Control costs with Cooper Connect

Turn data into cost savings

5 ways to cut equipment costs and make smarter jobsite decisions with Cooper Connect

On most jobsites, equipment decisions happen fast and get revisited later. Over time, idle equipment racks up rental costs, invoices pile up, and crews waste time tracking down missing machines. Even with connected equipment, information gets scattered across busy jobsites, eating away at budgets.  

You likely already have a telematics tracking location, usage, and machine health. But with better visibility, you can use this information to guide rental decisions, reduce downtime, and protect budgets. 

Cooper Connect, our online equipment management platform, helps teams spot waste sooner. By defining clear cost-savings goals you can tailor reports to focus on key expense drivers, all while accessing real-time rental rates. Small changes that deliver measurable results – without a major upfront investment.  

Here’s a few new features of Cooper Connect that can directly support cost control and margin protection:  

1. Identify underutilized equipment sooner 

This new feature helps you quickly identify equipment that’s not working hard enough. Automatic alerts are sent for assets with five hours or less of use over the past eight days, providing a clear view of where money may be tied up in idle machines.  

With GPS tracking you can instantly see which equipment is underutilized and where it’s located – eliminating guesswork and time spent tracking assets across your jobsite.  

Armed with this information, you can move, redeploy, or off-rent idle equipment with a click of a button instead of paying for machines you don’t need.  

2. Track rental rates for full financial transparency  

Rental rates directly impact project margins. Cooper Connect provides real-time access to asset-specific rate calendars, helping you monitor daily, weekly and monthly equipment spend. And because alerts are sent before rate changes or new billing cycles you can easily control rental costs and avoid surprise charges or mid-project rate increases.  

And if you’re looking to make or update an existing reservation, the real-time rate calendar can help you take advantage of the best days, times, and length of rentals.  

3. Guide budget decisions with customized reporting 

Manual reporting takes time and increases risks of costly errors. Cooper Connect simplifies the process with customizable reports to help you control costs.  

An open contract dashboard provides visibility into contracts with bad PO’s, assets with low utilization, or equipment due for service. Reports can be tailored by project, cost code, job number, or equipment type – so you see exactly what matters most.  

By comparing year-on-year spend and reviewing open and closed rental contracts in one place, it’s easier to spot savings opportunities and adjust budgets.  

4. A self-serve platform to eliminate extra charges 

Time spent chasing orders, extensions, or invoices often turns into extra rental days and unnecessary admin costs. A self-service platform puts control back in your hands.  

Off-rents done person-to-person or over the phone can often leave room for miscommunication and billing disputes. By creating a solid digital paper trail for equipment status updates and gear requests, you can reduce the back-and-forth that comes with invoices. This means less time spent sorting out credits and discrepancies and more time focused on projects.  

With the Cooper Connect dashboard, you can also manage bookings, extend rentals, request maintenance, order pick-ups, and review invoices. Set automated alerts for bad PO numbers and overdue equipment to prevent billing issues, reduce paperwork, late fees, and unplanned rental extensions – small savings that add up quickly. 

You can also access compliance information, inspections, and safety check documentation for equipment on rent, providing confidence that equipment is job-ready, while simplifying auditing and safety reviews.  

5. Accurate job costing and bidding  

Accurate job costing starts with understanding what actually happened on past projects. By analyzing historical data like equipment usage and machine hours, you can build bids on real-world conditions, rather than assumptions.  

Better planning can help identify profitable projects. And with a deeper understanding of how equipment was used on previous jobs, you can forecast future costs more accurately and avoid budget overruns.  

Make every decision count  

Running a more cost-effective jobsite starts with the right tools, and the right rental partner. At Cooper, we can educate your team so everyone understands how to use data to get more value from every machine on site.  

Whether you’re managing one asset or a hundred, Cooper Connect gives you the visibility to track what matters, turning insights into real, measurable savings.  

Your rental partner can help turn insights into real financial results. Talk to our team about how Cooper Connect can support your business.