A fleet software provider is predicting an increase in salary sacrifice take-up in smaller businesses with a new product that allows greater staff input.

Jaama, provides online fleet management software to more than a dozen of the UK’s car and van leasing and contract hire companies, has launched a 'customer dashboard' that enables employees to configure their own company car salary sacrifice option.

Contract hire and leasing companies can tailor the ‘customer dashboard’ to meet their own requirements, but one of the options enables employees of their customers to make their own company car salary sacrifice calculations against their employers' fleet policy criteria.

Jaama managing direct Jason Francis told Fleet News: "Currently this is a unique product, and although the salary sacrifice car market is growing, adopting it can be complex and administratively intensive.

"With our system, salary sacrifice drivers can log in and choose their own cost effective vehicle."

Ogilvie is the first Jaama customer to offer the system and Francis expects rival software companies to develop similar systems, but also suggested the uptake of salary sacrifice would become more attractive to smaller and medium-sized customers.

He said: "Salary sacrifice schemes are typically the preserve of larger contract hire companies and large employers which have the resources and potential customer base.

"Our 'customer dashboard' development opens the door to small and medium-sized leasing companies to offer company car salary sacrifice schemes and smaller employers to introduce them because it delivers a self-help solution directly to employees."

Francis added that although some employers would like to offer salary sacrifice for company cars, many leasing companies might not offer a scheme, or the employer's company might not be seen as large enough to make implementing salary sacrifice attractive to large contract hire companies.

Jaama’s Key2 software already takes direct feeds from CAP so has available every single piece of data relating to new cars including list price, options, MPG and CO2 figures.

Using that information employees will be able to undertake a DIY calculation as to whether it will be financially beneficial to them to take up a company car salary sacrifice option, which is typically most attractive when choosing low emission vehicles.

Additionally, online calculators enable drivers to discover their benefit-in-kind tax burden and whether or not they should be in receipt of employer paid for fuel for private use among a raft of other useful features.

For fleet managers the ‘customer dashboard’ delivers a raft of information on the status of their drivers and fleet and, by exception, highlights any areas needing further investigation including driver licence checking results through to vehicles due for replacement, service or an MOT. Customisation of information into an Excel spreadsheet then allows fleet managers to drill down in to minute detail to analyse every facet of their fleet.

Francis said: "Fleet software saves vast amounts of time and money across the industry. However, not all contract hire and leasing companies have the desire or resources available to develop their own online services.

"Jaama is successfully working with a number of leasing companies, which provide a first-class service to customers, to develop resources and functionality that puts them and their business clients at the cutting-edge of delivering solutions directly to fleet managers and employees."

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