Scout SuiteHow-to guide
Tracking vehicles and trailers
A minibus has an MOT, an insurance policy and a tax disc, and each one runs out on a day someone could miss. Add the vehicle once, add its dates, and Scout Suite reminds the people who look after it before each one falls due.
Add a vehicle
On Vehicles, select Add vehicle. Give it a name, choose Minibus, Car, Van, Trailer or Other, and add its registration if it has one. A minibus, car or van asks for its seats. A trailer asks for its maximum weight.
A Quartermaster, the Group Lead Volunteer, the Chair and the Group Leadership Team can add and change vehicles. Team Leaders and Members can see them.
Add the dates that matter
Open the vehicle and tap MOT, Insurance, Tax, Service or Breakdown cover to add that date. Use Other date for anything else, such as a tow bar check. Give the day it's due, and pick who it's assigned to if someone other than the vehicle's person should be told.
A trailer has no MOT. For a trailer, add its Insurance and an Inspection of its lights, brakes, tyres and coupling.
Mark a date done
When a certificate is renewed, press Mark done. Scout Suite records the day it was done and moves the date on by a year, or by the repeat you chose (every 6 months, or every 2 years). Renewed before it fell due, the next date keeps the same anniversary. Renewed late, the next date counts from the day it was done.
Upload the certificates
Open the vehicle and choose Upload under Certificates and records. Pick the kind: V5C registration document, insurance certificate, MOT certificate, service record or breakdown policy. If the certificate proves one of the dates, link it to that date. A file can be a PDF, a photo, or a Word or Excel document, up to 10 MB. When a new certificate replaces an old one, upload the new one and keep the old one too.
The Do not drive warning
A vehicle shows a green OK while everything is in date. An amber chip shows the next date when something is due within 30 days. A red Overdue chip means a date has passed. A solid red Do not drive means a minibus's or car's MOT or insurance has lapsed, or a trailer's insurance or inspection has.
Scout Suite shows the warning. It doesn't decide what the law allows, so check the current rules for your vehicle. The warning clears once the date is renewed and marked done.
Hire a vehicle out
Hiring out is off unless you switch it on. Open the vehicle, select Edit, and turn on Hire out this vehicle. Then choose who may hire it: Our own organisation only, Scouts only (another Scout organisation), or Anyone. Fill in any insurance conditions your policy sets, such as a minimum age, the years a licence has been held, the licence category, and any other conditions as one line each.
Scout Suite keeps these conditions and each driver's confirmation. It doesn't check licences or say what the law allows, so check the conditions against your insurance policy.
Book the vehicle for its days out
On the vehicle, in the Hire section, select Book out. Choose the day it leaves and the day it comes back, who it's for, and a charge if there is one. A booking reserves the vehicle for those days, the same as a tent or marquee, so it can't be booked twice for the same days. The vehicle doesn't appear in your equipment list, stock checks or reports. Its bookings show on the equipment loans page, and the vehicle's Hire section lists them too.
A vehicle can't be booked for a day on which its MOT, insurance or tax has run out, or while it is off the road. The reason is shown on the booking form, so renew the date first.
Name the drivers when it leaves
When the vehicle goes, select Hand over on its booking. Name every driver, and link a driver to their record if they are in your organisation. For each driver, tick every condition they meet. The vehicle isn't handed over until every driver is named and every condition is ticked for each one, and the record shows who confirmed it and when.
Return it and invoice it
When it comes back, select Mark returned in the vehicle's Hire section. A booking with a charge is invoiced from the equipment loans page, the same way as any other loan.
Who is reminded
Each date is reminded 30 days before, 7 days before, 1 day before, on the day it's due, and 1 day after if it hasn't been marked done. The reminder goes to the person the date is assigned to and to the person responsible for the vehicle, once each. If neither is set, the Lead Volunteer and the people with admin access are reminded instead.
Archived vehicles, vehicles marked sold or scrapped, and dates you have switched off get no reminders.
Safety & HQ
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