FUEL CARDS: HOW CAN THEY HELP TO CONTROL FUEL SPEND?
Introducing fuel cards into your company is a great way to help save money, by getting fuel at a discounted rate, simplifying administration and also by being able to better manage and track your drivers’ refuelling and driving habits.
Adapting to a fuel card payment method means that you no longer need to give credit card details to your fleet, replacing this format with a dedicated card for vehicle-associated costs. Fuel cards are designed to allow businesses to divide their fuel and maintenance transactions from other business expenses, helping you better manage your finances.
There are a number of fuel cards on the market and each offer different benefits depending on your company needs and make up of your fleet. With a variety of fuel cards to choose from, how can they help you to control your company’s fuel spend and avoid great exclamations about the cost of fuel your company’s spent that month?
Fuel cards can help you to stay in control of your fuel spend and keep a tight rein on your company’s finances. There are two main pricing options with fuel cards- weekly fixed rate and pump related price.
Fixed-price fuel cards
Weekly fixed-price fuel cards tend to be the most common for fleets that operate diesel vehicles as they come with many perks and benefits. This type of card offers diesel prices that are fixed every week and run from Monday – Sunday, this means that you can pay the same price for diesel at every site that the card may be used at. This ensures that you know exactly how much your fuel will be that week. Cards that offer weekly fixed-price include:
Keyfuels fuel card
Shell CRT fuel card
Esso Commercial Vehicle fuel card
Texaco Fastfuel fuel card
Diesel Advance Pre-pay fuel card
The savings you can expect as a business utilising this system average around 2-4 pence per litre. The pricing each week is completely transparent, as employers will receive a weekly text that informs them of the upcoming fuel costs on the Friday afternoon. As your fuel is fixed for the week, no matter how much the average pump price may change throughout the week, your price won’t change across the fuel cards specified network. Learn further insights with our fuel cost calculator tool here.
Pump price fuel cards
Operating in a slightly different way, pump price cards can also be beneficial. Diesel and unleaded fuels are charged at pump price which is indicated on the pole sign at the pump. Unlike weekly fixed-price fuel cards, pump price cards generally don't generate savings directly on fuel, but the business can recognise savings in time and administration costs, such as more consolidated HMRC invoices and less time spent reconciling invoices to receipts.
Some of the best pump-related fuel card providers also offer access to discounted fuel at sites throughout the UK. Both offer benefits for companies, and it depends on your fleet's needs as to which one is best for you. Many top business fuel card providers offer impressive fuel savings to ensure customers are able to reduce transport costs. For Example with access to the Allstar Discount Diesel networks, fleet drivers can save up to 10 pence per litre, each time they fill up*. Many discounts and offers work even harder for you by providing exclusive access to information on current fuel prices and low cost fuel around the UK.
Access to discounted and low cost fuel
Fuel cards can help you to stay in control of your fuel spend and keep a tight rein on your company’s finances. There are two main pricing options with fuel cards- weekly fixed rate and pump related price.
Some of the best pump related fuel card providers also offer access to discounted fuel at sites throughout the UK. Both offer benefits for companies, and it depends on your fleets needs as to which one is best for you.
Weekly fixed priced cards give you control of knowing what your fuel spend will cost each week. With these cards your fuel price is determined by the diesel wholesale price and is fixed for the week. No matter how much the pump price may change throughout the week, your price won’t change across the fuel cards specified network. Learn further insights with our fuel cost calculator tool here.
Some fuel cards in the market have been tailored especially to provide your drivers with access to low cost fuel via supermarket sites, only. This is useful if your drivers spend a lot of time driving around urban areas and will never be far from a supermarket fuel site.
By only having access to low cost fuel sites, you can be rest assured that you’re in control of your company’s fuel spend as you know exactly what restrictions these fuel cards bring your drivers.
At typically 3-5p per litre cheaper than the national average, supermarket fuel could provide a fleet of 40 vehicles that achieve 40mpg and each do 20,000 miles a year a saving of more than £3,500 a year – that’s if you were to buy fuel at 4p per litre cheaper than the national average.
Fuel card spending controls
“What? Where? How much?” are all questions of the past when operating a fleet using fuel cards. Fuel cards enable you to manage your fleet’s fuel spend meticulously to prevent a massive invoice at the end of the month after your drivers have handed in all of their receipts for the fuel and associated items they have bought.
Fuel cards enable you to set specific spending controls for your drivers’ fuel cards. The level of control which can be selected depends on your chosen card, some include:
The type of fuel each driver can purchase – is that a premium fuel or standard? You’re in control of which your drivers use and ultimately, what you’re prepared to pay
Restrictions on how much your drivers can spend on each transaction – preventing any fraudulent behaviour
The time of day your drivers can buy fuel using their allocated fuel card
Set restrictions so your drivers can’t fill up at more expensive fuel sites, such as motorway service stations
There may be times when your drivers need to top up their vehicle with AdBlue, oil or other vehicle essentials and selecting the right fuel card can enable vehicle related items to be purchased with a fuel card.
Track your employee’s fuel spend
Through setting fuel spending restrictions and with no need for your drivers to pay and reclaim, fuel cards prevent you from receiving unexpected costs at the end of the month.
With fuel cards you have full visibility of your fuel spend, you’ll receive all transaction data with the associated vehicle registration number and mileage on one consolidated HMRC-compliant invoice. All of the data is gathered at the point of sale, including VAT details, providing you with a clear breakdown of what each driver has bought when, what time and where so you can track your employee’s spend with ease whilst also speeding up VAT reclaim. Thanks to this functionality, your administrative load is lightened and your admin headache is eased, as your drivers don’t need to keep their receipts throughout the month.
