If you run a commercial trucking fleet of 50 to 1,000 units, the software decision you make will shape your shop’s daily reality for years, and so will the vendor relationship that comes with it. We’ve compared the leading platforms on what matters in a trucking operation: PM automation, parts inventory, warranty recovery, telematics integrations, and what happens after you sign.
The fleet maintenance software market has gotten crowded. Between established names like Fleetio and Cetaris, generic CMMS tools that weren’t built for trucking, and shop management platforms that serve repair shops more than fleets, it’s genuinely difficult to know which truck maintenance software fits your operation.
We are not a neutral party: Squarerigger is one of the platforms in this comparison. But we’ve been in fleet maintenance long enough to know that recommending the wrong software to someone does nobody any favors. This guide is designed to help you make the right call for your fleet, even if that call isn’t us.
Before you get started, download our fleet maintenance software vendor evaluation checklist.
Which Platform Fits Your Fleet
The short version, before the detail:
- Squarerigger: Trucking and mixed fleets with 50 to 1,000 units that want a long-term operational partner. Best for multi-location, active inventory, and compliance-heavy operations.
- Fleetio: Fleets prioritizing telematics integration, driver-facing features, and ease of deployment over deep shop management.
- Cetaris: Large enterprise fleets (500+ units) with IT resources, complex compliance, and tolerance for longer implementation.
- RTA Fleet: Government, transit, and utility fleets with established RTA relationships or specific public-sector requirements.
- Fullbay: Shops billing external customers for repairs, and fleets whose in-house shop also bills outside customers.
What to Look For Before You Book a Demo
Most software comparison guides focus on features. Features matter, but they’re also the easiest thing for vendors to embellish in a demo. The harder question is: what does the relationship look like once you’re live?
Fleet managers who’ve been through a software transition will tell you two things: the anxiety leading up to go-live is real, and the work doesn’t end there. They worry about losing years of work order history, technician pushback, and the process changes that ripple through the shop. But the 18 months after go-live matter just as much, when you hit an edge case, need training on a new workflow, or have a feature request that would genuinely change how you operate. Both phases are where a real partner separates itself from a vendor who disappears after the sale.
With that framing in mind, here’s what to evaluate:
- PM automation: Mileage, hours, and date-based triggers, beyond simple calendar reminders
- Parts inventory: Integrated and linked to work orders automatically
- Multi-location support: Multiple shops with shared reporting across every location
- DOT compliance: Inspection records, DVIR logs, audit trails built in
- Telematics integration: Connects to Samsara, Geotab, Motive, or others to pull odometer readings, driving habits, safety data and more into your fleet maintenance platform
- Ongoing partnership: Real humans, real support long after the implementation call ends
The Five Platforms Compared
Squarerigger: Fleet Maintenance Software
Built exclusively for commercial fleets since 1984, and completely rebuilt as intuitive, modern fleet maintenance software.
Squarerigger was purpose-built for fleet operations at a time when most CMMS tools focused on industrial facilities. Its fleet maintenance software covers PM scheduling, work order management, parts inventory, vendor and OEM warranty tracking, and multi-shop operations in a single integrated system.
Where Squarerigger differs most from competitors is what comes after implementation. Customers work with a dedicated team throughout their time on the platform, from onboarding onward. That means a real person who knows your setup picks up the phone when something goes wrong. And when customers surface problems, they get fixed.
When Joshua Lawrence, Operations Manager at TL Schwab Transportation, flagged that technicians were having to scroll back to the top of the screen to add parts on deep work orders, the issue was resolved within the week. One email. That responsiveness reflects something broader about how Squarerigger operates: customer feedback directly shapes the product roadmap. If a workflow doesn’t fit how your shop runs, that becomes a conversation with the team.
