Fleet management tip from Swingle 

With a fleet of 170 vehicles, Swingle Lawn, Tree and Landscape Care’s fleet manager Terry Overhuls uses many strategies to save time and lower the impact of maintenance on day-to-day operations. One time saver he employs is consolidating all vehicle registrations into a common vehicle registration date.

Any company with 10 or more power units can synchronize all registrations to renew during the same month. The process begins by going to the Colorado Department of Revenue website and applying for a fleet management number. Once a fleet number has been assigned, you can proceed to designate – at your own choosing – the month when all vehicles will renew as your Common Vehicle Registration Date.

To get all vehicles onto the same renewal month will take about a year of working through existing deadlines.  Once done, all vehicles may be renewed at the same time. As new vehicles are added, registration fees will be prorated to expire in the designated month. For example, if your renewal month is September and a new vehicle is purchased in March, its first renewal date will be in six months in September.  From that point forward, it will renew in September.

What are the benefits of a Common Vehicle Registration Date?

Time, says Overhuls, is number one. With 170 units, he could have vehicles up for renewal every single month.  That means at least two trips to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) per month as offices typically will not process more than 5 or 6 renewals per company per day while you wait. Also, using a common renewal date, means no one has to track renewal deadlines if DMV notices are not sent or get lost in the mail. Each year, the state sends a Fleet Renewal Declaration listing all vehicles set to renew.

“I can take a check to the DMV and drop off all of the renewals at one time,” says Overhuls. He also adds, “Don’t expect that you will walk out with all the new registrations the same day you drop them off. There are likely other fleets in front of you.” But he can deliver the renewal info with a blank check and pick up new registrations and stickers later. Consolidating registrations allows him to use his time more productively. 

Logistics and cash flow
For the process to run smoothly, it takes front-end planning. Overhuls says in any given year they may have 50 or more vehicles requiring emissions testing. His challenge is to organize that process so emission tests are completed on time with minimal impact on the work day.

The other logistic is financial - having the cash flow in place to renew all vehicles the same month. Swingle does this by accruing a specific amount each month for registration fees.