Quick Start Guide
Get oriented with Motrix Cloud in 5 minutes. This guide walks you through the key features using the Motrix app.
1. Log In
Sign up for a free 60-day trial at app.motrix.io/trial, or ask your Fleet Manager for an email invitation to join an existing company.
Open the Motrix app
Open app.motrix.io in your browser. Motrix works on any modern browser — desktop or mobile.
Enter your credentials
Use the email and password you created during trial signup, or the credentials from your invitation email. If you have not received access, contact your Fleet Manager or reach out to support@motrix.io.
You're in
After login you land on the Dashboard. If your account belongs to more than one company, Motrix prompts you to select the active company first.
2. Understand the Dashboard
The Dashboard is your command center. Every number is live — calculated from your actual fleet data, not sample content.
Fleet Health Score
The large score at the top of the dashboard is a composite 0–100 index that rolls up four signals: maintenance compliance, fuel efficiency, vehicle uptime, and cost control. The score is color-coded so you can read fleet status at a glance.
| Score Range | Color | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 80–100 | Green | Excellent — fleet is well-maintained and cost-efficient |
| 60–79 | Blue | Good — minor issues warrant attention |
| 40–59 | Yellow | Fair — multiple maintenance or cost issues present |
| 0–39 | Red | Poor — immediate action required |
Key Metrics
Six metric cards sit below the health score, each showing a live fleet KPI:
- Active Vehicles — Count of vehicles currently in service
- 30-Day Costs — Total maintenance and fuel spend over the past 30 days
- Fleet Utilization — Percentage of fleet hours in active use versus available hours
- Cost Per Mile — Rolling average across all vehicles, including fuel and maintenance
- Downtime — Hours lost to out-of-service vehicles this month
- Avg Repair Time — Mean hours from work order open to completed
The six Key Metrics cards are read-only at-a-glance figures. The five Operational Status cards below them — Inspections, Active Drivers, License Alerts, Unassigned Vehicles, and Open Work Orders — are clickable and navigate directly to the relevant section.
Critical Alerts
The Alerts panel below the metrics surfaces the issues that need immediate action. A red indicator means one or more vehicles require attention — expired licenses, overdue maintenance, failed inspections, expiring warranties, or low/out-of-stock parts. A green indicator means all clear. Click any alert row to navigate directly to the affected record.
Upcoming Services
The service widget lists vehicles approaching their next scheduled maintenance interval, sorted by urgency. Each row is color-coded: red for overdue, orange for critical (within days or miles), and yellow for due soon. This section mirrors the full Service Planner — it's a quick summary, not a replacement.
3. Browse Your Fleet
Navigate to Fleet > Vehicles using the Fleet dropdown in the top navigation bar.
The vehicle list displays every unit in your fleet with key details visible at a glance: the vehicle (with photo thumbnail), year, status badge (Active, Inactive, Out of Service, or Sold), current mileage, and license plate. Use the search bar to filter by make, model, or VIN, or sort by year, mileage, or status.
Vehicle Detail Page
Click any vehicle row to open its full detail page. This is the single source of truth for that unit. You'll find:
- Hero Section & Quick Stats — Vehicle photo, year/make/model, and VIN up top, with current mileage, status badge, and license plate at a glance
- Vehicle Details Card — VIN, license plate, color, fuel type, fleet number, purchase date, and purchase price
- OEM Warranty Banner — A color-coded banner shows warranty status at a glance: green means the OEM warranty is active, yellow means it expires within 60 days, and red means it has expired or the mileage limit has been exceeded. The warranty provider, type (bumper-to-bumper, powertrain, extended, etc.), expiration date, and remaining mileage are shown alongside the banner
- Installed Components — Major components (engine, transmission, wheelchair lift, A/C, etc.) each have their own warranty record with expiration dates, listed with current warranty status
- Insurance & Registration — Insurance policy number, provider, and expiration date, plus registration expiration
- Compliance Tracking — DOT inspection expiration, ADA compliance status, and last inspection date
- Print Button — Generate a paper vehicle profile for file folders and audits
4. Check the Service Planner
Navigate to Service > Service Planner. This is the operational maintenance view — it shows every vehicle that has an upcoming or overdue service interval, so nothing falls through the cracks.
Summary Cards
Four cards at the top of the Service Planner give you an instant status count:
- Overdue (red) — Services that have already passed their due date or mileage threshold
- Critical (orange) — Services due within 3 days or with fewer than 100 miles remaining (fixed window)
- Due Soon (yellow) — Services approaching within the configurable threshold (default: 10 days or 500 miles)
- Total Items — All service items currently tracked across the fleet
Service Rows
Each row represents one service item for one vehicle. The left border color matches urgency: red for overdue, orange for critical, yellow for due soon. Columns show the status, vehicle (with current mileage), service type, next service date, next service mileage (with miles remaining), urgency, and actions.
Three actions are available on every row:
- View Details — Opens the maintenance record or service template detail
- Edit — Update the service interval or record new completion data
- Create Work Order — Instantly generates a work order pre-populated with the service details and vehicle info
Alert thresholds are configurable per company. Two settings exist: Days Before Service (default: 10) and Miles Before Service (default: 500). Fleet Managers can adjust these thresholds under User Menu > Alert Settings.
5. File a DVIR Inspection
The Driver Vehicle Inspection Report (DVIR) workflow is the core DOT compliance feature in Motrix. Filed inspections are permanent and immutable — they cannot be edited or deleted after submission, which is required for DOT recordkeeping compliance.
Inspections can be filed by users with inspections.file permission — typically Fleet Managers, Department Managers, and Drivers. Dispatcher and Shop Manager roles usually have inspection visibility only unless permissions are customized by your Fleet Manager. Drivers see a simplified navigation with Dashboard, Inspections, My Trips, and My Runs.
