Depending on the type of business you’re running, you may be considering allowing your employees to either use their own personal vehicles for company activities and then reimbursing them or buying a car for the company that employees can use.
Whichever way you decide to go, it’s important that you plan appropriately and set up the right system so everything runs smoothly, both for your company and for your employees. To help with this, here are three tips for allowing employees to use the company car.
Pick The Right Vehicle
Just like with all other decisions about your company, the type of car you choose to associate with your business can have a big impact on your brand or reputation. When you allow employees to use their own cars, this is less in your control. But if you choose to buy a car for your business and put your company name or logo on the vehicle, you need to realize that this is a type of marketing for your business. Knowing this, it’s vital that you pick the right vehicle.
According to Susan Edevane, a contributor to Intuit QuickBooks, smart, clean cars can give off a great first impression for your business. So before you go purchasing a vehicle, make sure the car says what you want it to say regarding your business and your brand identity.
Make Your Drivers Responsible
To ensure that cars are cared for in the right manner, it’s important that your employees know they’re responsible for anything that happens in or to the car, including accidents. According to MotorTrade’s Slideshare, you should let all your drivers know that they are responsible if they get ticketed while in the vehicle. Although all the paperwork will be under your company’s name, it shouldn’t be your responsibility to pay for their speeding or parking tickets. And if you have trouble getting an employee to take responsibility in this manner, you may just have to take away their privileges with the company car altogether or go a step further and sell it on car marketplaces like Autovolo in order to avoid further hassle.
Keep Good Records
If you want your company to get all possible tax benefits for having a company car being used by your employees, it’s crucial that you keep good records about the use of the vehicle. By requiring your employees to keep detailed records about their use of the company car, Jean Murray, a contributor to The Balance, shares that you can ensure you’re correctly reimbursing your employees, proving the car if primarily for business use, and deducting the depreciation. These things will all ensure you’re getting the biggest tax and financial benefit from your company car.
If you’re considering getting a company car, use the tips mentioned above to help you have a good experience with this endeavor.
