Taylor's Transportation Blog

Managing a fleet of business vehicles can be difficult, and the total cost of maintenance can be high. These problems are particularly prominent in relation to fuel consumption. If you have been struggling with managing your company fuelling needs, you should consider incorporating fuel cards into your operation. Fuel cards are payment cards which will allow drivers to purchase petrol or gasoline at designated stations. Also, you can obtain cards which can be used to cover the costs of maintenance and repairs. Here are the primary reasons why you should use fuel card in your business:

Advanced Purchase Control

When you choose to use fleet cards to purchase fuel as opposed to alternative methods, you will be able to enforce strict purchase control. As a result, you can reduce the losses incurred due to unmonitored business expenses. In general, when a driver makes a purchase using the card, your company will be able to track the expenditure. Therefore, there will be no hidden or miscellaneous expenses which will remain unaccounted. Moreover, you can set restrictions on the usage of the card. You can use different parameters for control such as the number of purchases per day, amount of money spent per week and even times and days on which transactions can be performed.

Centralised Account Management

Accounting for fuel expenses can be difficult when there are multiple vehicles in your business. In a typical situation, you would need to wait for receipts from each driver and combine the details to manage the expenditure for the month. With fuel cards, you can streamline your accounting processes, increasing the efficiency and productivity of your company. For instance, you can receive e-receipts after each transaction directly to the headquarters. You can also request for centralised billing or acquire individual invoices electronically, depending on your preferences.

Generation of Actionable Reports

When you use fuel cards, you can generate reports with information which can help you improve your fleet management. You can acquire detailed records which can help you identify inefficiencies and create an action plan to reduce expenses. For example, you can compare the fuel expenses for different drivers, vehicles and routes. The results can be critical in making decisions to minimise your company expenditure.

Finally, you should note that fuel cards provide advanced protection against fraud, preventing financial losses. In simple terms, the cards are supported by anti-fraud processes which allow detection of illicit use of the card. Therefore, if an unauthorised person attempts to use your fleet card, you can cancel the card immediately.