Track a fleet without hardware
You can run real fleet tracking with no GPS hardware at all: the IntelliTrac driver app tracks trips on the phones your team already carries, and your vehicle data comes from the spreadsheets you already keep. Phones see trips. Devices see the vehicle. The right fleet setup is usually a mix, reached one vehicle at a time.
How phone tracking works
A driver starts a trip or booking in the app, and the phone captures position, speed and heading roughly once a minute until the trip ends, filtering out low-accuracy readings. Trips appear on the same live map, journey history and vehicle profile as device-tracked vehicles. Tracking runs only during work trips, never around the clock, and drivers can see when it is active, which is the transparent footing the notice and consent rules expect.
What phones show, and what they miss
| What you need | Phone GPS | Installed device |
|---|---|---|
| Live map position | About once a minute | Second-by-second |
| Journey history and replay | Trip-level | Full detail |
| Ignition, engine hours, engine data | No | Yes |
| Works without the app | No | Yes |
| Harsh driving and impact events | No | Yes |
| Tamper and after-hours movement | No | Yes |
| Incident footage | No | With a dashcam |
Two honest caveats. The app must be running to track the trip, so an unstarted trip leaves no trip history; bookings help because they prompt the driver. A phone also cannot prove what the vehicle did outside work trips, which matters for after-hours use and some FBT positions.
When phones are enough
- Pool cars and passenger fleets, where bookings already frame every trip.
- Grey fleet, where you will never install hardware in private cars.
- Getting started, when you want fleet tracking and booking workflows working before capital is spent.
When a vehicle deserves a device
Instrument a vehicle when the deeper data pays for itself: trucks and utes doing the revenue work, anything where ignition and engine data drive maintenance, high-risk driving where events and video matter, or assets that move when nobody should be moving them. Because phones and devices mix freely, the upgrade is a per-vehicle decision based on the usage data collected through phone tracking, not a leap of faith.
Starting this week
- Import your vehicle spreadsheet.
- Invite drivers to the app and switch bookings on.
- Let a month of real usage data accumulate, then decide which vehicles earn hardware.
Last updated 10 July 2026. General information, not tax or legal advice.