The odometer reading is due at an awkward moment. Whoever picks up the van has the key in one hand and the next appointment on their mind. Whoever brings it back wants to go home. At that moment, the notebook in the glove box and the booking app on the phone are equally far away.
Since the September release, recording therefore lives where the odometer is: on a QR sign in the vehicle. This post shows how to set it up, what drivers see when they scan, and how the logbook then makes gaps visible.
What happens when someone scans
The phone camera opens a page, with no login and no app. At the top it asks "What are you recording?". Below, Dispoly offers whatever is due at this vehicle right now:
- Pickup, when a booking is running or starts within the next two hours and nobody has recorded the reading yet.
- Return, when the vehicle was picked up and not returned yet, or when the booking ended in the last few days and the return is missing.
- Without booking, for example after a callout or a workshop trip.
The right option is already selected. Anyone who is just parking the vehicle and forgot the pickup taps "Return" straight away.
Next come only the fields you set up for that moment, usually the odometer, plus "Your name". The phone remembers the name, so it is filled in next time. One tap on "Save pickup" or "Save return", and the entry counts exactly as if the person who booked had used the button on the booking.
Two things the sign deliberately does not do:
- It shows no names. It only shows the booking's date and time window. Who booked the vehicle is not visible at the sign.
- It overwrites nothing. If a pickup or return is already recorded, the sign does not offer it again. The person who booked, the person who recorded it and admins can still correct it.
Set up in five minutes
Setup happens per vehicle, on its detail page in the "Pickup & return" section.
- Pick a template. "Driver logbook" brings odometer, driver, purpose, fuel level and damage. For generators and machines there is "Operating hours". Everything can be adjusted afterwards, and more counters come in via "Add counter".
- Enter the current reading. The "Current reading (optional)" field takes what the odometer shows today. The first pickup is then prefilled, and the first distance is right.
- Choose how binding it is. "Optional" only collects. "Remind" flags missing entries and emails the person who booked two hours after the booking ends if the return is missing. "Enforce" also writes to the vehicle's contact person after three days. Nothing is ever blocked.
- Create the QR code. In the "QR quick entry" area, click "Create QR code", then "Download sign (PDF)".
- Put it up. Print it and stick it where people look anyway: sun visor, dashboard, key board.
For several identical vehicles, set up one and copy the fields with "Copy from resource". Create the QR code per vehicle; each one gets its own sign.
If a sign gets lost or ends up in the wrong place, "Reset code" invalidates the old code. Existing entries stay.
A day with the van
This is what a normal working day looks like:
- 07:25 A colleague booked the van from 07:30 to 16:00. She scans the sign, "Pickup" is selected, and the field shows the last reading, 48,312 km. It matches, she types her name, done.
- 15:40 She is back, scans and is offered "Return". She enters 48,401, and the form shows the distance of the trip: 89 km.
- 17:30 Another colleague needs the vehicle for a quick errand, without a booking. After the trip he scans, picks "Without booking" with the reason "Other" and enters the reading.
The logbook then lists all three entries, with name, time and the "Via QR code" marker. The pickup the next morning continues seamlessly.
Guests and members record as before
The sign does not replace any existing route, it adds one. Members still find the "Pickup" and "Return" buttons on their booking. Guests who book through your public booking page get the link in their booking email. All three routes write into the same logbook, and reminders depend on whether the entry exists, not on how it got there.
Gaps the logbook finds
Because every reading is tied to a handover, the counter carries over from booking to booking. If the next pickup is above the last return, the logbook shows the difference as "60 km without booking". That way Friday's workshop trip shows up on Monday and not at the end of the lease. Whoever adds the trip closes the gap. Per month, the logbook shows each counter's end-of-month reading and the distance; the export delivers the same as CSV or Excel.
Already have a list?
If your logbook lives in Excel or on paper today, you do not have to wait for the switch:
- The free mileage gap checker checks an existing list. Copy rows from Excel or Google Sheets and paste them, or import the file, and the check shows kilometers without an entry, overlaps and the totals per person and month. The data stays in your browser.
- If you keep going on paper until the switch, there is a free vehicle logbook template as PDF and Excel with the same columns the export uses later.
For whole fleets, see mileage tracking; for pool vehicles, see the pool vehicle logbook page.
Trying it costs nothing: no contract, no setup fee, 30 days free.