How to calculate cost and profitability per vehicle

In a fleet, the answer to “which vehicle should we sell, which one needs a replacement” comes from a per-vehicle net number, not a gut feeling. Otherwise the decision ends up following whichever vehicle complained about most recently or broke down last, and neither of those is the same thing as real profitability. The right way to calculate cost and profitability per vehicle is to bring the revenue it generated and every expense charged to it into the same table.

Two sides of the calculation

Revenue side: the amount generated by a vehicle’s trips, alongside trip count and occupancy. Expense side: the total of fuel, maintenance, traffic fines, accident damage and subcontractor payments charged to that vehicle. The difference between the two gives that vehicle’s net profit or loss for a given period, and that difference only becomes useful once it can be recalculated the same way every month and compared with the last one.

Doing this per vehicle requires revenue and expense to sit on the same record, tied to the same vehicle; if trip revenue lives in one spreadsheet, maintenance cost in another file, and fines on paper somewhere, you have to rebuild this calculation by hand every month.

A total is not the same as a per-trip number

Two vehicles can generate similar total revenue in a month, yet one might have done it in 30 trips and the other in 45. Looking at total revenue alone, without trip count and occupancy, hides which vehicle is actually running more efficiently. Likewise, a vehicle’s expense can look high in a month simply because a large periodic maintenance fell in that period; judging it from a single month’s figure is misleading, while putting a few periods side by side lets you filter out that kind of one-off line.

This number is what a fleet decision rests on

Once you have a per-vehicle net profit table, “which vehicle should we sell, which vehicle type deserves the next investment” has an answer grounded in a number: a vehicle running consistently low occupancy with high maintenance cost is the first candidate to leave the fleet, while a vehicle type running consistently high occupancy with low cost points to where the next investment should go.

Example

Say in January a vehicle with plate 34 ABC 123 ran 42 trips and generated 28,400 TRY in revenue. Fuel, maintenance and traffic fines charged to it that month totalled 6,550 TRY. That leaves the vehicle with a net profit of 21,850 TRY for the month. If another vehicle in the fleet ran fewer trips and carried higher maintenance cost the same month, putting the two side by side shows directly which one is running more efficiently.

How cost and profitability per vehicle work in Rotenta

1. In the trip module, every trip ties to a vehicle and a price list; trip revenue is charged to that vehicle’s line.
2. On the expense side, fuel, maintenance, fines and accident costs charged to the vehicle accumulate on the same vehicle.
3. The reports screen gives you a per-vehicle revenue, expense and net profit table, optionally broken down by trip count and occupancy.
4. These amounts tie into the invoice and collection records on the accounting side, so the same figure is never entered twice.
5. Comparing periods shows which vehicle is profitable and which is not, so a fleet decision — sell, replace, add a vehicle — follows from the number.
6. The same table works for a rented or subcontracted vehicle; even with a different owner, its revenue and the expenses charged to it sit on the same row, so you can compare it against your own vehicles too.

Two things this calculation depends on

An accurate per-vehicle cost table rests on two things: first, keeping vehicle and driver documents current, since a trip cancelled over a document problem also affects that month’s revenue table. Second, recording maintenance, fines and accidents consistently — an expense line that is never charged to the vehicle never reaches the report, so the table is only as accurate as what goes into it.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to keep a separate spreadsheet for this?

No; since revenue comes from the trip record and expense from the expense module, both charged to the same vehicle, the table builds itself on the reports screen.

Can profitability be calculated for rented or subcontracted vehicles too?

Yes; since they are also an asset record, the same revenue-expense logic applies to them.

Are maintenance and fine lines added automatically?

You or an authorised user charges these to the vehicle card; once charged, they flow into the report table automatically.

Can I compare periods?

Yes, you can put different months or periods side by side to see how a vehicle’s performance changed.

Can I export this data?

Yes, you can export the report table and combine it with your own analysis.

See tracking vehicle maintenance, fines, accidents and expenses for how the inputs to this calculation are recorded, and how to choose fleet management software for why this report matters when picking software — both part of the fleet management category. Check the pricing page for what is included in your plan, or get in touch directly.