This blog post was updated on February 23, 2021.
Compliance can be time-consuming, frustrating, and burdensome. At the same time, there’s no escaping it. If you want to be in business, you need to be in compliance.
It seems like you’re stuck between a rock and a hard place. Being out of compliance is not an option but it takes up valuable time and resources. Luckily, compliance software such as A-Suite Comply makes it easy to keep all your drivers legal. You can have the best of both worlds.
The Cost of Not Complying
The cost of being out of compliance can be steep; a simple record violation can run you at least $11,000 per violation under current FMCSA regulations. That’s why you probably hired someone to manage this process. That’s not exactly a picture-perfect scenario either, though.
Yes, you have a well-trained (and likely overwhelmed) safety manager who has probably spent several hours learning the tricks of the compliance trade whom you trust. But if safety is freedom from risk, as we’ve explained before, you can always be safer. It's worth it to double down on your compliance upkeep.
Don’t Second Guess Your Compliance: Invest in Software
You don’t have to live in a world of paper files, sticky notes, and spreadsheets any more. Investing in DOT compliance software makes the life of any compliance manager three times easier. It will make your whole company run smoother.
A few of the many benefits of DOT Compliance software are:
- IT REMOVES THE COMPLICATION. Federal regulations are wordy, confusing, and generally mind-numbing. Such is legal jargon. DOT compliance software can be programmed to simply tell you what you need and when you need it by. If you want help or a second opinion with compliance materials, you can also pay a little extra for full-time auditing services, similar to what AvatarFleet offers with ComplianceCare.
- IT’S STREAMLINED AND ORGANIZED. Even the most organized of safety managers can mistype a date or read a spreadsheet wrong. Software can track all this information for you. Most DOT compliance programs will alert you with records that are missing, incorrect, or expired so you don’t have to constantly pore over every single driver’s records to see what’s due. Again, auditors can also help catch some of the little errors that happen from time to time. Which brings us to #3.
- IT’S ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO LOSE ANYTHING. Part of the downside of maintaining hard copies of everything is that documents can be misplaced, thrown out, or wind up in the wrong file. It’s no one’s fault really; accidents do happen. You don’t have to worry about that if everything is scanned into an online database, however. Once a record is uploaded, it stays there forever unless you decide to delete it. DOT compliance software provides an effortless, organized storage system you can search through quickly when you need to. And it will never accidently throw out an annual review.
- IT CUTS COSTS AND REDUCES YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT.By investing in an online system for compliance, you no longer will need to blow through paper and ink making copies of every single piece of paper in a driver’s record. This is good for both the environment and your wallet. Some DOT compliance systems also have accompanying Applicant Tracking Systems that further reduce the paper hassle into an efficient online application program, such as AvatarFleet’s ApplicantCare program.
- IT SAVES YOUR MANAGERS TIME. Most important of all, DOT compliance software cuts down on the time managers spend perusing documents making sure they have all the right stuff. When they need to double check something, it’s much faster to search on a computer than it is to pull out a file from the cabinet or to scroll endlessly through spreadsheets. It’s often said that time is money, and your managers can invest their time in other important areas such as driver retention or safety initiatives. You can’t put a dollar amount on the luxury of extra time.
If the benefits of DOT compliance software outlined here interest you, try some out for free! We’ll set up a time for you to try out our ComplianceCare demo and you can see what you think.