Apps that will drive your business in 2024

Keeping a logbook for the ATO is only the beginning with GOFAR, an Australian app that automates work-related vehicle expenses. It not only records every trip, and produces ATO-compliant reports at tax time, but allows you to track other car expenses, tells you about your CO2 emissions, monitors your car for faults, and reminds you when your car’s due for a service. Install an optional GOFAR Ray on your dash and you will also get automatic lead foot alerts: it changes colour to tell you when you’re speeding or driving in a way that uses lots of fuel.

Safety and sustainability are no doubt right at the top of your priorities list. Apps such as Brightmile, can assist in assessment and detection of safe driving. The app uses sensors in an iPhone or iPad whereby drivers are rated on five pillars of driving behaviour: risk, speeding, distraction, and fatigue. They can compare their ratings with other drivers in the fleet, earn rewards for good driving, and complete training modules to improve their performance. The app also doubles as a mileage recorder.

Do your drivers complain they can’t find anywhere to park? Maybe what they need is a peer-to-peer parking app such as Parkhound. It offers access to more than 50,000 parking spaces, provided privately by homes and businesses, in busy city locations across Australia. And if you have spare parking spots outside the office while your drivers are out on the road, you can rent them out as a host.

When every second counts, anything that can give you an edge has got to be worth considering. Waze is a navigation app that uses real-time, crowdsourced data to give you the very latest information on traffic jams, accidents, hazards and anything else that might stop you getting somewhere on time. Google bought Waze in 2013, but still keeps it as a standalone app that is constantly updating and offering drivers the best ways of getting from A to B as quickly and safely as possible.