dashcam solution is reportedly in development.
Force’s hardware plugs directly into your vehicle. Source: Force
Although not the most feature-packed system, Force really shines with driver and fleet safety and accountability, especially if you’re expanding your fleet.
Force charges $20 per vehicle per month, making it one of the most competitively priced GPS fleet management providers we reviewed. You pay a year’s subscription in advance for this rate.
The subscription price includes a plug-and-play tracking device and all of the platform’s features; there are no additional fees for extra services. There are also no shipping fees for tracking devices. We really appreciate Force’s transparent and budget-friendly pricing.
We also appreciate that Force is one of the few GPS fleet tracking services that offers a free 14-day trial, so you can test the system to see if it’s the right solution. Additionally, no contracts are involved, even when the free trial ends. We love that you can cancel your Force service with just 30 days’ notice, regardless of whether you’ve been signed up for six months or six years.
Getting started with Force is straightforward. In fact, Force says an investment in employee training isn’t necessary because the system is so intuitive (though help is available if you need it).
Once you subscribe to the service, the company will send you the GPS tracking devices you ordered. You’ll receive setup instructions by email. After that, the implementation process is as follows:
Azuga is another easy-to-use fleet management service. Read our Azuga review to compare and contrast its features and functionality with the Force platform.
You can call, email, live chat or send a ticket to the Force customer service team between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. ET on weekdays. No support is currently offered on weekends, even though some of Force’s competitors deliver 24/7 customer service.
You can access an online help center anytime for information on getting started, using the service and troubleshooting. However, Force’s online help resources are relatively meager compared to those of many rivals. See our review of Verizon Connect and our FleetUp review to learn about vendors with much more robust online help and excellent customer service.
While Force has many upsides, we identified the following weaknesses:
Commercial auto insurance is a must-have when operating a fleet. Fortunately, some GPS fleet management services work with insurance providers to help businesses score premium discounts based on driver performance.
We evaluated and examined many of the best GPS fleet tracking services to help businesses choose the right GPS fleet tracking solution for their needs. We looked at pricing, ease of use, hardware and software, mobile access, contract requirements, and customer service. We further considered the types of industries served and online distinctions, such as Better Business Bureau accreditation and customer reviews.
When looking for the best GPS fleet tracking service for expanding local businesses, we looked at vehicle management and maintenance tools, job scheduling functionality, scalability, a safety focus, and ease of use. We also assessed how a platform could benefit field and home services companies specifically.
Small businesses that use Force include HVAC companies, cleaning contractors, construction businesses, construction contractors, couriers, electrical contractors, junk removers, landscapers, lawn and tree care companies, painters, pest control agencies, plumbers, pool and spa service providers, restoration companies, and roofing contractors.
Force is geared toward small and midsize field and home services companies concerned about ensuring driver safety and accountability while expanding their operations. The vendor often emphasizes the safety features and functionality most target clients need. Force also sets itself apart by providing transparent, upfront pricing.
RoadScore helps hold drivers accountable by calculating driver performance scores. Quality driving earns higher scores, while risky behaviors, like fast cornering, abrupt hard braking, rapid acceleration, and speeding, cause reduced scores. With this information, business owners can inform drivers exactly how they’re performing and offer coaching, incentives or rewards to ensure vehicle operators meet the company’s high standards.
Force lets customers track drivers’ movements for accountability and convenience. Whether waiting for a business delivery or home service, people often feel left in the dark when it comes to estimated arrival times. With live location links, Force allows customers to see exactly where their driver is on the route. This transparency keeps the customer informed, strengthens the client relationship and shows that you’re committed to delivering as promised.
We recommend Force for …
We don’t recommend Force for …
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