Do you know if your company needs a fleet card? Do you even know how a fleet card can help you reduce your overall fuel expenses? Well, finding the right fleet card or making the decision to switch to a fleet card is a difficult one. But it does not need to be. As a business owner or a fleet manager, you have a great deal on your mind. Between meeting your short term budget, setting your long term goals and getting some work done, the idea of a fleet card many not even be on your radar. But a fleet card can make all the difference - especially when it some to minimizing your fuel and maintenance costs.

Before fleet cards, businesses had to track their budget to the very last penny. Drivers would walk in, say the vehicle is low on fuel and would be handed a large sum of money to fuel the vehicle. You then had a lot of paperwork and hardly any control. This method was utilized by many but it was certainly not the most cost-efficient way of doing business. First of all, there was and still is a very high risk when handing someone large sums of cash for fuel purchases. It is true that the business may request that a receipt be returned, but if the driver is going to be on the road for a while, there is a chance that he could loose or misplace the receipts. This creates a problem for the driver because he or she cannot prove that the fuel was put into the company vehicle.

Benefits of fleet cards

A fleet card can keep both employer and employee free from the suspicion as it records all transactions; therefore companies are no longer dependent on drivers for fuel receipts. In addition, fleet cards can help protect against fraudulent activity as they have certain security features built into them. For example, certain fleet cards can only be used at certain gas stations designated by the business owner and other fleet cards require the employee to enter the mileage of the vehicle on the gas pump's keypad or present the card to the store clerk. So, if a receipt is lost, there is a record of the purchase on the card and the mileage of the vehicle. These controls will discourage anyone from using the card for their own personal vehicle because anything that looks suspicious about the mileage can be investigated in real time since fleet managers have access to a system which allows them to pull reports as soon as the transactions are made.

Saving money with fleet cards

There are a number of ways in which fleet cards can save you money on the rising fuel costs. First, the driver does not have to be sent out on the road with large sums of money and risk the chance of losing it or being robbed. If a fleet card is lost, the card can be immediately disabled so that no one else can use it, and therefore no money is lost. The card can then be replaced quite quickly, and business can continue without interruption.

Second, the fleet manager can place limits on the card. They can either limit how much fuel is being purchased or they can make the card valid only on certain days of the week therefore excluding weekends if no business is conducted on weekends. This will also prevent unauthorized use and will allow drivers to manage their fuel consumption better. Better fuel consumption can also be accomplished by finding shorter routes or finding routes that are more fuel-efficient.

These are just some of the ways in which fleet cards can save you money on the rising fuel costs and provide greater security than cash. Great reporting features and cost savings are just some of the reasons why a fleet card will save you money on the rising fuel costs. So just imagine, no receipt stacks, no mileage reports, no reimbursement checks. With the right fleet card, you can track your company's fuel purchases or spending summaries online, and even block unauthorized purchases. The right fleet card puts the power in your hands, and a fleet card selector tool can put the right fleet card in your company's wallet.