For TL Schwab, a Western New York trucking operation managing 67 owned power units and accountable for more than 300 via contracts, the upgrade from legacy software to Squarerigger Pro changed the daily reality of the shop. PM scheduling moved off a dry-erase whiteboard and into automated, Samsara-connected triggers. Parts lookups and reorders that used to mean multiple windows, phone calls, and hold music now happen on a single screen. Technicians on road calls can pull up alternate part numbers, check vendor availability, and create work orders from the side of the highway without calling back to the shop. Within two months of go-live, their headquarters location was 97–98% automated.
Joshua’s word for the biggest benefit: time.
“You don’t realize how much time you are wasting. Once you have that set up, the system starts doing things for you.”
Strengths
- Integrated inventory linked to every work order
- Multi-location with shared visibility
- Warranty recovery tracking built in, with claims and reimbursements tracked in one place
- Samsara integration for live mileage-triggered PMs
- A dedicated customer team that knows your setup
- Customer feedback feeds directly into the product roadmap
- 40+ years of trucking-specific development
Limitations
- Less name recognition than some other platforms
- Implementation requires an onboarding investment
- Limited onboarding support for fleets of 10 assets or less
Best for: Trucking and mixed fleets with 50 to 1,000 units, from regional carriers to distribution fleets, that want a long-term operational partner behind the software. Especially strong for multi-location operations with in-house shops, active parts inventory, and a need for tight compliance control.
Fleetio: Fleet Management Platform
The most widely adopted fleet software in North America, with broad features and a large integration ecosystem.
Fleetio has grown rapidly and covers most of the fleet management surface area: PM scheduling, work orders, fuel tracking, inspections, and a large telematics integration library. It’s a strong generalist platform with a polished mobile experience. Where it tends to fall short for active trucking operations is depth, particularly in parts inventory and warranty recovery, which feel more like add-ons than core features. Support scales with your plan tier, which for mid-size fleets can mean more self-service than some maintenance managers prefer.
Strengths
- 60 telematics integrations (Samsara, Geotab, Motive)
- Strong mobile app for drivers and techs
- Clean UI, low learning curve
- Large user community and resource library
Limitations
- Parts inventory is lighter than dedicated systems
- Warranty tracking requires manual workarounds
- Multi-shop reporting limited in lower tiers
- Support access tied to pricing tier
Best for: Fleets prioritizing telematics integration, driver-facing features, and ease of deployment over deep shop management or a hands-on vendor relationship.
Cetaris: Enterprise Fleet CMMS
A deep CMMS platform built for large, complex fleet operations, particularly public sector and enterprise.
Cetaris is a serious CMMS platform with strong asset management, warranty tracking, and compliance capabilities. It skews toward larger, more complex organizations like government fleets, transit agencies, and enterprise trucking operations with dedicated IT resources. Implementation is longer and the learning curve is steeper, but the reporting depth is genuine. Customer support is structured and professional, though the relationship model is more formal than hands-on.
Strengths
- Deep warranty and warranty recovery tools
- Strong compliance and audit trail features
- Solid asset lifecycle management
Limitations
- Long implementation timelines
- Many features are sold as add-ons
- Requires IT involvement to manage
- Less suited to mid-size independent trucking fleets
Best for: Large enterprise fleets (500+ units) with IT resources, complex compliance requirements, and tolerance for longer implementation.
RTA Fleet: Fleet Maintenance Software
A long-standing platform with strong shop management roots, actively modernizing for cloud deployment.
RTA Fleet has been in the market for decades and has a loyal user base, particularly in government, transit, and utility fleets. The platform has strong work order and shop management foundations, and it’s been actively moving toward cloud-based deployment. That transition is ongoing, which means some organizations experience a gap between the platform’s functional depth and its usability relative to newer tools.
Strengths
- Mature, proven work order management
- Good parts inventory tracking
- Strong public sector track record
Limitations
- UI feels dated compared to newer platforms
- Cloud migration still in progress for some modules
- Smaller integration library than Fleetio
Best for: Government, transit, and utility fleets with established RTA relationships or specific public-sector requirements.
Fullbay: Shop Management Software
Built for heavy-duty repair shops, with a fleet maintenance product for in-house shops.
