Introduction
As more businesses introduce electric vehicles into their fleets, a common challenge emerges.
How do you provide charging for staff without creating unnecessary costs, administration or downtime?
That was the challenge facing Step4 in Canning Vale.
One of their employees regularly used an EV for work purposes, but relying on public charging stations was becoming expensive, time-consuming and inconvenient. At the same time, home charging raised an equally important question: how do you accurately reimburse staff for the electricity they're using at home?
Rather than simply installing a charger and walking away, ChargingWA worked closely with the team to understand how the vehicle was being used and what would work best long term.
The Challenge
Step4 needed a solution that would:
- Reduce reliance on public charging stations
- Lower charging costs
- Allow convenient charging during work hours
- Accurately reimburse home charging expenses
- Avoid unnecessary infrastructure costs
- Create a scalable solution as more EVs are introduced into the business
The company had already spoken with other providers, with proposals exceeding $4,000 and offering only a workplace charger without addressing the broader charging requirements of the employee.
The Solution
After conducting a site visit and discussing how the vehicle was being used, ChargingWA proposed a two-part charging solution.
Workplace Charging
A simple and cost-effective EV charger was installed at the Step4 office in Canning Vale.
Because the business did not require advanced monitoring or reporting at the workplace, a straightforward charger provided the most practical and economical solution.
Home Charging Reimbursement
The second part of the solution addressed a problem many businesses overlook.
ChargingWA supplied a software-enabled portable EV charger that could be used at the employee's home. The charger includes:
- Built-in SIM card connectivity
- Exploren software integration
- RFID user authentication
- Automatic charging session recording
- Remote usage reporting
Every charging session is automatically logged, including:
- Start and finish times
- Energy consumed
- User identification
- Charging history
This allows the business to generate accurate reports and reimburse the employee for electricity used at home without guesswork or manual calculations.
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Why This Solution Worked
As Michael often explains, EV charging isn't just about installing hardware.
It's about understanding how people actually use their vehicles and designing a solution around that.
In this case, the employee only spent a limited amount of time at the office each week. A workplace charger alone wouldn't have solved the problem.
By combining office charging with a smart portable charger, Step4 gained a flexible system that works wherever the vehicle is parked.
If the employee moves house, the charger moves with them.
If another staff member takes over the vehicle, the charger simply transfers across.
No additional infrastructure. No unnecessary complexity.
The Outcome
The final solution delivered:
- Lower installation costs
- Reduced public charging expenses
- Convenient charging at work and home
- Accurate reimbursement reporting
- Greater flexibility for staff
- A scalable platform for future EV adoption
For Step4, the result wasn't just an EV charger. It was a practical charging strategy that made electric vehicle ownership easier for both the business and the employee.