Blog · Software · March 8, 2026 · 7 min read
How to Choose Van Inventory Software for a Service Company
Most inventory demos look fine on a webinar. Very few survive a wet van and a dispatcher with twelve open calls. Choose for that Tuesday, not for the webinar.
Demand the four-click demo
Truck quantity. Transfer. Scan to a job. Reorder below min. If those four clicks take a custom implementation, you are buying a project, not a tool.
Ask to see the technician phone screen, not only the admin dashboard. If they will not show a phone, they do not have a field product.
Write your must-haves on one page
Vehicles as locations. Photos. Offline queue. Roles. Job export. Yearly price. That is enough. A 40-row RFP is how you buy a suite you will not implement.
If a vendor answers your one-pager with a 40-page security novel and no van screenshot, keep walking.
Trial on a live van
Sandbox data is polite. A live van is true. Import fifty parts, stock one truck, scan three real jobs. Then look at the invoice. The trial that cannot survive that is not a maybe. It is a no.
FleetStock’s trial is 14 days for this exact test. Use it on a real Tuesday.
Talk to the grouchiest tech
If they can scan without swearing, you have a chance. If only the office manager likes it, you bought a reporting tool. Reporting tools do not update driveway counts.
Watch their thumbs. Hesitation is a design bug. Design bugs do not get better after purchase.
Pick a date you will turn the spreadsheet off
Two sources of truth means zero sources of truth. The week after go-live, the sheet dies. If you cannot name that date, you are not buying software. You are collecting logos.
Export the sheet once for backup. Then stop opening it. Courage is a feature.
FAQ
Should we wait for barcode printers first?
No. Type part numbers for a week. Print labels once the names stabilize.
Cloud or on-prem?
Cloud, unless you have a compliance team that can explain why not. Vans are already on the public internet via phones.
How many vendors should we demo?
Two is enough if they both pass the four-click test. Five demos is procrastination.
See what is on every truck this week
14-day free trial. Then one yearly invoice — $129, $197, or $249.