The car rental business is expected to continue to grow at an annual rate of 14% between 2017 and 2022, reaching $125 billion in revenue by 2022. If you are part of this growing industry, you want to maximize your share of that growth and maximize the profits you can earn of your fleet.

Every year drivers in cities like New York lose about 107 hours. This corresponds to an average cost of US$20 billion per year in the US alone.

The car you rent and the staff you hire are two of the most important expenses. Increasing your return on investment is an important part of your company's profitability. This is where software rental solutions come in – they are more than just an online ordering mechanism. When you use the right software, you can maximize fleet efficiency, minimize costs, and keep your workforce efficient.

Total car rental software development is defined as software that provides all the necessary tools to manage a car rental business. This includes modules for maintenance and fleet tracking, reservation, contract and customer information, and payment processing.

In short, it is the operating system for your rental business, managing your vehicle assets and maximizing the efficiency of your staff. It can also increase demand for your business by helping you attract and retain customers. Small businesses can focus on four areas to increase the amount of money saved as a profit:

• Offers clean and well-maintained cars.
• Make connections with other businesses such as local hotels.
• Offer services with your vehicle that users appreciate.
• Offer your customers a wide choice of vehicles.

The choice of the best car rental software according to each of these areas. As? The maintenance management section aims to keep your fleet fresh and attractive. Marketing tools can be used to connect with other companies. The features in your mobile application can be the primary means of providing additional services that certain customers want. And driving multiple vehicles is made easy with the fleet management tools in a good Parking software development.

It makes sense to split car rental software into your fleet, customer, or business management functions. We'll take a look at each of them and how, if done right, they can make a profit. We will then discuss how to select or build the right tool for your business.

Manage your fleet

A car rental company is essentially an organization that buys vehicles and then lends them to others, often through an online booking system. Tracking these vehicles is critical to making a profit because they are your biggest expense. This includes not only the cost of buying or renting, but also costs for maintenance, repairs and insurance. Fleet management software is what rental companies use to track their assets on wheels. If done right, it can control costs, increase efficiency, monitor your drivers, monitor what your customers are doing with their vehicles, and give you the data you need to determine true operating costs.

A good fleet management module brings together all activities – from rental details to repairs – in one place. A schedule that automates reminders for routine maintenance and when the car is ready for sale is also useful. Most fleet management tools also include GPS tracking via a mobile app or in-car sensors so you know where your vehicle is and how to drive.

Empower your customers

Providing your customers with a safe and easy hiring experience is critical to the success of your business. Your online car rental website and mobile interface for iOS and Android will be the primary way customers interact with you, so they should be more than just user-friendly. Offering low prices alone is not enough; They need to make the user experience, including customer support, feel better than what they experience with the car rental systems and booking software used by major car rental companies.

Think about the customer experience and provide a simple and intuitive travel interface. Actions that should be easy for the company or customer to take include:

• Find out what cars are available.
• Get offers.
• Order a vehicle.
• Interact with the reservation system: check, change, or delete reservations.
• Discard the contract.
• Arrange pickup or delivery.
• Offers information and assistance with renting a car.
• Dropout Optimization.
• Offer secure and easy payments with credit cards, digital wallets or payment gateways.
• Collect and send feedback.

All of these features must be available on web and mobile, and communicate with your fleet and business management modules. Customers need real-time access to information about their rental car reservation.

Manage your business

Asset management tools and customer-facing tools are at the forefront of the back-office portion of your car rental solution. Your software needs to connect every interaction and transaction with vehicles, employees or customers while streamlining your business processes.

Your day-to-day business should be integrated into a cost-effective management system. Once you collect critical customer data, you can reduce the cost of running your business by automating critical tasks that can increase your costs. Key features should include:

• Interact with your accounting system.
• Insurance claims monitoring.
• Billing and Invoicing.
• rate management.
• Monitor employee activity.
• Automate marketing to previous customers.
• Handle customer comments and complaints.

The most important part of the business module is the interface between your rental car software and your accounting system. Income and expenses should flow efficiently to your books, where you can track and find ways to reduce costs.

Choose the right solution

Choosing the right car rental management software for your business is an important decision. A good way to start is to look at the standard features already in this class of tools and then prioritize them. If you use a rental service that focuses on high-end luxury vehicles, tracking and scheduling assistance may be of utmost importance to you. If you're focused on providing cheap, fast and local car reservations, the mobile app experience could be your priority. Know your business goals before getting involved with the software.

Once you have this priority list, take a look at the available pre-packaged solutions. We recently reviewed the best vehicle reservation systems - including favorites like Navotar - and found a few workable solutions. As with any business software, make sure you get references and talk to consumers before investing in a commercial solution.

If you can't find what you're looking for or want a software solution that will give you a competitive edge, then a personalized car rental software program is your best bet.

The right software allows small rental agencies to compete with the giants by providing better service, lower overhead costs, and efficient business practices. When you evaluate business decisions, you discover what is important to you. Use this information to find the right custom software development partner to build the tools you need.

Complete Car Rental Software is a large and powerful platform that interacts with other programs, your employees and customers. Make sure you choose a company that understands integration, streamlines workflows, and creates a great user experience.