News

Fuel cards as one solution to the recession
In this age of financial uncertainty for businesses any area where a company can identify and put in place procedures to increase efficiency and cut costs is essential to weather this economic storm.

One area often overlooked is fuel cards; fuel is one of the major expenses of a lot of firms and any chance to cut costs and administration should be looked at seriously. A lot of companies will either issue their employees credit cards or let their employees pay for fuel and reimburse them for their expenditure. The problem with these methods is that it involves a lot of administration and the price paid for fuel is whatever is available at the pumps. Credit cards do cut the administration down slightly and some credit cards will offer rewards for the company. For example some credit cards offer reward points or discounts that build up each time money is spent on the cards.

The bottom line is that the amount of money business pay out for fuel and the administration of fuel expenditure is normally a significant amount and it is an ideal place for a business to make savings. Whilst the credit card route offers an efficient working practice, it is not necessarily the most efficient as there are further savings that can be made by using fuel cards.

Many companies now have taken advantage of fuel cards as they are available to businesses of any size be they ones that run one car or a full fleet of vehicles. Fuel cards are available in many guises and you should take advice from a specialist company such as Cambrian Fuelcards who can advise you on a card that fits your exact requirements.

Fuel cards are used exclusively to purchase petrol and diesel at a network of filling stations throughout the UK and in some cases Europe. This is obviously something you can do with cash or a credit card but there are other advantages in a fuel card. You can buy fuel at a fixed price, the price is fixed each week, and this price can offer some great savings on usual pump prices. This saving, especially if used on a large fleet of cars or trucks can amount to a massive saving for companies. The other advantage of a fuel card is that administration needs are cut right down, your monthly expenditure on each fuel card is itemised on your computer and shows everything you would need to know about your fleet. It can tell you routes taken, time taken and fuel efficiency and help you ensure your fleet of vehicles is running as efficiently as they can.

As part of a company’s ongoing investment in improvements and technology, fuel cards are an important tool in ensuring firms are not spending too much on fuel and fuel administration; it is a dog eat dog world out there and any competitive advantage you can gain over the opposition is essential in succeeding in these troubled times.