Fullbay frequently shows up in fleet software searches, so it’s worth being clear about what it is: a shop management platform for commercial repair businesses first, with a fleet maintenance product added for in-house shops. If you run an in-house shop that also bills external customers for repairs, Fullbay handles that billing workflow well. Its fleet side covers work orders for in-house repairs, PM scheduling by mileage, engine hours, or time, DVIR defects that become service requests, and cost-per-unit reporting. If you’re a fleet manager who also needs warranty recovery, cost per mile, or uptime reporting, you’re buying a shop platform, and it’s worth weighing that against the fleet platforms above.
Strengths
- Excellent for shops billing external customers
- Strong labor and invoice management
- Good heavy-duty parts integrations
Limitations
- A repair-shop platform first; the fleet feature set is narrower than the shop feature set
- Fleet reporting covers cost per unit, PM status, and pending repairs, with no cost per mile or uptime reporting
- No warranty recovery tracking
Best for: Independent repair shops and fleets running a significant external repair business.
Side-by-Side Feature Comparison
The table compares the five platforms on PM scheduling, integrated parts inventory, multi-location support, warranty recovery tracking, DOT compliance tools, telematics integration, cost per mile reporting, customer support, and implementation time.
| Feature | Squarerigger | Fleetio | Cetaris | RTA Fleet | Fullbay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PM scheduling (mileage/hours/date) | |||||
| Integrated parts inventory | Limited | Add-on | Shop-only | ||
| Multi-location / multi-shop | Higher tiers | ||||
| Warranty recovery tracking | Basic | ||||
| DOT / compliance tools | DVIR defect tracking | ||||
| Telematics integration | Top vendors native + API access | 60 | Limited | Pro plan and above | |
| Cost per mile reporting | Basic | Cost per unit | |||
| Dedicated customer team | Ongoing | Tier-dependent | Structured | Standard | Standard |
| Customer feedback to roadmap | Direct | Community forum | Formal process | User group | Standard |
| Built specifically for fleets | 40+ yrs | Shop tool | |||
| Typical implementation time | 2–4 weeks* | Days–weeks | Months | Weeks–months | Days |
Who Each Platform Is Best For
| Squarerigger | Trucking and mixed fleets with 50 to 1,000 units, from regional carriers to distribution fleets, that want a long-term operational partner. Best for multi-location, active inventory, and compliance-heavy operations. |
|---|---|
| Fleetio | Fleets prioritizing telematics integration, driver-facing features, and ease of deployment over deep shop management. |
| Cetaris | Large enterprise fleets (500+ units) with IT resources, complex compliance, and tolerance for longer implementation. |
| RTA Fleet | Government, transit, and utility fleets with established RTA relationships or specific public-sector requirements. |
| Fullbay | Shops billing external customers for repairs, and fleets whose in-house shop also bills outside customers. |
What Each Platform Costs
Prices are as each vendor published them in September 2026. Plans change, so confirm with the vendor before you budget.
- Squarerigger: Starter is $99 a month for up to 50 assets at one location. Core is $6 per asset per month billed annually, from $499 a month, for up to five locations, with on-site onboarding and training included. Enterprise is $7 per asset per month, from $599 a month, with unlimited locations and API access. Full details on the pricing page.
- Fleetio: $4 to $10 per asset per month, unlimited users, with a 14-day free trial.
- Cetaris: Quote-based, priced per asset plus customizations. Cetaris says most of its customers pay at least $1,000 a month.
- RTA Fleet: Pro $6, Advanced $8, and Enterprise $11 per asset per month, billed annually, with a 100-asset minimum.
- Fullbay: Priced per shop, with no per-asset rate. Next $188, Pro $258, and Elite $318 a month, each with one user license; additional users are $89 to $119 a month on an annual agreement. Telematics integrations start at Pro.
How to Make the Final Call
The right platform depends on two things most comparison articles skip: where your operation breaks down today, and what kind of relationship you want with your software vendor over the next three to five years.
