Checks go missing
Paper sheets get lost, filled in at the end of the week or skipped on busy mornings, so you cannot prove a vehicle was checked when it mattered.
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PreStart / Fleet pre-start checks
Daily vehicle pre-start checks and defect reporting for fleets.
Drivers check every item on their phone before they drive and are told plainly whether they can go. Faults go straight to the workshop with photos. Unsafe vehicles come off the road until they are fixed, and every check is on record.
Thank you for buying PreStart Pro. Check your email for your licence and setup guide, and GitHub for your invitation to the code. It can take a few minutes. Nothing arrived after an hour? Email Hello@redcenterstudio.com.
In short: PreStart is a daily vehicle pre-start check and defect reporting app for fleets, by Red Center Studio. Drivers mark every item Pass, Fail or N/A on their phone before they drive. Each fault goes to the workshop with its own note, severity and photos, and the driver is told plainly whether they can drive. A critical fault takes the vehicle off the road until it is fixed. It runs in your own Cloudflare account, and the Lite edition is free.
The problem
Paper checklists do not keep a fleet safe.
Faults are reported and forgotten
A note in the cab or a text to the manager is easy to miss. The same fault gets reported for weeks while nobody owns the fix.
Unsafe vehicles still go out
Without a clear rule, a vehicle with bad brakes can be taken by the next driver who did not see the warning.
How it works
Check, fix, and keep unsafe vehicles parked.
The driver checks the vehicle
On their phone, before they drive: pick the vehicle, enter the odometer and mark every item Pass, Fail or N/A, section by section. A failed item asks what is wrong, how serious it is, and takes up to 3 photos. Open faults on that vehicle are shown first, so nothing is reported twice.
The driver is told what to do
Minor fault: safe to drive, and the workshop has been told. Major fault: do not drive until a supervisor or the workshop says it is safe. Critical fault: the vehicle is off road. Each level is explained on the form, so drivers pick the right one.
The workshop fixes it
Every fault lands in one queue, critical first, as its own job with the driver's note and photos. The workshop starts work, adds notes and marks each fault fixed. A vehicle comes back into service only when no critical fault is left on it.
Live demo
Try it as a driver, the workshop or an admin.
The demo runs PreStart Pro with a sample fleet, real checks and defects. Sign in with one click, fail an item and see what the driver is told, check the forklift with its own checklist and engine hours, sign the declaration, then look at the Today board and the defect queue as the workshop. It resets every night, so change anything you like.
Options
Run it yourself, or have it set up for you.
PreStart Lite
The full check and defect workflow: Pass, Fail or N/A with photos for each fault, clear next steps for drivers, ready-made checklists, the defect queue, the off-road rule, fleet list, history and roles. Open source under the MIT licence. You run it in your own Cloudflare account, on the free plan for most small fleets.
Download free on GitHubPreStart Pro
$149 USD once for one business, no monthly fee.
Everything in Lite, plus:
- Checklists per vehicle type, so forklifts get forklift questions
- Driver declaration with typed name and finger signature
- Engine hours for forklifts and plant, and fuel level on every check
- Today board: which vehicles have been checked, and which still need chasing
- Email when a vehicle has not been checked by a set time
- Assign defects to the workshop with a fix-by date
- Instant email when a critical fault is reported
- Printable check reports and CSV export for audits and insurers
- Checks that save offline and send when signal returns
- QR code stickers, location stamps, reminders before rego and service are due
Turnkey Setup
PreStart installed in your own Cloudflare account, with your business name, vehicles, checklist and first team members set up and ready for drivers. Turnaround is within 1 to 5 days, depending on complexity and workload.
$499 USD, paid once.
Book the Turnkey Setup
Before you buy
What you get, and how it arrives.
- Price
- $149 USD, paid once through Stripe. No subscription. PreStart Lite is free and open source.
- How you get it
- When Stripe confirms your payment, your GitHub account is invited to the private repository and your licence and setup guide are emailed to you. If the invitation cannot be sent automatically, it is sent by hand, usually within one business day.
