# GPS Proof of Service for Snow Removal: What a Contractor Can Show the Client GPS proof of service gives a snow removal contractor a timestamped record of each site visit: arrival, time on site, route, and blade or spreader status. Source: https://www.highpointgps.com/resources/snow-removal-gps-proof-of-service By Max Karnaukh, VP of Sales, published 2026-10-14, updated 2026-10-14 ## What Is GPS Proof of Service in Snow Removal? GPS proof of service is the timestamped record a GPS tracking device keeps of every visit a plow truck makes: when it arrived at a site, how long it stayed, the route it took and, where the truck is wired for it, when the blade was down and the spreader was on. A snow removal contractor sends that record with the invoice, or pulls it out when a client, a property manager or a municipality questions a visit. Snow work is done at night, in bad weather, often before the client arrives. By morning the evidence is gone under fresh snow or tire tracks. A GPS record does not depend on anyone's memory of a long storm, and it was written by the truck at the time of the visit, not prepared afterwards. ## What Does a GPS Record Show, and What Doesn't It Show? Time on site. A geofence drawn around each lot or driveway records the truck's arrival and departure for every visit. The report lists each site, each visit and the minutes spent there, per storm. The route. The track between sites shows the order of the run and when each site was reached, which answers "you came to us last" with the actual sequence. Blade and spreader status, where wired. Geotab's IOX-AUXM module reads on/off signals from the truck's circuits (four inputs per module, eight with two) on GO7 and newer devices, so each point on the track can carry blade-down or spreader-on status. For trucks with spreader controllers, Geotab's IOX-WRKS reads plow position and road and air temperature and works with more than 20 material spreader models; Geotab lists it for GO9 and GO9+ devices. What GPS cannot show is the condition of the surface. Toronto's Winter Maintenance Review (July 2025) puts the limit plainly: the City's system logs whether a plow or salter has driven a route and uses that as a proxy for completion, and it was not designed to measure final conditions on the ground. A record proves the truck was there with the blade down; a dated photo from the operator shows what the lot looked like when the truck left. Contractors who need both use both. ## How Does a GPS Record Answer Disputes With Clients? "The lot wasn't done before we opened." The geofence shows the arrival and departure times for that morning. If the truck left before opening, the record says so; if it arrived late, you know before the client calls again. "You billed us for three visits." Each visit is its own line in the report, with its own times and blade status, so the invoice and the record match line for line. "Your truck never salted." With the spreader input wired, the record shows spreader-on time at the site. Without it, the record only shows the truck was there. A slip-and-fall claim months after the storm. The record for that date and that site is still in the platform, with arrival, departure and equipment status. It does not decide the claim. It gives your insurer and your lawyer dated facts in place of a reconstruction from memory. ## What Do Municipalities Look at When You Plow for Them? Municipal work raises the bar, because the city is often measuring contractors with its own data. Toronto runs performance-based winter contracts across 11 zones, and its Winter Maintenance Review describes GPS and automatic vehicle location as the tool the City uses to track whether routes were driven, while noting that patroller work orders and reports were not linked to that GPS data on the map. In Montreal, the City publishes snow removal contracts and transactions as open data, updated weekly. The transactions come from the snow disposal sites: trucks entering a site transmit the data captured at the snowblower to the site's gatehouse, and each transaction is tied to a contract and a snow removal sector. Public plow maps add another reason. St. Catharines, Ontario, says contractor vehicles do not appear on its Where's My Plow? map because they are not yet GPS-enabled, and are expected to join in a later phase. A contractor whose trucks already report GPS, with blade inputs, can supply that data when a city asks for it. Read each tender for its GPS or AVL requirements: what data, in what format, how the city gets access and for how long. ## What Should You Look For in Snow Removal GPS Software? Geofences per site, drawn to the lot you are paid to clear, with a per-visit report you can export and send with the invoice. Blade and spreader inputs wired on the trucks that need them. On a GO10, the device connects at the OBD-II (or 9-pin) port through a T-harness with no wires cut, or through a 3-wire kit where there is no port; the auxiliary inputs are wired to the plow and spreader circuits. A fleet can install itself, but we always recommend a professional installer, and the input wiring is the part to leave to one. Records kept long enough for claims that arrive after the season, and a simple way to find one site on one date. Coverage for the whole operation: pickups with plows, dump trucks with spreaders, and loaders on the big lots. A way to share data with a municipal client if the contract requires it, such as a read-only link or an API feed. Maintenance by engine hours, since plow trucks idle for hours through a storm. FleetZap, our own maintenance software, schedules preventive maintenance by engine hours or km. ## How Does High Point GPS Set Up Proof of Service? High Point GPS is a Montreal fleet telematics company and Geotab partner, founded in 2013, and works with over 500 fleets across Canada and the United States, in English and French. For snow removal contractors, we draw the geofences from your site list, wire the blade and spreader inputs, and build the proof-of-service report around your contracts: per site, per visit, per storm. Our professional installers work across North America, including Montreal, and our 3-year plans include free equipment, with custom plans and bundles. The snow removal page covers the full winter setup, from the route map to salt use. ## FAQ ### What counts as GPS proof of service for snow removal? A timestamped record from the GPS tracking device on the plow truck: arrival and departure at each site from a geofence, time on site, the route between sites and, where wired, blade-down and spreader-on status. The contractor sends it with the invoice or uses it when a client or municipality questions a visit. It shows the truck did the work, not the final surface condition. ### Can GPS show that the plow blade was down? Yes, if the truck is wired for it. Geotab's IOX-AUXM module reads on/off signals from the truck's circuits, four per module and eight with two, so the blade and spreader circuits can each report their state. Every point on the track then carries that status. Without the inputs, GPS only shows that the truck drove through the site. ### Does a GPS record prove a lot was safe? No. A GPS record proves when the truck was at the site, for how long, and whether the blade and spreader were on. It cannot measure the surface. Toronto's Winter Maintenance Review notes that route data is a proxy for completion, not a measure of conditions. Pair the record with a dated photo of the finished lot when a contract or a claim needs both. ### What should snow removal software include? Snow removal software should include a geofence for each site, a per-visit report you can send with the invoice, and blade and spreader inputs on the trucks that need them. It should also keep records long enough for claims that arrive after the season, cover pickups, dump trucks and loaders, and let you share data with a municipal client when a contract asks. ### Do municipalities require GPS on contractor plows? It depends on the contract, so read each tender. Toronto uses GPS and automatic vehicle location to track whether winter routes were driven, and St. Catharines plans to add contractor vehicles to its public plow map once they are GPS-enabled. A contractor whose trucks already report GPS with blade inputs is ready when a city asks for the data. ## Sources - [Geotab Support: IOX-AUXM](https://support.geotab.com/ioxs/doc/iox-auxm) - [Geotab Support: IOX-WRKS](https://support.geotab.com/ioxs/doc/iox-wrks) - [City of Toronto: Winter Maintenance Review, Executive Committee, July 16, 2025](https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2025/ex/bgrd/backgroundfile-257477.pdf) - [Montreal open data: Contrats et transactions de déneigement](https://donnees.montreal.ca/dataset/contrats-transaction-deneigement) - [City of St. Catharines: Where's My Plow?](https://www.stcatharines.ca/roads-parking-and-traffic/snow-removal/wheres-my-plow/) - [FleetZap: asset maintenance software](https://fleetzap.com)