Fuel Cards - What do you need to
know?
Fuel cards can be used by all sizes of
businesses to buy petrol, diesel and other products at
various service station networks. Depending on the amount of fuel
purchased significant savings can be made through utilising
business fuel cards.
Your business might have a small number of vehicles that deliver
locally; or a fleet of vehicles operating nationwide or across
Europe, or simply employees who use their own vehicles and reclaim
mileage - if you're looking to reduce fuel costs, manage vehicle
consumption or to ensure that your fleet always has access to fuel
wherever they are, then a fuel card will benefit your business.
Most fuel cards on the market have very
similar features including:
- Personalised card details that should
include vehicle registration or driver details; possible both
- The option to record individual
transactions such as card usage, date and time of transactions, the
amount spent, together with the volume of fuel purchased and the
petrol station location.
Fuel card companies generally offer you
the following "generic" services:
- A dedicated account manager to look after
your account
- Customer services during office hours
- The option to order, re-order and cancel
cards
- Detailed invoices and usage reports
But how do you know which fuel card is
best for you?
You should look for fuel cards that offer you the following:
- Good fuel prices
- Convenient service station locations
- Security benefits that include purchase restrictions and
driver/vehicle specific cards
- Significant reductions in paperwork and administration
time
- VAT approved invoices itemising all transactions
Fuel cards can have benefits for your
business that include allowing you to monitor fuel
consumption and the distances travelled by vehicle and/or the
driver between refuels. You can then find out which
driver is the most efficient and which most costly. It could
be a useful idea to reward more efficient drivers, not only will
this improve fuel and vehicle costs it will also generate a
competitive spirit among your drivers.
Before you can decide which Fuel Card would be best for you
business you need to understand what you want from a fuel card and
its additional services.
The list below provides some of the
questions you should ask yourself before you start
talking to fuel card providers:
- How many vehicles do you have in your business fleet?
- What type of vehicles - cars, vans, lorries, coaches etc?
This is an important question because you may need stations with
HGV access?
- What types of fuels do you require - petrol/diesel?
- Where do your vehicles travel to and from? If you simply
travel locally a large motorway network facility is likely to be of
little or no interest
- How much do you currently spend on fuel? You will need to
know this to work out the potential fuel cost savings of a fuel
card.
- What volume of fuel (both petrol and diesel) do you use each
month?
- How do you currently meet your fuel requirements?
- What petrol stations are near to your premises and
depots? Which stations do you and your staff frequently
use?
- What is the most important feature (benefit) you want from
using cards? These might include: a) A large network of
service stations; b) Locations that are convenient; c) Cheaper or
fixed prices
- Do you want your drivers to be able to buy other things such as
oil and accessories?
Once you have all this information to hand, you're in a position
to discuss your requirements with a fuel card provider.
Get Your Quotes Now
You might want to read our Fuel Card article on Questions To Ask
A Fuel Card Supplier.