subject: Use a Fuel Card And Save Money [print this page] Use a Fuel Card And Save Money
Managing a business is always tough. Its' a battle between growth and cost cutting at the same time in order to maximize the bottom line. As a business grows, the use of vehicles increases at the same time. Managing (or mismanaging) this fleet of vehicles starts to become a priority. Probably the biggest recurring expense is the cost of fuel which never seems to go down much. Many smart business owners are switching to the use of fuel cards to lower the risk of theft and misuse by employees, and to manage their fuel costs effectively.
Using a fuel card has several distinct advantages over using a credit card. The number one advantage is that a fuel-only card has a single purpose and cannot be used at the discretion of an employee for other purchases. While this might seem like a minor detail, in fact it is a huge problem. Who wants to come in on a Monday morning and discover an employee has decided to go on a shopping spree over the weekend? While some employees might actually need a credit card for legitimate purchases for the business, the drivers of your vehicle fleet probably do not. The use of fuel cards also cuts down on the cost of fuel, both in terms of tracking usage per vehicle and expense for the entire fleet.
Another advantage to using fuel cards with your fleet is it allows for easy computation and tracking of fuel costs. Using a credit card, these costs can get mingled in with the rest of the purchases and must be filtered out. If the fleet you manage is large enough, you can install your own fuel island and issue fuel cards to employees. This cuts down greatly on fuel theft, which is another huge problem. If fuel can only be removed if a valid card is used at the pump, there is a much less likely chance of random fuel theft. A limit of total fuel per week or month which is needed to operate a vehicle can easily be placed on a card. A regular credit card cannot be used for this function, and is not an ideal solution.
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