All you need to know about fuel cards

Fuel cards are an excellent way to save money on business fuel. It is a simple approach to save money on the petrol or diesel your company vehicles use.

Given the escalating fuel costs that businesses must deal with, fuel cards have continued to gain popularity over time.

Fuel cards provide several benefits for all sizes of businesses, both small and large, across all market segments.

Any business, including those directly using fuel as a service, such as delivery or logistics firms, or those where fuel expenditure is low-cost and related to business activities, can profit from a fuel card.

Many organisations buy DERV in bulk for their fleet of vehicles to reduce fuel costs. Another affordable option for fuel operations is fuel cards.

Here are some essential facts concerning fuel cards that you should know.
 

What are fuel cards?

A fuel card is an alternate form of fuel payment for businesses. Drivers can use a card to buy fuel for commercial vehicles, allowing you to buy petrol or diesel for business use without requesting reimbursement later.

Fuel cards are associated with a particular network of gas stations. For instance, some cards are associated with particular brands. In contrast, others combine many brands; some provide discounts based on the fuel type or at particular stations.

The fuel card is connected to an account that can track usage and expenditure. Fuel cards help you track spending and submit company expenditures much more effectively because they can only be used for fuel-related products. As a result, they limit expenses.

In essence, a fuel card is a type of fuel business credit card that entitles your fleet to save on regular pump pricing. Your drivers use fuel cards at particular gas stations to pay for fuel. By month's end, you will get a single invoice.

It's an easy method to save money on petrol and a crucial tool in the fight against the rising inflation and cost of living issues that threaten small companies across the UK.
 

How is a fuel card used?

You will receive a PIN to use with your fuel card, much like you would with a debit or credit card if you were to receive one.

Then, at gas stations, you can use the card and PIN to pay for fuel; nevertheless, it's crucial to identify the fuel card's brand because not all gas stations accept fuel cards, and others may only take particular brands.

Every time you pay for fuel, you will be offered a receipt and asked for your car's registration number.

You don't need to submit this receipt for reimbursement through your business's cost system because your company previously paid for the fuel; thus, the bill goes to them.
 

The benefits of using a fuel card

Both employers and employees can benefit from gasoline cards since you can use them to earn loyalty points. As a result, as an employee, you can accrue benefits from participating in fuel stations that you can later redeem for incentives.

Using fuel cards can be helpful if you're an employer for a small, medium, or large firm.

You can save time on processing cost claims and money up front by signing up for a fuel card programme.

By confining your staff to specific gas stations, you can receive approved bills and save money. For instance, supermarket gas stations are frequently less expensive, so you should ensure your drivers are using them.

Fuel cards with fixed-price weekly systems are another option. With these cards, you pay for each litre of gasoline or diesel based on a fixed weekly price rather than the variable pump rates.

This is advantageous when your staff frequently refuels at pricey locations, such as toll booths on the highway, as it lowers costs.

Fuel cards also enable businesses to track the mileage on each fleet vehicle; as a result, in addition to asking staff for the vehicle's registration number, employers may also request the mileage information.

This facilitates fleet management and, by maintaining an organised collection of receipts, can assist employees in tracking their mileage over time.

For further protection, you may keep tabs on your employees' fuel expenditures by tracking where they filled up, how much they spent, how far they drove, and the vehicle's licence; this could aid in reducing fraud.
 

Types of Fuel Cards

Various fuel card types on the market vary in cost, the gas stations they can use, and the services they provide. The location, fleet size, and company's needs will affect which fuel card is best for you.

While some fuel cards require a cost to use the service, others are free. When choosing a fuel card, some of the most typical fees to watch out for include the annual card fee, replacement card price, network service fee, change of information fee, convenience fee, invoicing fee, risk-based fee, etc.
 

Wrapping Up

It's crucial to remember that there isn't a single fuel card that works perfectly for all business types. Every fuel card account is customised for a specific business, and cards are chosen based on the needs of the firm.

To choose the best fuel payment option for your company, comparing fuel cards to other payment options is crucial.

It is easy to see the benefits of using fuel cards, though, when you compare them to the pay and reclaim technique because they take less time to use than those methods to administer employee fuel reimbursements and gather receipts.