Business fuel cards help save time, money and provide additional benefits to help improve fleet efficiency, but are you getting everything you should be?
Here are 10 key benefits a business fuel card should be giving you:
1) Save your business money
One thing is certain, business fuel cards should help you save money. A fuel card can help you to do this by:
Making your fleet more efficient by minimising deviation off route as a result of having access to a large and convenient fuel card network.
Save per litre by your drivers refuelling at low cost fuel sites.
One average national price.
2) Online account management
There are some additional perks that you should expect free as part of your business fuel card package, whilst others require an extra cost. A benefit which comes free is access to an online account management tool which enables you to have 24/7 access to your account, so you can check your company fuel spend at a time and place that is convenient to you. You can also make urgent alterations such as block a card if it’s been lost or stolen, order a new card and cancel a card.
3) You’re in control of your fuel purchases
Have you ever felt like you’re out of control of your fuel expenditure? With a business fuel card you have the ability to lock down set purchase categories. From setting controls over the type of fuel your drivers can buy to particular vehicle related goods like oil, these purchase restrictions give you greater control over what your drivers can buy and help keep your costs down.
4) Simplified administration
Business fuel cards should help to ease the administrative burden that comes with gathering expenses. With a business fuel card, you should be able to easily and accurately report on your business fuel usage without needing to worry about the finer details such as what fuel your drivers are using to fill up their vehicles or what their private vehicle mileage is.
They help you to save time by not needing to pore over your driver’s receipts to make sure you claim all permitted VAT back. Use a fuel card that simplifies your admin tasks and helps save your business money.
5) VAT compliance
We all know that dealing with business expenses can make claiming back VAT a bit of a headache. With a fuel card however, the process is stress-free as you’ll receive one consolidated HMRC- compliant VAT invoice. This means that your drivers no longer need to keep their receipts and lost VAT becomes a thing of the past.
6) Get accurate reporting
For most, reporting is something that needs to be a quick and easy task, you should be able to access transaction data at the click of a button and at a time that suits you.
This is achievable thanks to online account management tools which fuel card providers use. You should have confidence in the data provided and have the ability to schedule reports, saving your business time and money through the data gathered.
7) A solution tailored to you
When considering bringing business fuel cards into your business, remember that one size doesn’t fit all. Think about what your business needs from a fuel card and the fuel card supplier should be able to offer you a range of products to suit your needs. Consider if your business is more suited to a locked down network of low cost fuel, local fuel sites or if your fleet needs the flexibility of a nationwide network, or both.
8) Access to the network that’s right for your business
Ensuring the fuel card you choose has the right network to suit your business and your drivers is important. There are two key factors which you should consider: is the fuel card on a network that provides easy access for your employees and is the fuel on the network the right cost for your business?
Once you know the answers to these questions, this will help you to decide which fuel card is right for you and getting the right combination will help to improve your fleet’s efficiency.
9) More than just a fuel card
By investing and bringing fuel cards into your business, it doesn’t just provide you with fuelling benefits.
Business fuel cards offer more than just the ability to pay for fuel, they offer extra vehicle related products and services to make your business more efficient. When looking for the fuel card that suits your business needs, look for fuel cards with extras which may include systems that link into your fuel card such as vehicle service, maintenance and repair, and expenses systems.
10) A future proof solution
With a fuel card, you should be able to support all your business’ refuelling needs, now and in the future.
As we begin to see an increasing number of businesses look to start introducing alternative fuel types into their fleets, such as electric and hydrogen, certain fuel cards can support all fuel solutions on a single card.
This avoids your drivers needing to carry multiple payment methods and also ensures you only have one fuel account to manage.
There are many benefits to bringing business fuel cards into your company and when researching fuel cards for the first time, consider what your business needs are. Take a look at our range of products for further information.
Download article
Related articles
or call
or call