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:

1. Good fuel prices
2. Convenient service station locations
3. Security benefits that include purchase restrictions and driver/vehicle specific cards
4. Significant reductions in paperwork and administration time
5. 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:

1. How many vehicles do you have in your business fleet?
2. What type of vehicles - cars, vans, lorries, coaches etc?  This is an important question because you may need stations with HGV access?
3. What types of fuels do you require - petrol/diesel?
4. 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
5. 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.
6. What volume of fuel (both petrol and diesel) do you use each month?
7. How do you currently meet your fuel requirements?
8. What petrol stations are near to your premises and depots?   Which stations do you and your staff frequently use?
9. 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
10. 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.

You might want to read our Fuel Card article on Questions To Ask A Fuel Card Supplier.