Van stock management for multi-van trade firms

Why van stock goes wrong as firms grow

With one or two vans, the owner knows what is in each one. By the fifth van that knowledge has gone. Each engineer stocks their van the way they like, some carry far too much, some carry almost nothing, and the office has no idea which van has the part needed for this afternoon's breakdown. The symptoms are familiar: return visits because a common part was missing, three vans each carrying a spare pump while the fourth has none, and a store room nobody can find anything in.

Most firms in these trades are small. Among employer businesses in electrical, plumbing and installation work, 88.9% are micro firms with one to nine employees^[1]. Moving from that size into a business with a real stock system is a step many firms take later than they should, partly because few construction firms use software to run the business: only 61% of construction SME employers did in 2025^[2].

Build a standard stock list in three tiers

Start with a blank sheet rather than the contents of your fullest van. Look at the last three months of jobs and list what was actually used, then sort it into tiers.

Most firms find that tier 2 is where the money and the first-time fixes are. A short list of well-chosen repair parts can cover a large share of breakdown calls in a heating or electrical firm; the exact list depends on the boilers, alarms and boards common in your area. Ask engineers which parts they have most often wished they had, then check that against the job records.

Setting minimum and maximum levels

For each tier 1 and tier 2 line, set a minimum (reorder when you reach it) and a maximum (never carry more). A simple starting point is to carry roughly two weeks of typical use, with the minimum at one week.

Example: a fictional six-van plumbing and heating firm uses about 12 diverter valves of one popular type a month across the fleet. That is roughly one per van per fortnight. The firm sets each van at a maximum of two and a minimum of one, and keeps six in the store. When a van uses its second, the engineer logs it and the store replaces it at the next top-up. The fleet now carries 12 rather than the 20 or so it held before, and nobody runs out.

The weekly top-up routine

1. 01

   Engineers log what they use on each job

   Parts used are recorded on the job card, not on a scrap of paper. This is also what lets you charge for them.

2. 02

   Stores builds a top-up list from the job records

   On a fixed day, such as Thursday afternoon, the person who runs stores pulls the parts used per van since the last top-up.

3. 03

   Bag each van's top-up

   One labelled bag or crate per van, with a printed list. Engineers do not help themselves from the store.

4. 04

   Swap at the start of the shift

   Engineers collect their bag on Friday morning and load it before the first job, checking it against the list.

5. 05

   Reorder store stock the same day

   Store levels below minimum are reordered from the merchant so the shelf is ready for next week.

A fixed day matters more than the exact system. When top-ups happen whenever someone remembers, the store empties unevenly and engineers go back to buying their own parts at the counter, which is what the guide to materials ordering is trying to stop.

Stock checks, shrinkage and security

• Count a sample of ten lines on two vans each month, rotating so every van is checked each quarter. A full count of every van is rarely worth the time.
• When a count is short, check the job records first. Most gaps turn out to be parts fitted and not logged.
• Keep expensive parts in lockable drawers or boxes inside the van, and do not leave tools or stock visible through windows overnight.
• Park against a wall or another vehicle to block the side and rear doors where you can, and photograph the van contents list for insurance.
• Agree in writing what happens to stock when an engineer leaves, and do a full count of that van on their last day.

The cash sitting in your vans

Stock on a van is money that is not in the bank. That matters more when prices and cash flow are both under pressure. The construction material price index for repair and maintenance rose 6.2% in the year to September 2026, and 7.2% for all work^[3], so the same shelf of parts costs more to refill each time.

At the same time, 45% of construction SME employers named late payment as an obstacle to their business in 2025, the highest share of any sector^[4], and 47% used credit cards to fund the business^[5]. Cutting a few hundred pounds of duplicate stock from each van frees cash without changing the work you can do.

Example: a fictional eight-van electrical firm counts its fleet and finds an average of about £1,400 of stock per van, including duplicate testers and several boxes of cable bought on the day. Moving to a three-tier list brings the average down to about £800 per van, releasing roughly £4,800 across the fleet, and the shared specialist kit gets used more often because people know where it is.

Paper, spreadsheet or software?

• Up to about five vans, a shared spreadsheet with one tab per van and one for the store works if someone owns it.
• Beyond that, or if you hold stock in more than one location, job management software that deducts parts from a van when they are logged on a job saves hours each week.
• Whatever you use, the job card is where parts are recorded. Separate stock sheets that engineers fill in later are always out of date.
• Barcode scanning is useful for larger stores but not essential; consistent product codes on your list matter more.

Rolling the list out to the team

Engineers are attached to their vans, and a new stock list can feel like the office taking control of their toolbox. The rollout matters as much as the list itself.

1. 01

   Build the list with two engineers, not for them

   Pick one experienced engineer and one newer one. They know which parts get used and which ones sit in a drawer for a year.

2. 02

   Empty one van completely

   Strip a single van, sort what comes out into the tiers, and return the surplus to the store. It shows everyone what the change looks like and usually uncovers a surprising amount of duplicate stock.

3. 03

   Convert the rest over a fortnight

   Do two or three vans a week on the top-up day, so the store is not swamped and the work carries on.

4. 04

   Keep a personal allowance

   Let each engineer carry a small box of their own preferred extras. It costs little and removes most of the resistance.

5. 05

   Report back after a month

   Share the fall in return trips and merchant runs with the team. People keep a routine when they can see it saving them time.

How to tell whether it is working

1. Return visits caused by a missing part should fall within a month. Track them as a reason code on each revisit.
2. Unplanned merchant trips during the working day should drop, which you can see on fuel cards or merchant invoices.
3. Stock value per van should settle at a known level rather than creeping up.
4. Engineers should be able to tell you what is on their van without looking.

Van stock is one of the main levers on first-time fix. If the list is right and the top-up is reliable, the remaining return visits are usually about diagnosis or access, which are covered in the guides on travel time and parking and before and after photos.