10 ways fuel cards benefit your business
Whether you run company cars, vans or HGVs, and have vehicles running on diesel, petrol, HVO, or LPG, there are many ways in which fuel cards can benefit your fleet.
Here are the top 10 ways fuel cards can help your operation, whether you are an SME or corporate business.
1. Cost Savings
Fuel is a major cost for many businesses, and fuel cards often come with discounts on fuel purchases. These are either a percentage of the overall cost (say, 10%), or a pence per litre reduction on the pump price (up to as much as 10p per litre, but usually 2-4p) at participating stations.
For HGV and commercial fleets, there could be discounts at certain bunkered sites, or through clever procurement you might choose to opt for regular fixed pricing that ensures your fleet is immune from any pump price rises during the period – usually weekly.
Alternatively, some fuel card suppliers offer a ‘pump price’ service. You simply pay the price that you see at the pump. While this leaves you open to fluctuations in fuel prices and higher charges at motorway service stations, it does offer lots of flexibility. You might save money this way just by allowing drivers to fill up at the nearest available locations.
There are many ways to save money with fuel cards, it’s a case of working out which approach is the best for you.
2. Improved Cashflow
Fuel cards can help to increase a business’ cashflow as you’re able to have full visibility of your fuel spend via online account management tools, accessible at a time and place that suits you, helping you to budget effectively.
By using a fuel card, fleet operators can consolidate fuel expenses into a single invoice, easing cashflow. And if your drivers pay for fuel themselves and get reimbursed, a fuel card will take a lot of pressure off their personal cashflow too, leading to happier employees.
3. Reduced Fraud and Misuse
Fuel cards can offer you security. They can be set up with controls to restrict purchases to fuel and vehicle-related expenses only, reducing the risk of unauthorised spending.
Often linked to specific vehicles, fuel cards also make it much harder for employees to fill up other non-business vehicles and claim the cost through their employer. Many also come with chip technology, so if the card is lost or stolen, the possibilities for its use are more restricted.
4. Simplified Administration
Buying fuel can create a blizzard of paperwork, and if you operate a pay and reclaim system the administration required to claim and validate can take a very long time in comparison to the efficiencies gained when using fuel cards in a business.
With detailed, itemised, reports on fuel usage, mileage and spend, dealing with expenses for both driver and manager becomes much easier with fuel cards, cutting down on paperwork and admin time.
5. Fuel Management
Fuel cards create consistent, actionable data, and the insights from reports can help fleet managers monitor fuel consumption trends, identify inefficiencies, optimise routes and driver behaviour.
Many fuel cards now offer online dashboards, where every piece of information is available 24/7 at your fingertips.
6. Convenience for Drivers
Drivers often have a lot on their plate during the working day, and a fuel card offers convenience. They don’t need to carry cash or personal cards, and all they need to do is use participating stations.
It’s often more convenient and safer too, because they know what to expect from reputable locations on established networks.
7. Tax and VAT Reclaims
Fuel card statements usually break down VAT, simplifying the reclaim process for businesses with HMRC-compliant invoices. It ensures nothing is missed and crucially every penny that can be is reclaimed.
8. Access to a Wide Network
Many fuel cards are accepted at a vast network of stations. For drivers out and about, often in unfamiliar locations a long way from base or home, this gives the drivers flexibility in choosing where to refuel.
Using a fuel card with a multi-branded network offers even more choice and you can have confidence that your fleet will always have somewhere to fill up.
9. Environmental Reporting
Some fuel card providers offer carbon footprint tracking, helping fleets monitor and reduce their environmental impact - a growing concern for many businesses, especially those larger ones who legally are required to report on their emissions and plans for decarbonisation.
10. Better Budgeting and Forecasting
Because of the reporting you get from fuel cards, it can give your business a clear view of fuel expenses and trends over time. This allows fleet managers to make more accurate financial forecasts and set budgets with greater confidence.
That way, fuel cards allow you to get into a virtuous circle: cheaper fuel and reporting allows you to budget better, which means you can plan to buy fuel more cheaply.
To find the right fuel card for your business, browse and compare cards here.