Electric vehicle adoption is accelerating across Europe, with public and private organisations racing to build accessible and profitable charging infrastructure. At the centre of this shift are Charge Point Operators (CPOs), tasked with keeping charging stations online, drivers happy and their infrastructure profitable.
Common challenges faced by Charge Point Operators
Not all Charge Point Operators (CPOs) are the same; some focus entirely on EV charging as a core business, while others are businesses offering charging as a service alongside retail, hospitality or mobility operations. But whether you’re scaling a nationwide network or managing a handful of stations, the day-to-day challenges can be surprisingly similar.
Below are the most common EV charging management challenges, along with how the right software can help businesses solve them efficiently.
Inefficient station management
Lots of CPOs manage a mix of charging stations from different manufacturers, with limited visibility and control across these scattered charge points. Without a single interface that can speak to all of the hardware at once, even routine tasks such as performing remote diagnostics or firmware updates can be time-consuming and prone to errors.
Monetising charging infrastructure
Smart pricing is one of the most effective ways to improve the profitability of your charge points. However, the systems that many CPOs rely on lack the flexibility to apply usage-based tariffs, such as time-of-use pricing, power-based pricing, or customer-specific discounts. Without the right tools, pricing updates require manual intervention and valuable revenue opportunities are lost due to poor visibility into how charge points are being used.
Access and user control
Insecure or inflexible access systems, such as RFID-only authentication, make charging a hassle for EV drivers in a rush and headaches for CPOs. On top of that, managing different user groups (like fleet drivers, tenants or public users) often requires separate tools or contracts unless you opt for a comprehensive piece of EV charging management software.
Billing and payment integrations
CPOs frequently deal with delayed invoicing, limited payment options or unreliable roaming support. Without correctly implemented backend integrations, even tasks such as issuing receipts or reimbursing fleet drivers become overly stressful.
Scalability and interoperability issues
Charging networks don’t stand still. As CPOs expand across sites or upgrade hardware, platforms that are too rigid or manufacturer-dependent quickly become a liability for businesses seeking to boost revenue. Without support for open standards like OCPP and OCPI, operators risk losing roaming capabilities or facing expensive infrastructure overhauls just to stay compatible and compliant.
Poor driver experience and limited support
If public drivers can’t clearly see what it costs to charge, easily start a session or quickly get help when things go wrong, they won’t come back. Downtime, clunky interfaces and slow support won’t do anything good for your brand. A lack of real-time alerts or driver-facing tools also means issues go unreported or unresolved for longer, increasing pressure on support teams and lowering charging session success rates.
How EV charging management software solves these challenges
From reducing support tickets to unlocking new revenue, EV charging management software helps Charge Point Operators overcome the everyday problems that slow them down. The best platforms bring network management, access control, billing and driver experience into one place. Businesses can also keep their existing charging stations and avoid sunk costs.
Here’s how CPOs can benefit from the key capabilities of a good piece of software.
Centralised station control
Managing stations from different manufacturers often means switching between tools and losing time on manual updates. With one platform, operators can configure, monitor and maintain stations across all locations in less time, using fewer resources.
Flexible tariffs and real-time pricing
When pricing is fixed or difficult to update, revenue opportunities are missed. With the right software, operators can set prices by location, time or user group. This flexibility supports both monetisation and fairness for different users.
Smoother user access
Managing different users like fleet drivers, residents or the public often involves separate systems and manual approvals. Comprehensive EV charging management software makes it easier to control who can access which stations and how. Operators can offer access through apps, QR codes, RFID or APIs, all from a single platform.
Straightforward billing and payments
Manual invoicing, delayed reimbursements and roaming confusion can cause unnecessary friction and lead to lost revenue. The right software (and the right tools) automate these steps. Drivers are billed accurately; reimbursements are processed on time and public payments work as expected.
Preparing for new requirements
Vendor lock-in makes it hard to scale or adjust to new regulations. By supporting open standards like OCPP and OCPI, the right EV charging software gives operators more freedom. It also guarantees hardware and roaming compatibility across networks, so before committing to a new software provider, it’s best to ask the right questions early on.
Better service and fewer overhead costs
When faults go unnoticed, drivers lose confidence and support costs rise. EV charging software can identify and diagnose issues in real time, support remote fixes and provide data insights. With the right help, operators can identify underused stations, monitor charging trends and act sooner to get things up and running again.
“CPOs want to keep stations running, make charging easier for drivers and spend less time on admin. Good EV charging management software should support all of that, particularly for businesses where EV charging isn’t the main focus. When more operators can offer reliable, accessible charging, it becomes easier to grow networks, improve profitability and enhance the reputation of electric mobility.”
Russell Olive, UK Director of Business Development at vaylens
Trust vaylens to meet CPO challenges
Running EV charging infrastructure can be straightforward, but it won’t be for a lot of businesses without the right tools or knowledge. vaylens is the EV charging management software built for CPOs juggling networks of all sizes, as well as those focusing on other offerings entirely. Our platform supports the work behind every charging session, from setup and diagnostics to billing and access control for specific driver groups.
Take on your EV charging challenges armed with the best tools and knowledge. Connect with one of our specialists today.
FAQs
Charging management software is designed to manage and operate electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, which includes monitoring, managing, and maintaining stations, as well as their users and billing processes.
Our dashboard makes it easy to monitor charging activity, energy consumption and availability across all workplace chargers.
vaylens measures your charging management using various metrics, including the number of charging points working optimally, and hardware failure rates compared to market standards.