Filing an Inspection
Start a new inspection
Navigate to Service > Inspections (or click the standalone Inspections link if you have the Driver role). Click + New Inspection.
Select vehicle, driver, and template
Choose the vehicle being inspected, the driver conducting the inspection, and the inspection template. Templates define the checklist items — typical options include DOT Pre-Trip and DOT Post-Trip. Fleet Managers can create custom templates under Service > Inspections > Manage Templates.
Work through the checklist
Each checklist item is answered as Pass (green) or Defect (red). Common items include brakes, lights, tires, mirrors, wheelchair lift, fire extinguisher, and emergency exits. Tap or click the appropriate status for each item.
Document any defects
When you mark an item as Defect, a severity selector, notes field, and photo capture panel appear. Select Minor (vehicle can continue operating) or Major (vehicle must be taken out of service immediately). A color-coded warning banner confirms your selection. Add a written description of the defect. On mobile, the Take Photo button opens your device's rear camera directly — no app required. You can attach up to 5 photos per defect item. Photos are compressed automatically to minimize data usage. On desktop, you can upload photos from your device instead.
Sign and submit
At the bottom of the checklist, tap the Tap to sign button to open a fullscreen signature pad, then draw your signature with your finger (mobile) or mouse (desktop). Tap Done to save it, Clear to start over, or Cancel to dismiss. A drawn signature is required — the form will not submit without one. Enter your printed name for legibility, review all items, then click Submit Inspection. The report is saved immediately and cannot be modified after submission.
What Happens After Filing
What happens next depends on the severity of defects found:
Minor defects only: The vehicle remains Active and the driver can continue their route. A work order is created at Normal priority so the repair can be scheduled.
Major defects: The vehicle is immediately marked Out of Service and cannot be dispatched. A work order is created at High priority. The vehicle is returned to service only after all work orders are completed.
If all items pass, the vehicle inspection is recorded as satisfactory and no work order is generated. The inspection remains on record and is visible on the vehicle detail page.
Filed inspections cannot be edited or deleted after submission — this is required for DOT compliance. Review all defects and confirm all photos are attached before clicking Submit. If you make an error, contact your Fleet Manager who can note the correction in the associated work order.
6. Review Work Orders
Navigate to Service > Work Orders to see all open and historical service tickets for your fleet.
Auto-Created from Failed DVIRs
When a DVIR inspection is filed with defects, Motrix automatically creates a work order. The work order is pre-populated with the vehicle information, all defect line items, and any photos the driver attached during inspection. The priority is set automatically based on severity: Normal for minor defects, High for major defects. No manual data entry is needed to get a repair ticket started.
Defect photos from the DVIR are automatically copied to the work order so mechanics see exactly what the driver reported — including close-up photos of damaged components, warning lights, or fluid leaks.
Work Order Lifecycle
Each work order moves through four statuses:
- Open — Repair is pending assignment or awaiting parts
- In Progress — A technician is actively working on the vehicle
- Completed — Repair is finished; vehicle cleared to return to service
- Cancelled — Ticket was cancelled; the work will not be performed
Cost Tracking
Work orders track the full cost of a repair. As the job progresses, you can log labor hours, parts costs, and the vendor or technician responsible for the work. Completed work order costs roll up into fleet-wide cost reporting and cost-per-mile calculations visible on the Dashboard.
Manual Work Orders
Not all work orders come from failed DVIRs. Users with the work-orders.manage permission — Fleet Managers and Shop Managers — can create work orders manually from the Work Orders list or directly from the Service Planner. Manual work orders follow the same lifecycle and cost tracking as auto-generated ones.
7. Quick Log
The green (+) button in the top-right corner of the navigation bar opens the Quick Log panel. This is a shortcut for the two most common data-entry tasks: logging a fuel purchase and logging a maintenance record.
Quick Log is permission-gated: it appears for users with the fuel.manage or service.manage permission, which means Fleet Managers and Department Managers see it. Driver accounts do not see the Quick Log button.
Fuel Tab
Select the vehicle, enter the gallons purchased, total cost, odometer reading, and purchase date. Motrix automatically calculates the price per gallon and the MPG for that fill-up.
Maintenance Tab
Select the vehicle, service type, cost, current mileage, and service date. The record is saved immediately and appears in the vehicle's maintenance records.
Quick Log is designed for field use — add a fuel ticket or log a road-call repair without navigating away from whatever screen you were on.
What's Next?
You've seen the core of Motrix Cloud. Here's where to go from here depending on your role:
For Fleet Managers
The Admin Guide covers everything needed to configure and manage Motrix for your organization: setting up your company profile, inviting users and assigning roles, creating inspection templates, configuring maintenance intervals, setting alert thresholds, and managing vendor lists.
For Drivers
The Driver Guide covers the mobile workflows in detail: how to file Pre-Trip and Post-Trip DVIRs, capture and attach defect photos, work your assigned trips in My Trips and My Runs, and interpret your inspection history.
Dispatch & Trips
If your agency schedules paratransit trips, the Dispatch module covers trip creation, the Trip Board, and recurring riders with Clients & Runs.
PM Inspections
Technician-driven preventive maintenance inspections with cascading A/B/C levels and measurement fields are covered in the Admin Guide.
Importing Your Data
Moving from spreadsheets? Vehicle, driver, and fuel CSV imports with downloadable templates are covered in Data Import & Export.
Full Feature Reference
The Documentation Home links to guides covering every module: vehicle lifecycle management, dispatch and trips, clients and runs, auto shop management, CSV import and export, PM inspections, scheduled email reports, and FTA audit preparation.
Questions?
Contact your Fleet Manager if you have questions about your account, role access, or company data. For product questions or support requests, reach us at support@motrix.io or visit the Support page.