On the features side: if your biggest headaches are missed PMs, parts stockouts, and warranty claims going unrecovered, you need depth in maintenance and inventory more than the broadest integration list. If your drivers are the weak link and telematics data is the gap, integration breadth becomes more relevant.
On the partnership side: if you’ve been through a software implementation before, you already know that the go-live is the easy part. The harder question is what the relationship looks like when something breaks at 6 a.m., when you bring on two new shop locations, or when your workflow changes in a way the software wasn’t designed for. That’s worth asking about directly in every demo you take.
A few questions worth asking every vendor before you sign:
- Who answers the phone after implementation?
- What’s your process for collecting feedback from customers like us?
- Can you show me a feature that was added because an existing customer asked for it?
No software evaluation is purely rational. The platform your team will use consistently beats the one with the longest feature list. Request demos from at least two vendors, bring your maintenance manager and a dispatcher into the room, and ask each vendor to walk through a scenario that represents your worst week.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best fleet maintenance software for a trucking company?
It depends on your fleet size and where your shop breaks down today. For fleets of 50 to 1,000 semi-trucks, heavy-duty trucks, and mixed units with in-house shops, Squarerigger fits best, with depth in PM automation, parts inventory, warranty recovery, and multi-location reporting. Fleetio suits fleets that put telematics and driver-facing tools first, Cetaris fits large enterprise fleets with IT resources, RTA Fleet fits public-sector fleets, and Fullbay fits repair shops that bill outside customers.
How much does fleet maintenance software cost?
Published rates in September 2026 run from $4 to $11 per asset per month across Fleetio, Squarerigger, and RTA Fleet, with minimums and billing terms that vary by vendor. Squarerigger’s Starter plan is $99 a month for up to 50 assets. Cetaris is quote-based, with most customers paying at least $1,000 a month. Fullbay prices per shop, from $188 a month.
Is Fullbay fleet maintenance software?
Fullbay is a heavy-duty repair shop platform that also sells a fleet maintenance product for in-house shops. It covers PM scheduling, DVIR defect tracking, and cost-per-unit reporting. It does not offer warranty recovery tracking or cost-per-mile reporting, so fleets that need those should compare it against the fleet platforms above.
Does Fleetio work for heavy-duty trucks?
Yes. Fleetio states that it handles all asset types, including heavy equipment and trailers, and it connects to Samsara, Geotab, and Motive. Where it tends to fall short for active trucking shops is depth in parts inventory and warranty recovery.
What are the alternatives to Cetaris for enterprise fleets?
Cetaris fits large enterprise fleets with IT resources and tolerance for a longer implementation. Fleets that want warranty recovery and integrated parts inventory without an enterprise-scale implementation should look at Squarerigger, built for trucking and mixed fleets of 50 to 1,000 units and backed by a dedicated customer team. Fleetio suits fleets that put telematics and driver-facing tools first, and RTA Fleet suits public-sector fleets.
How do Cetaris and Fleetio compare?
Cetaris is a deep CMMS for large, complex operations, with strong warranty recovery, compliance, and asset lifecycle tools, a longer implementation, and many features sold as add-ons. Fleetio is a broad generalist platform with a polished mobile app and a large telematics library, lighter parts inventory and warranty tracking, and support that scales with the plan tier. For a mid-size trucking fleet with an in-house shop, Cetaris is more system than most need and Fleetio is lighter on shop depth, which is the gap Squarerigger is built for.
What should a maintenance program for a trucking company include?
A working program sets PM intervals by mileage, engine hours, and date, keeps inspection records and DVIR logs for DOT compliance, tracks parts against work orders, and flags warrantable repairs so claims get filed. Fleet maintenance software runs those triggers and records automatically, and the criteria above are the ones to check when you choose it.
See What a Real Partnership Looks Like
We’ll walk through your fleet setup and your biggest maintenance headaches, and show you exactly how Squarerigger fits, or doesn’t. And if you become a customer, that conversation doesn’t end when onboarding does. To see how it plays out in a trucking shop, read the Southwest Freight Lines and Cherokee Freight Lines case studies.
