One area where a lot of businesses could save money is through the use of business fuel cards. As more fleet managers are becoming aware of the benefits fuel cards can provide, Fuelmate is here to explain what these benefits are.
Using fuel cards can provide huge benefits to businesses that use vehicles on a daily basis. Operating a fleet of vehicles requires seamless organisation and efficiency, and the use of a fuel card can facilitate easier management of those requirements.
Because there is a huge range of fuel cards available on the market, you need to choose the right one that is tailored to your individual business requirements. We have highlighted a list of benefits below that will help you make the right decision for your business.
One of the top benefits that fuel cards provide for businesses is their cost-effectiveness. Fuel cards are the only payment method that offers discounts on fuel.
When you select a fuel card, you commit to a specific supplier to provide all the fuel you need to run your fleet. In exchange, you benefit from a lower fuel price, which is usually 1–2 pence per litre below the normal forecourt price. It might not sound a lot, but these savings add up across a year.
There are no interest charges when businesses use a fuel card. When you receive your invoice, you’re paying the quoted price for fuel and the over-the-counter price for any other items.
One problem that does exist within the fuel card industry is hidden charges. When choosing your fuel card provider, ensure you thoroughly explore their terms to avoid any hidden costs.
When time is money, becoming as time-efficient as possible is a goal most successful businesses share. Fuel cards can help to achieve this goal by providing a quick and convenient way for employees to pay for fuel.
When you've got places to be and deadlines to meet, why waste time withdrawing cash or hanging around at checkout queues for VAT receipts? A fuel card allows your drivers to pay at the pump and get on the road without worrying about their payment method.
Fuel cards can increase the security of your drivers, by eliminating the need for a driver to carry cash. By removing the need to carry large amounts of cash while on the road, this keeps drivers safe from being a target of theft or assault.
Fuel cards can also help to eliminate any fraudulent transactions where expenses are being claimed that aren’t necessarily used for company purposes by fleet drivers.
Every business manager knows how much time admin consumes. When purchasing fuel using traditional methods, you have to deal with the hassle of collecting receipts, claiming expenses and dealing with HMRC. Fuel cards let you skip a lot of the process with online account management services.
By registering purchases and issuing HMRC-approved invoices, fuel card account management offers consolidated invoices on a weekly or monthly basis. This means hundreds of individual transactions are compiled into one neat invoice instead of manually trying to wrangle multiple documents into one tidy and readable report.
Another benefit fuel cards provide to a business is by giving business fleets more flexibility for refuelling across a huge network. Sometimes plans and routes change and the ability to use a fuel card across networks gives your drivers the freedom to adjust their route as necessary.
Monthly fuel card reports make calculating the efficiency of your fleet straightforward. If you have a single-model fleet, compare your driver’s MPG figure with the stated MPG of the vehicles. For fleets that use a mix of vehicles, compare your driver's MPG figure with the average MPG of the range, and you can begin to assess how efficient your fleet is operating. If there is a large discrepancy between the two, you could organise some eco-driving training for your drivers to improve efficiency.
Fuelmate offers a large choice of fuel cards from a range of networks including leading brands such as BP, Shell, Esso and UK Fuels. With our fuel card solutions, we can find the right card for your drivers’ to use, either locally or nationally.
If you’re not sure which fuel card offers the most benefits to your business, our easy-to-use fuel card comparison tool can help to inform your decision. Our garage locator tool also allows drivers to find their nearest fuel station wherever they are.
