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Fuel Cards for Small Business - How, why, and where you’ll save money

13/03/2017 by Mark Schneider in Fuel Cards

At times, the troubles of managing a small business can be overwhelming. Every entrepreneur eventually realises that running a business is about more than simply going to the wall with a great idea. Logistics, employee management, taxes, and production problems will pose obstacles along the way. The wise small business owner will find ways to simplify and streamline their operation, minimising these problems as much as possible.

Fuel Management

For businesses that have employees on the road, fuel bill management is often a substantial component of these problems. If you have enough employees, you may even need a dedicated department just to sort through it all. Bills from many different petrol stations can be difficult to juggle. Your drivers may spend as much time filling out and filing their expense reports as they do on their jobs. It’s an untenable situation and it can be a source of lost time and revenue from a number of angles. For many small businesses, fuel cards provide the answer.

Minimising Reports and Bills

Because they don’t yet see it for the problem it will become, many small business owners will start out letting their employees get fuel wherever they want. These employees pay for their fuel with money from a fund or out of their own pockets, only to have their managers reimburse them later. This is fine for two or three salesmen on the road, but it can get out of control very easily. Fuel cards slice through all of these difficult-to-track expenses and put everyone on the same page. One bill each month is much easier to handle than several each week.

Simple for Employees

You don’t pay your employees to spend an hour a day on fuel reports. Even if your drivers don’t spend that much time on the road, any chance you get to pull them away from an internal record keeping task and put them back on their jobs is an opportunity well worth taking. By moving to a fuel card system, you’ll increase employee morale and efficiency. If you’re paying someone exclusively to manage your fuel records, you could save an entire salary by making the switch.

Better Security

You may be wondering why you would switch to fuel cards when each of your drivers is already equipped with a company credit card. Unfortunately, having that many credit cards on the road is a security disaster waiting to happen. With fuel cards, your risk is minimal and contained. Your company’s money is secure and you don’t have to worry about identity theft, a problem that has plagued many a small business.

Track Activity

Small businesses need every edge they can get when it comes to maximising profits. By using a fuel card that comes with vehicle activity records, you will have instant access to the statistics that matter. Reviewing mileage, petrol station usage, and fuelling frequency can give you an idea of any changes you need to implement to improve efficiency and save money.

Fleetcare Fuel Cards cover almost 4,000 fuel suppliers Australia wide, give drivers an online service station locator, and fleet managers a comprehensive monthly report detailing fuel and shop purchases, high cost vehicles, ability to identify and reduce wasteful driving habits and fraud minimisation.

Written by
Mark Schneider

Mark is a successful copywriter with over 20 years of professional writing experience.

We welcome him as a guest blogger to Fleettorque.

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