Fleet · 2 min read
How to track profit per vehicle in a limo fleet
A simple method to see which limo, SUV or van actually makes money: revenue, fuel and expenses per vehicle, and what to do with the answer.
Published
A busy car is not always a profitable one
Ask most owners which vehicle earns the most and they will name the one that is booked most often. That car may well bring in the most revenue, but if it carries the largest payment, spends weeks in the shop or burns the most fuel, it can still leave less at the end of the month than a quieter sedan. Profit per vehicle is the number that tells you which.
Tie every ride to a vehicle
The method only works if each booking records the vehicle that actually drove it, including last-minute swaps. Make the vehicle a required part of assigning a ride, and correct it when a car is replaced on the day. Without that discipline, revenue ends up attributed to whichever car was planned, not the one that did the work.
Count the costs that belong to each car
Some costs belong to a single vehicle: its financing or lease, insurance, registration and permits, fuel, maintenance and repairs, tires and cleaning. Record these against the vehicle as they happen, with the receipt. Costs shared by the whole company, such as office rent or software, are better kept separate, so they do not hide the difference between one car and another.
A monthly worked example
Take an illustrative month for a three-vehicle company. The sedan brings in nine thousand dollars and costs four thousand one hundred to run, leaving four thousand nine hundred. The SUV brings in ten thousand five hundred and costs five thousand eight hundred, leaving four thousand seven hundred. The passenger van brings in eleven thousand, the most of the three, but costs eight thousand three hundred, leaving two thousand seven hundred.
The van looked like the star. In fact it earns the least, which points to a question about its pricing, its financing, or the kind of work it is given.
What to do with the answer
A low-margin vehicle is a prompt, not a verdict. Its rates may be too close to a smaller car's, its routes may involve long empty returns, or a repair may have distorted one month. Look at three months together before acting. Then adjust prices, change which work it is assigned, renegotiate its financing, or plan its replacement, and check again the following month.
How LimOperations shows it
On the Scaler plan, LimOperations brings revenue, fuel and expenses together per vehicle in a profitability dashboard, with expense and financing records attached to each car, revenue reported by drivers, performance views for vehicles, drivers and clients, and a weekly summary emailed to the owner. The Manager plan includes each vehicle's usage history and operational reports.
Monthly vehicle review
- Every completed ride shows the vehicle that drove it.
- Each vehicle's expenses are entered with receipts.
- Revenue, costs and profit are compared per vehicle.
- Three months are reviewed together before deciding.
- One action is chosen for the weakest vehicle and checked next month.