A simpler way to book shared fleet vehicles
The Formbird FLEET Asset Booking page gives drivers and authorised users a clear, visual way to find and reserve shared vehicles.
In this tutorial, we walk through the complete booking process, from checking vehicle availability and selecting a booking time through to updating, cancelling, commencing and closing a booking.
The booking page brings vehicle availability, locations, booking details and upcoming reservations into one place, helping organisations reduce manual administration and make better use of their shared fleet.
Watch the tutorial below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDz62oyMkRo
Finding an available vehicle
When drivers log into Formbird FLEET, they can be directed automatically to the Asset Booking page. Other authorised users can also access the page through the application.
The booking calendar shows the vehicle pools available to the user, with assets grouped by location and time displayed across the top of the page.
Users can navigate forwards or backwards through the calendar, return to the current date or use the date picker to jump directly to a future day.
This makes it easy to plan a booking for later in the day, the following week or a future month.
Checking availability and vehicle details
The booking calendar provides visual information to help users choose the right vehicle.
Users can see whether an asset is available, reserved, in use, under repair or otherwise unavailable. The calendar can also display the vehicle’s fuel type, helping users identify petrol, diesel or electric vehicles based on their requirements.
Vehicles can be filtered by location. For example, a user can choose to display only vehicles available at a particular office, depot or facility.
The search field can also be used to find a particular vehicle type or model.
Creating a booking
Creating a booking is as simple as selecting and dragging across the required time period in the calendar.
Formbird FLEET automatically selects the vehicle, requesting user, booking start time and booking completion time. These details can be adjusted before the booking is created.
Depending on the organisation’s configuration, users may also be asked to provide information such as:
- Reason for the booking
- Job or account code
- Booking notes
- Destination
These fields can be displayed, hidden or made mandatory based on the organisation’s booking process.
The destination can be entered by searching for an address, using the device’s current location or selecting a position on the map.
Once the details are complete, the user can create the booking and it will appear in the calendar.
Integration with electronic key cabinets
Where Formbird FLEET is integrated with an electronic key cabinet, an eligible booking can make the assigned vehicle key available to the authorised user at the appropriate booking time.
This helps connect the vehicle booking process with secure key access and reduces the need for manual key distribution.
The exact process will depend on the organisation’s configured booking and key-management workflows.
Updating or cancelling a booking
Plans can change, so users can return to the Asset Booking page to update an existing reservation.
Selecting the booking in the calendar loads the booking details, allowing the user to change the date, start time, completion time or other information.
Users can then save the changes or cancel the booking when the vehicle is no longer required.
The updated booking will automatically move to the new date and time within the calendar.
Booking confirmations and personal calendars
Users can subscribe to booking notifications through the Asset Booking page.
When notifications are enabled, a confirmation email can be sent when a booking is created or updated. The email can include links for adding the reservation to Microsoft Outlook, Google Calendar or Apple Calendar.
This gives users another convenient way to keep track of upcoming vehicle bookings.
Viewing upcoming bookings
The bookings section below the main calendar allows users to view their future reservations.
Filters can be adjusted to show bookings over a longer period or, where permitted, bookings made by other users.
This can help administrators and authorised staff understand upcoming vehicle demand and see how the shared fleet is being used.
Booking statuses
Bookings are displayed using status colours within the calendar.
For example, one colour may indicate that a vehicle is reserved, while another may show that the booking has commenced.
The colours and status rules can be configured by each organisation. A legend is available within the booking page to explain the colours used in that environment.
Commencing and closing bookings
Depending on the organisation’s configuration, bookings may commence and close automatically.
Where automatic processing or an electronic key cabinet integration is not enabled, users may need to manage these steps manually.
The user can select the booking, scroll to the booking controls and choose Commence Booking when collecting the vehicle.
Once the vehicle has been returned, the user can select the booking again and choose Close Booking to complete the process.
Watch the Asset Booking tutorial
This tutorial provides a practical overview of the complete booking workflow and is recommended for drivers, pool vehicle administrators and staff responsible for managing shared fleet vehicles.