As part of some fuel card packages, you can access an online account management tool, which allows you to manage your account and track your employees’ spending, 24/7, at a time that is most convenient to you.
When you’re deciding on which fuel card is right for your business it’s important to understand the differences (and also the similarities) between them. It’ll help you compare cards with confidence and choose the one that delivers the most relevant benefits to your business.
How can major fuel card providers help you manage your fuel spends?
As some of the most reputable fuel card suppliers in the UK, Allstar, Esso and Shell have refined, enhanced and polished their extensive services to ensure that they go above and beyond client expectations. Through their proficient online portal and personal profiles, businesses can complete a variety of tasks to make their fuel management processes more efficient.
Allstar customers can effortlessly track fuel usage, fuel purchases, average fuel spend and M6 toll road payments. By signing up with a fuel card provider, your administration team can keep track of individual cards and reorder additional cards where necessary. Gain strong control over your company expenses by comparing fuel cards and finding the perfect solution for you.
Streamlined administration
Time is a precious commodity in any business, and fuel card providers know that. It is therefore extremely important to use online tools that streamline essential administrative tasks. As a fuel card customer, you'll have access to professional insight tools that will proficiently gather all of the relevant statistics for you - saving hours of admin time.Your business can take advantage of your digitised data to eliminate the need to collect fuel receipts and expense forms. Fuel management solutions are dependable, easy to use, and incredibly streamlined. Many providers incorporate software that will create monthly invoices automatically, consolidating all fuel and vehicle costs into one place - making the monitoring of fuel expenditure much more efficient.
Additionally, admin teams should be able to access customisable online accounts that enable data to be accessed 24/7 - whenever it should be required. Portals provide resources and tools that will help you manage assets effectively. You can expect to receive the following benefits from major card providers:
All transactions are combined into a single HMRC-compliant invoice. You can use this to manage your cash flow and to reclaim funds. By producing a single document, this diminishes the need to sort through numerous files, as everything you need is documented in one place.
Customers can also access historical invoices where these may be required for legal or filing purposes.
The generated reports on card usage make it easy to view transactions by card and ensure that each driver is adhering to limitations or any specific company policies.
View when, where and how much drivers are refuelling by tracking the fuel card data. By gaining visibility if drivers are using more expensive sites and have poor MPG consumption, you might need to address the driver’s behaviour.
Fuel card solutions promise to give full visibility of your expenditure and offer business owners complete control over fuel related costs. By providing your employees with fuel cards, you can ensure that implemented expense policies are adhered to.
Access to UK’s largest fuel network
Businesses that opt to utilise the competent and efficient services of Allstar gain exclusive access to the UK’s largest fuel card network, where your employees and drivers can access over 7,700 fuel sites including low cost supermarket sites. With 90% UK coverage, there should never be a reason to deviate from routes. This makes sure that time is spent wisely every time, as a fuel station is always nearby. Most of these accessible fuel stations now accept fuel cards as a payment method for pay-at-pumps, making filling up at petrol stations a quick and easy process before heading back out on the road. Their huge network is just one of the many reasons customers choose Allstar.
Similarly, the Esso Single Network Card offers access to over 1000 fuel stations, which is incredibly convenient for long haul drivers who travel across the country.
Card security
For businesses in all sectors, safeguarding is a top priority. Consequently, the services and array of cards by the likes of Esso, Shell and Allstar are designed with safety and security at the forefront. Each card you order will be registered specifically to an individual vehicle or team member and there are a variety of card types available for security, such as chip and PIN. This security feature ensures that cards can be used similarly to a debit card, allowing only permitted users to complete transactions. Providers understand that the security of your fuel card is crucial, which is why they work so hard to prevent fuel fraud with all of the components their services incorporate.
Optional supplementary services that can be added to your account include:
As an account manager, you can control and adjust permissions for each driver, allowing senior members to pay for additional vehicle-related costs such as toll fees and maintenance costs.
Vehicle safety is absolutely vital for the safety of staff and the upkeep of vehicles. Some fuel card providers include features that can be utilised to cover MOT and repair services to regularly maintain the condition of your vehicles.
If toll roads are something you utilise a lot as a business, you can prepay for these services on your account or manage direct toll payments.
Suitable fuel cards for businesses
Whether you run a large or small business or fleet, locating a business fuel card that works for you is highly important. On our site, you will find thorough information around the wide variety of solutions for your fuel costs. The cards we provide comparative information on are tailored to accommodate the needs of different businesses, depending on their size and average fuel consumption. Your fleet of vehicles can be managed with ease by looking into an assortment of fuel cards.
When you’re deciding on which fuel card is right for your business it’s important to understand the differences (and also the similarities) between them. It’ll help you compare cards with confidence and choose the one that delivers the most relevant benefits to your business.
If you need assistance with finding a bespoke solution for your fleet, use our comparative tool to find out which card would best accommodate your needs. Alternatively, contact us for a quick quote today.
*Savings on Diesel can be made at participating Discount Diesel sites on our network when the card is swiped.
By comparing business fuel cards you can find the one that offers the best value for your requirements.
Fuel cards offer different benefits
Some fuel cards offer HMRC-compliant invoices meaning no need to keep receipts, some offer discounts on vehicle servicing and repairs whilst others are more widely accepted so it’s important you find the one that’s right for you.
Weigh up your options
The best way to find the right card for your business is to compare the specific benefits and then you can choose the right business fuel card for you.
