Hardware: the tracker and who owns it
Ask which tracker brand and protocol the system uses, and whether the device is sold to you or only rented with the service. The practical test is switching: if you change vendor in two years, can the trackers you paid for be pointed at another platform, or are they locked to one? Common brands and documented protocols keep that option open. The page on compatible Teltonika trackers shows what an open hardware approach looks like.
Data: what is really decoded for your vehicles
A tracker can read a lot from the vehicle bus, but a platform shows only what it decodes for your specific models. Ask for a list per model: fuel level, odometer, engine hours, rpm, doors, tachograph activity. Some vehicles do not publish fuel on the CAN bus at all, so a careful vendor checks the model before devices are ordered.
Then check the basics: how often the position updates while the vehicle moves, how long history is kept, and whether you can export data as PDF, Excel or through an API. Reports that cannot leave the system are of limited use to an accountant or an auditor.
Tachograph and fuel
For the tachograph, ask whether driver-card and vehicle-unit files are downloaded remotely, how the company card is handled, and whether files are archived per driver and per vehicle. EU rules give a useful yardstick: the maximum download period is 28 days for driver-card data and 90 days for vehicle-unit data (Regulation 581/2010), and downloaded data must be kept for at least 12 months (Regulation 561/2006, Art. 10(5)). Which rules apply to your operations in Moldova is a question for the competent national authority. See how remote tachograph download works in practice.
For fuel, ask how refuels and drops are detected. A gauge moves when a truck brakes or climbs a hill, so a system that alerts on every dip produces false alarms that dispatchers soon ignore. Ask how sloshing is filtered and whether a drop is checked against the fuel the engine actually burned. More on this on the fuel monitoring page.
Alerts, apps, contract and support
These points decide how the system feels day to day, and they are easy to forget while comparing features.
- Alerts: which events (speeding, geofences, ignition, idling, SOS, temperature) and through which channels (dashboard, mobile app, email).
- Apps and languages: iOS and Android apps, and an interface in Romanian and Russian for dispatchers and drivers.
- Price: is the price per vehicle per month published, what does it include, and is annual billing cheaper?
- Contract and installation: contract length, notice period, who installs the devices, and whether a trial or demo exists.
- Support: a local team that answers in your language, and how you reach it.
- Access and security: who can see which vehicles, and how quickly a former employee's access can be removed.
Printable checklist: criterion, question, why it matters
Print this table and fill in one column per vendor.
| Criterion | Question to ask the vendor | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Tracker brand and protocol | Which devices and protocols do you support? | Common brands are easier to service and replace. |
| Device ownership | Do I buy the trackers or rent them? | Determines what you own after the contract. |
| Switching vendor | Can I keep my trackers if I leave? | Avoids paying for hardware twice. |
| Decoded data | Which parameters do you decode for my exact models? | Not every vehicle publishes every value. |
| Update interval and history | How often is position stored, and for how long? | Sets how detailed a past trip can be reviewed. |
| Export | Can I export PDF, Excel or use an API? | Reports must reach accounting and customers. |
| Tachograph | Remote download? How is the company card handled? Where are files archived? | Files must be downloaded in time and kept. |
| Fuel | How are refuels and drops detected, and how are false alarms avoided? | Too many false alarms make the alerts useless. |
| Alerts and apps | Which alerts, which channels, which apps and languages? | Drivers and dispatchers must be able to use it. |
| Price | What is the price per vehicle per month, in writing? | Hidden extras change the real cost. |
| Contract and installation | Contract length, notice period, who installs, is there a trial? | Defines your exit and your risk. |
| Support and security | Who answers, in which language, and how are user roles set? | Problems happen on Monday morning. |
How to run a fair trial
Pick two or three real vehicles that differ from each other, for example a truck with a digital tachograph, a van and a car. Run every candidate system over the same period, then compare the results against facts you already know.
- Odometer: compare the kilometres in the report with the dashboard odometer at the start and at the end.
- Fuel: compare detected refuels with fuel-card transactions for the same vehicle, time and litres.
- Trips and stops: compare the trip and stop list with what the dispatcher knows about that day.
- Alerts: trigger one on purpose, such as entering a geofence or idling with the engine on, and note how fast and where the alert arrives.
- Export: download a report in the format your accountant uses.
- Support: ask one real question and note how long a useful answer takes.
How Tafi GPS answers these questions
Tafi GPS works with Teltonika trackers (Codec 8 and Codec 8 Extended). Compatible trackers you already own can be pointed at the platform, so there is no hardware lock-in; Tafi Solutions also supplies Teltonika trackers on request. Position is updated about every 10 seconds while the vehicle moves. Full decoding exists for the truck family FMB640 / FMC650 / FMM650 (CAN/FMS data, tachograph) and for the light-vehicle family FMB150 / FMC150 / FMM150 / FMC250 / FMM250, which read fuel level, odometer, rpm, engine hours and doors on supported cars.
For the tachograph, an FMB640, FMC650 or FMM650 connected to it lets you download driver-card and vehicle-unit .ddd files over the mobile network. The company card stays in the office, in a reader on a Windows PC running the free Tafi Card Authenticator, and files are archived per driver and per vehicle. For fuel, refuels are detected with time and place; drops are evaluated only across a stop, using medians and a cross-check with the engine's fuel-used counter, and a fuel drop alert rule with a litres threshold notifies the office. Alerts reach the dashboard, the mobile app and email, reports can be scheduled as PDF or Excel, and the interface is available in Romanian, Russian and English on web, iOS and Android.
Prices are visible on the pricing page: Starter from €9, Professional from €16 per vehicle per month, Enterprise on request, with cheaper annual billing. For contract terms, installation and history length, ask us directly. You can try a sample fleet in the free 7-day demo, or contact us at +373 69 130 410 to test on your own vehicles.