Is switching to fuel card beneficial to my business?

Introduction

Whatever your business or background, and irrespective of your fleet, switching to a fuel card saves effort, time, and money to allow you to focus on your core business.

Fuel cards make paying for fuel easy and it allows you to monitor expenses risk-freely. They are beneficial to business managers, owners, and even drivers, making them the most ideal payment solution for any business. In this article, we explain why switching to fuel cards is the best way to lower your transport expenses.

Improved Efficiency for your Fleet

The use of a fuel card not only simplifies the process of refueling but also makes it faster and easier for your drivers. This avoids time wastage and your drivers are back at work as soon as possible.

When used alongside other innovative tools like telematics, fuel cards can increase the efficiency of your fleet significantly.

Account management software

One thing you should prioritize when choosing a fuel card is to look for one that has online management software. With this functionality, you can access your account through your phone or computer, and enables you to see all your transactions in real-time. Also, it has more advanced teachers to help you curb your fuel expenditures. The tool also enables you to view your activity from anywhere you may be. More importantly, it gives you a pile of actionable data right at the tip of your fingers.

You can see the vehicles giving you poor MPG, or singling out the drivers spending more on fuel than necessary. This knowledge enables you to take further action aimed at rectifying any inefficiency.

Service station locators

With fuel cards, locating the nearest station that accepts your card will be easy as ABC. That’s because many cards are fitted with mapping and locator tools to help you identify the closest fuel station. You can download this app to any Android, smartphone, or iOS device. Since it allows you to choose the start and endpoints of a journey, it highlights all suitable fuel stations between these two locations. Additionally, it also shows the traffic congestion levels in real-time.

It even allows you to search for 24-hour stations, HGV sites, Adblue services, and shops, as well as the directions for getting there. With this tool, you don’t have to make long trips to refuel, and it also maximizes efficiency, something that saves you money in the long run.

Improved Cash Flow

Businesses often use cash to pay for their day-to-day expenses. However, this can cause problems with cash flow when you don’t receive payment until you deliver a service or complete a project. This hampers the ability of a business to purchase supplies or businesses necessities like fuel.

Fuel cards do away with this pressure by breaking down the cost of fuel per month into smaller and more manageable bills. Most fuel card providers give you 7-14 days credit payments, which allow you some breathing space in terms of cash flow.

Extra Security

Carrying large piles of cash to pay for fuel puts drivers at the risk of attacks by criminals along long-distance journeys. Switching to the use of fuel cards considerably reduces this risk.

But this doesn’t rule out the problem of internal fuel theft, where employees even refuel their personal vehicles using company credit cards or cash. Fuel cards are protected by a PIN and can be linked to specific drivers and vehicles. Also, it enables you to see when and where the drivers used the cards through the account management app.

Also, you can view the transactions on a map, which gives you greater visibility. And with fleet management software, it’s possible to set alerts anytime a driver fuels outside certain parameters. Fleet managers and business owners can detect suspicious activities or unusual transactions immediately. Also, you can cancel stolen or lost cards immediately, something that gives you more control and security over your fuel expenditure.

More convenient

Fuel cards are convenient for all the parties involved- the drivers, owners, and fleet managers. For drivers, they won’t have to carry cash to pay for fuel, fill claim forms for expenses, and save each receipt.

A fuel card automatically logs every transaction in an online portal and also details these on an invoice that’s tax-compliant. The time-consuming and tedious task of storing each receipt will no longer be your concern. This saves time especially when you need to reclaim VAT.

Frequently asked questions

How much will a fuel card cost?

The majority of fuel cards charge a small fee annually. But this should not worry you as it is offset by the many savings and benefits of fuel cards.

Will it save me money?

With fuel cards, you can easily manage your fuel expenditure. It records all fuel transactions, and it is also very easy to identify inefficiencies in the usage of your fleet with accurate reports.

Through the reports, you can, for example, pinpoint the vehicles that use more fuel. Further investigation may reveal that a certain driver is over-speeding or even that the vehicle requires servicing. Moving with speed to fix these issues will reduce the amount you spend on fuel.

Will I see a ROI?

It doesn’t cost much to set up fuel cards and maintain them. However, the benefits you get are long-lasting and substantial. For example, an Energy Saving Trust research showed that Red Bull, a global brand, started using fuel cards in 2012 and reduced its mileage by 12% in only six months. It also reported benefitting from accurate records. And they further saved £3,500 a month because they could reclaim all fuel VAT thanks to tax-compliant invoices.

Conclusion

There are many benefits to be gained by switching to a fuel card. Fuel cards save you money, are more convenient, improve company cash flow, better fleet efficiency, and ensure security and safety for your business as well as your drivers. In short, fuel cards benefit all the parties involved.

Collaboration.