- Updates
- Your GitHub account keeps read access to the repository, including the updates we publish, while your access is active.
- What you need
- A Cloudflare account (Cloudflare has a free plan), a GitHub account, and your own domain if you want one. The setup guide walks through each step.
- Licence
- One business. You may use, change and deploy the code for your own business, or for one client you build it for. You may not share, publish or resell the code.
- Version
- Version 1.0.0, last updated 13 November 2026. A changelog is in the repository.
- Refunds
- If the app has a major problem we cannot fix, you can ask for a refund. Your rights under Australian Consumer Law apply in full. Full policies: apps sold as source code, cancellations and refunds and your rights under Australian Consumer Law.
- Setup for you
- Optional and never added unless you book it: the Turnkey Setup Sprint, $499 USD, installs it in your own account.
Compare
Pay once, keep your data, own the code.
Paid pre-start and vehicle inspection apps usually charge per vehicle or per user, every month. For 10 vehicles, published plans cost about $230 to $1,500 USD a year, every year. PreStart Pro is $149 USD once.
| PreStart Lite | PreStart Pro | Typical subscription app | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | $149 USD once | Usually per vehicle or per user, every month |
| Pass, Fail or N/A with photos for each fault | Yes | Yes | Usually |
| Tells the driver whether they can drive | Yes | Yes | Varies |
| Unsafe vehicles taken off road until fixed | Yes | Yes | Varies |
| Checklists per vehicle type | Ready-made lists | Yes | Usually |
| Signatures, engine hours and fuel | No | Yes | Usually |
| Today board and missed-check email | No | Yes | Higher plans |
| Defects assigned with fix-by dates | No | Yes | Higher plans |
| Works with no signal | No | Yes | Varies |
| Where your data lives | Your Cloudflare account | Your Cloudflare account | The vendor's servers |
| You own the code | Yes, MIT licence | Yes, for your business | No |
Frequently asked questions
What is a vehicle pre-start check?
A short safety check a driver does before using a vehicle each day: tyres, lights, brakes, mirrors, fluids, seatbelts and warning lights. Writing it down each time gives you a record that the vehicle was checked, by whom and when, and catches faults before they cause a breakdown or an accident.
How do drivers do the check in PreStart?
On their phone. They pick the vehicle, enter the odometer reading and mark each item Pass, Fail or N/A, or tap All pass. For a failed item they say what is wrong, choose how serious it is and can add up to 3 photos. Most checks take about a minute.
What is the driver told after a check?
It depends on the most serious fault. With no faults: drive safe. A minor fault: safe to drive, and the workshop has been told. A major fault, such as a missing door or a warning light: do not drive yet, tell your supervisor or the workshop, and only drive once they say it is safe. A critical fault: the vehicle is off road.
What happens when a driver finds a fault?
Each failed item becomes its own defect in the workshop queue, with the driver's note and photos. If it is critical, the vehicle is taken off the road and cannot be checked out until the workshop fixes every critical fault on it. In Pro, the workshop can assign each defect to a person with a fix-by date.
How much does PreStart cost?
The Lite edition is free and open source under the MIT licence. You run it in your own Cloudflare account, and Cloudflare's free plan covers a typical small fleet. PreStart Pro is $149 USD once for one business, with no monthly fee. Paid pre-start apps usually charge per vehicle or per user every month; based on published pricing for 10 vehicles in November 2026, that is about $230 to $1,500 USD a year. Prices vary. If you would rather not set it up yourself, the Turnkey Setup is $499 USD.
Where is our data stored?
In your own Cloudflare account: checks and defects in a Cloudflare D1 database and photos in a private Cloudflare R2 bucket. Red Center Studio does not host your copy and cannot see your data. Photos and signatures are only shown to people your settings allow.
Do I need technical skills to set it up?
Not many. The setup guide walks you through it step by step in plain language and takes about 20 minutes the first time. If you would rather not do it yourself, choose the Turnkey Setup and it is installed in your Cloudflare account, with your vehicles and checklist loaded.