A work van is two assets wearing one number plate: the vehicle itself, and the rolling stockroom of tools, fixings and ladders inside it. Most small fleets track neither properly. The van is “Dave’s” by custom rather than record, the contents migrate between vans on busy mornings, and the maintenance log is whichever receipts survived the glovebox. This guide covers a register and a handover habit that keep both the van and what rides in it on the books.
What you will learn
- Why vans fall through the cracks
- The van handover record
- Labelling the van - and what rides in it
- Assigned drivers, pool vans and the spare
- Keeping the maintenance log honest
- Tools that make this easier
- FAQ
Why vans fall through the cracks
Vans are tracked worse than almost any other asset at their price, for predictable reasons:
- The assigned-driver illusion. “That’s Dave’s van” feels like accountability, but if it was never recorded with a date, it dissolves the day Dave swaps vans, changes role or leaves.
- Contents drift. Power tools, ladders and stock move between vans whenever a job demands it, and nobody writes that down at 7am in the yard.
- Maintenance by dashboard light. With no mileage captured anywhere, “service due” means “warning light on”, which means paying unplanned prices for planned work.
- The floating spare. The oldest van becomes the loaner nobody owns, defects accumulate because reporting them is someone else’s problem, and it degrades quietly until it fails an inspection.
None of this needs new hardware to fix. It needs handovers that leave a record.
The van handover record
Vans change hands at hiring, leaving, repair swaps and reshuffles - and the handover is where tracking either happens or doesn’t. Record these fields every time:
| Field | Why it matters at handover |
|---|---|
| Van ID and registration | Anchors the event to the right vehicle, not “the white one” |
| Mileage at handover | Settles service-interval and fuel questions; dates the record |
| Condition photos - four sides plus load area | The difference between fair wear and a chargeable dent |
| Racking and fit-out notes | The shelving and inverter are assets too; list what is actually fitted |
| Keys and fuel card issued | The small items whose absence stalls the next handover |
| MOT and service due dates | The new driver inherits these and needs to see them |
| Assigned driver and start date | Turns “Dave’s van” into a record that survives Dave |
Tip: photograph the load area at every handover, even when nothing seems to have changed. Racking lists go stale; a dated photo of the shelves settles what was really in the van better than any inventory line.
Labelling the van - and what rides in it
Give the van a QR label inside the driver’s door jamb - out of the weather, immune to pressure washing, found in seconds. A second label inside the load area near the doors means a defect report or contents check can start with a scan from the back of the van, where the problem usually is.
Then label what rides in it. The tools inside a trade van are often worth a large share of the vehicle itself, and they are far easier to lose - our guide to keeping track of company tools covers that side. The principle: the van’s record lists the fit-out, and high-value contents get their own records checked out to the same driver.
Assigned drivers, pool vans and the spare
Run two custody models deliberately rather than one by accident:
- Assigned vans get an open-ended check-out to a named driver, recorded with the handover fields above. Plumbing and HVAC firms mostly live here - one engineer, one van, one record.
- Pool and spare vans get short check-outs with a due-back date. The overdue list is what stops the spare becoming a permanent, unowned second van for whoever borrowed it last.
- Repair swaps are transfers, not improvisation. When a van goes to the workshop and the spare goes out, record both moves. A fleet register that describes last month’s arrangement is worse than none, because people trust it.
Keeping the maintenance log honest
A van maintenance log fails in one of two ways: faults are mentioned aloud instead of recorded, or mileage is never captured so interval-based servicing runs blind. The fixes are procedural. Faults become written reports with photos the day they appear - a rattle reported in March is a cheap bushing; the same rattle in August is a recovery truck. Mileage gets captured at every handover and return, which is enough granularity for service planning without asking anyone to keep a daily log. And invoices get attached to the van’s record, so warranty claims and the eventual replace-or-repair decision rest on history rather than impressions.
Tools that make this easier
Spreadsheets stumble on vans for a specific reason: everything that matters happens in the yard or on the road, and the sheet lives in the office. Handover photos end up in someone’s camera roll, mileage in a text message, and the sheet records whatever was true at the last tidy-up.
AMPthilly puts the workflow where the van is: each van gets a profile with documents, photos and custom fields for racking and fit-out; check-outs and returns capture who, when and condition; the QR label in the door jamb opens the record in any phone browser, where a driver can report a fault with photos on the spot; and every handover, ticket and invoice stays on the van’s history permanently. The free plan - 3 users, 25 assets, no card - fits a small van fleet with room left for the expensive contents.
FAQ
How do I keep track of work vans and their contents? Separate records, linked custody: the van has its own record and handover history, and high-value contents get their own labels and records checked out to the same driver.
Should each van be assigned to one driver? Yes where possible - but as a recorded check-out with a date, not an office custom. Pool and spare vans run on short check-outs with due dates.
What should I record when a van changes drivers? Mileage, condition photos including the load area, racking and fit-out, keys and fuel card, and the MOT and service dates the new driver inherits.
Where should a QR label go on a van? Driver’s door jamb, plus a second inside the load area. Durable laminated stock only.
How do I keep a van maintenance log without fleet software? Mileage at every handover, faults recorded with photos the day they appear, invoices attached to the van’s record - and make reporting easier than mentioning.
The takeaway
Vans get lost on paper long before anything goes missing in the metal. Make every handover a recorded event with mileage and photos, label the van where the weather cannot reach, give the contents their own records, and run the spare on due dates instead of goodwill. The fleet stays the same size; the arguments get much shorter.