What Is a Fleet Card?

 
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Every business owner knows the struggle of manually tracking and keeping a log of drivers' fuel purchases and daily mileage.

Fleet Fuel Cards allow you to automate this process, leaving you to focus on more important aspects of your business. But how exactly do fuel cards achieve this, and is this service right for your business?

Let’s look at what fuel cards are, how to use them, and if your business can benefit from them.

What Are Fleet Cards?

Fleet cards, also known as fuel cards, are unique payment methods businesses use to manage expenses related to their vehicle fleet. They can be physical or digital cards, retailer-specific and accepted at select gas stations and merchants, or they can be used universally at all vendors.

Every driver is given a fuel card for purchasing fuel. Some fuel card providers allow them to cover vehicle maintenance costs and even pay for toll charges.

Fleet cards help companies gain more control, offer valuable insights, and make fleet management more efficient.

Who Are Fleet Cards For?

Fleet fuel cards are invaluable for any business that relies on a fleet of vehicles for its daily operations. They simplify the process of refueling your vehicle fleet and tracking other expenses per-vehicle.

Fleet cards benefit businesses of all sizes, from extensive delivery networks to small trade businesses making house calls.

Why Get a Fleet Fuel Card?

There are several advantages to using a fleet fuel card for your business. Let’s take a look at some of them.

Cost Savings

One of the key advantages of fleet fuel cards is that they can save you money whenever your drivers buy fuel through them. The fuel card providers give users access to volume-based discounts, reducing fuel expenses across your entire fleet.

Moreover, the cost savings extend beyond just fuel. Fleet card programs often include discounts on vehicle maintenance, tires, and roadside assistance. The result is a reduction in the total cost of running and maintaining a fleet, drastically improving your bottom line.

Enhanced Control and Security

Fillip in-app live gas station map, fuel spend history with card controls of transaction limits.

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Fleet fuel cards add a layer of control and security to purchasing fuel and other services. You can set spending limits and restrictions on these cards based on the expense type, the purchase time, or even the location.

These measures prevent unauthorized use and unnecessary spending by drivers. Additionally, each transaction requires personal identification numbers (PINs) or driver IDs, which renders the cards useless if someone steals them.

Streamlined Administration

Fleet fuel cards are game-changers when it comes to streamlining administrative tasks.

Traditionally, businesses have to manually log the miles covered and the fuel purchased by each vehicle in their fleet. This task is time-consuming, prone to errors, and often dependent on drivers' reports.

Fleet fuel cards automatically record the amount of fuel purchased and the location, making the process of mileage tracking easier.

With fleet fuel cards, you no longer have to reconcile invoices for every fuel purchase. Businesses receive a consolidated statement that details all the expenses incurred on each fuel card. This makes verifying and reconciling costs easier, reducing the time spent on invoice processing and the potential for mistakes.

How Does a Fuel Card Work?

Issuing Fleet Cards

Fleet cards are typically issued to a company based on the number of vehicles in its fleet.

The company then assigns a specific card to every driver working for them. Based on the company's policies and individual vehicle or driver requirements, they can customize the cards with spending limits and restrictions.

Making Purchases

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When a driver needs to make a purchase – for fuel, maintenance, or other vehicle-related expenses – they use their assigned fleet card at the point of sale.

The transaction process is similar to using a regular debit or credit card. For added security, some cards require the driver to enter additional information, such as the vehicle's odometer reading or a personal identification number (PIN).

Expense Tracking and Control

As transactions occur, fleet card systems automatically track and record all the details, including the date, time, location, and nature of each purchase.

Companies can access this data in real-time through a secure online portal. It allows them to monitor and control their expenses efficiently, ensure policy compliance, and detect potential misuse or fuel card fraud.

Billing and Reconciliation

At the end of the billing cycle, the fleet card provider issues a consolidated statement detailing all transactions made across all cards.

This statement is a single invoice that businesses can use for accounting purposes, simplifying bookkeeping.

Uses of Fleet Cards

Purchasing Fuel

The main use of fleet cards is for purchasing fuel. Drivers can use their assigned cards at the gas stations that the fuel card providers partner with to fill up their vehicles.

With real-time tracking and recording of these transactions, businesses can easily monitor fuel consumption across their fleet and identify trends or irregularities.

Vehicle Maintenance and Repairs

Drivers can optionally use fuel cards for vehicle maintenance and repairs, including oil changes, tire rotations, and even larger repair jobs.

By using fleet cards for these expenses, businesses can consolidate all their vehicle-related costs into one system, simplifying management.

Roadside Assistance Services

Fuel card providers sometimes allow their cards to pay for roadside assistance services. This is particularly useful for businesses operating large fleets or those with vehicles traveling long distances.

Directly paying for such services using the fleet card can facilitate the assistance process and reduce vehicle downtime.

Tolls and Parking Fees

Fleet cards can also cover tolls and parking fees, depending on the card provider and the agreements in place.

This can help businesses streamline their expense tracking further and make it easier for drivers to pay for various services by simply using a single card.

Fleet Fuel Card Network Coverage

Fleet fuel cards only work at the fuel stations that affiliate themselves with the card provider. The extent of this coverage depends on how many partnerships the card provider has established.

Larger fleet card providers typically have extensive networks due to their partnerships with multiple fuel companies. These can include major national and international brands, regional operators, and even independent stations. This ensures that wherever your drivers are, there's likely to be a partnered station nearby where they can refuel using the fuel card.

The fleet card providers that offer vehicle maintenance have partnered with repair companies to provide cardholders with easy access to these services. This can range from tire services and oil changes to more complex vehicle repairs.

Understanding a fleet card provider's network coverage is critical as it can impact the convenience for your drivers and the ease of managing your fleet's expenses. Choosing a provider with a broad and diverse network of partners can ensure your fleet operations run smoothly, no matter where your vehicles are.

What Are Some of the Best Fleet Cards?

Selecting the best fleet card largely depends on your business's specific needs, the size of your fleet, and the scope of your operations.

Several fleet cards on the market offer a variety of benefits, such as extensive network coverage, detailed reporting, and cost-saving features, and some even offer the option of entirely digital fuel cards.

See our comprehensive overview of the best fleet cards here.

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Fillip Fleet Card

We make fuelling quick and easy, you can issue driver cards on the go and keep track of all purchases in real time, right from your phone.

Our card works at any gas station that accepts Visa. Fillip also finds you the best deal on fuel based on your location, helping you save on every tank.

We've also put a lot of thought into security with built-in fraud prevention and real-time alerts.

We know every business is unique, so we offer flexible funding options. Check us out and let's make managing your fleet a breeze together!

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