Every year, tax season reveals what businesses don’t want to see—actual fuel costs are significantly over budget.

It’s not that businesses don’t plan for fuel costs. The problem is that traditional budgeting methods fail when:

• Fuel prices fluctuate unpredictably
• Receipts go missing, making tax deductions harder
• Drivers fuel up wherever and whenever they want, with no oversight

By the time you sit down to review last year’s expenses, the damage is already done. 

Why Fuel Budgets Fall Short—And How Fillip Helps

1. Fuel Prices Shift Too Much for Static Budgets

Most businesses set a monthly fuel budget based on past spending, but fuel prices fluctuate daily. When gas prices spike unexpectedly, those budgets become useless fast.

How Fillip helps:

• Real-time transaction tracking shows live spending, so you can adjust immediately—not after tax season
• Account statements show the price of fuel for every purchase, making it easy to identify trends and anomalies

2. You Only Realize Overspending After It’s Too Late

If you’re only reviewing fuel costs during tax season, you’ve already overspent. A year-end expense report won’t prevent last year’s overages.

How Fillip helps:

• Set limits on transaction amount and purchase frequency, so spending stays in control

3. Missing Receipts Throws Budgets Off Track

When receipts are missing, businesses lose more than tax deductions — they lose accurate insights into fuel expenses. Without a clear record of every transaction, it’s difficult to track spending against operations. This leads to underestimating fuel costs and creates gaps in financial planning.

How Fillip helps:

• Automatic digital receipts for every purchase—with detailed fuel and transaction data

4. Fuel Fraud Adds Up Without Anyone Noticing

Unauthorized fill-ups, out-of-route stops, and fueling non-business vehicles add hidden costs to your fuel budget. By the time tax season rolls around, those “small” extra charges add up to thousands of dollars in annual losses.

How Fillip helps:

• Real-time driver and vehicle verification when a purchase is made
• Instant alerts so you see every transaction as it happens

The Fix: Control Spending Before Tax Season Hits

Instead of waiting until tax time to see where your fuel budget went wrong, take control upfront:

• Set specific limits on how much, where, and when fuel can be purchased
• Track every transaction in real-time - know who spent what, where, and when immediately
• Store digital receipts automatically for accurate tax reporting
• Take a proactive approach to fraud with data-driven payment authorization

Tax season shouldn’t be a wake-up call—it should be a confirmation that your system is working.