A major concern for a lot of companies is fraudulent activity. Every year, a large amount of fueling budget is lost to illegal practices, which can affect revenue for a lot of businesses, and ultimately, drives prices up, which negatively affects the consumer. To combat this problem, the majority of corporations impose strict security controls which can help lessen the impact of illegal activity.

Because of the damaging effects fraudulent activity has on a company’s bottom line, organizations that operate fleets get fleet cards to help protect them against this kind of activity. Not only do fleet cards provide an extra level of security with their reporting packages, they also let businesses impose strict purchasing controls. These controls can help organizations recognize and prevent unwanted purchases from occurring, and ultimately reduce a company’s overall fueling expenses.

One of the biggest ways fleet cards protect against illegal activity is the protection they provide against employee fraud. With a fleet card, it’s impossible for employees to “forget” or “lose” their receipts and claim expenses which aren’t legitimate. Fleet cards provide records of every transaction made, which are immediately available in their fleet management account system, making it impossible for employees to claim unapproved expenses. In addition, fleet cards can require a signature, PIN, and even an odometer reading to be given every time fuel is purchased. This helps protect against a card being used when stolen as it’s harder to use a credit card illegally when a PIN is required. It also prevents employees using their fleet card for their own personal vehicles as there is no way for employees to explain a discrepancy in odometer readings.

Odometer readings protect against fraudulent activity

Since each fleet card is issued by a particular employee, it is easy to prevent unauthorized purchases from happening. If a fleet card is stolen, it is easy to cancel that individual card and issue the employee a new one with a minimum amount of damage being done. Furthermore, purchasing controls can be put on the card to limit the time of day and day of the week purchases can be made. This prevents employees from buying fuel on the most expensive days of the week, but it also helps safeguard against use if the card is stolen.

Most businesses need to find a way to prevent unwanted activity from harming their revenue, and with the rising cost in fuel being so significantly, it’s important to protect against incidences of fraudulent activity. The right fleet card will help organizations minimize risk, protect their bottom line with strict security controls and in-depth reporting packages and reduce their overall fuel management costs.

Most organizations are always looking for a way to save money and increase profitability, and businesses that own and operate fleets are no exception. Unfortunately though, for these fleet organizations a large portion of their operating expenses are dependent on a commodity (gasoline) which has variable costs, which, in turn, makes it hard to budget accurate operating expenses. And, with the price of fuel on the rise, it has become even harder to meet projected expense estimates and therefore maintain profitability.

Rising Cost of Fuel

Fleet cards make it easy for organizations to meet their financial objectives by making it possible for companies to keep better track of their fuel expenditures through their detailed reporting packages, and, by offering substantial cost savings just for using the cards. In addition, a lot of fleet card providers recognize that different businesses have different fueling needs and therefore they make it easy for companies to get the fleet card that fits them best.

But, shopping for a fleet card can be a bit intimidating, and it’s important to recognize and prioritize your company’s needs. FleetCards USA can help you realize what’s important to your organization, and identify what fleet card would be the right fit for your fleet. Since the process of buying a fleet card program may be a new one, you might not even be aware of what you are looking for when you go to buy. FleetCards USA uses FleetMarch™ software which will always find the best possible card for your business, making the process hassle-free and saving your company both time and money.

After the FleetMatch™ software gets your information; it will make a best fit recommendation for your organization. Once you’ve done all the research and made your decision, simply visit here, and start the process of applying for your card. FleetCards USA has made it easy to combat the rising cost of fuel by making shopping for fleet cards an easy, painless experience.

The type of business you have can certainly impact the best choice of fleet card for your organization. Considering that every fleet has different needs makes it imperative to do some research on what would be the best fleet card for your business. A good fleet card provider will be able to conduct a  FleetMatch™ to select the best possible card for your organization.

Some fleets are very small and don’t offer much difficulty in the day-to-day operations of running the fleet. Therefore it might be best to get a card that offers a great discount on fuel, but doesn’t have a big reporting package. On the other hand, a large fleet means a lot more vehicles to keep track of and could thus be better equipped with a detailed reporting package. Since scheduling and tracking can be a bit of a nightmare for a large fleet, the fleet operator would probably benefit greatly from knowing the exact fuel economy of each vehicle and of getting a reporting package that details when each vehicle is due for a maintenance inspection.

Fleet cards also take into consideration the territory your business operates out of and in. Since each fleet card usually deals with a specific retail fueling station, it’s important to choose a fleet card that has gas stations where you conduct your business. If you have a small business in a localized area, it’s probably not a big deal if there aren’t a lot of options when it comes to fueling. Your fleet drivers will know where each station is, and the best, most efficient route to get there. On the other hand, a large fleet that covers a lot of geography probably wants a fleet card that has a lot of availability when it comes to fueling. While fleet cards can help you pinpoint to each driver the best place to fuel up, a fuel emergency could happen if driver’s had to cross several States to refill their gas tank.

Selecting the right fleet card for your organization entirely depends on the type of business you have, and the expectations you have of your fleet card. Contacting the right fleet card provider will help put your business on the right path to operating economically and efficiently.

Diesel fuel used to cost much less than regular gasoline. But now, it is the opposite. Diesel is much more expensive: A gas station in West Los Angeles, Calif. advertises diesel at 70 cents per gallon higher than regular unleaded gasoline.

Photo: Jonathan Passantino / FOXNews.com

Diesel fuel prices have increased over the past few months because of the increase in higher crude oil prices.

Although oil has dropped from its March 13 closing high of $109.17, it is still trading above $100 per barrel and keeping gasoline and diesel prices at or near record levels.

Are Fleet Cards a solution to rising gas prices?

With the cost of fuel rising to astronomical heights, most companies are looking for ways to reconcile their bottom line.

In particular, the fleet industry has been hit the hardest because the very foundation of their business is without a doubt linked with the price of oil. Finding a way to manage fuel costs for fleet organizations is one of FleetCards USA’s primary concerns.

A company that regularly makes many fuel purchases needs to do something to combat the unpredictable price of fuel. Taking advantage of a fleet card program means that fleet organizations can often get a discount on their fuel purchases, which can lead to reductions in their overall fuel expenses.

Fleet cards also help companies monitor each vehicle in their fleet’s fuel economy.

If you manage a large fleet, it can sometimes be hard to monitor the exact economy of each vehicle.

A fleet card makes it easy to monitor, which can help save money over the long term. Fleet card reporting will make the process of scheduling maintenance and repairs much simpler, and will help make the decision to get rid of a vehicle that’s too expensive so much easier.

FleetCards USA supports keeping Gas Prices low. For all the drivers out there stay safe and the dirty side down.

Like any good product, choosing a fleet card for your business comes down to the specific needs of your organization.  Today, there are many fleet cards to choose from and each are designed to meet your business’ individual needs and requirements. When it is time to find the right fleet card it is important to know the needs of your organization, so that you can make a smart, educated decision from the wide variety of options available.

If your fleet card provider is a good one they’ll want to have certain information from you before they help you make your decision. Taking into account things like the size of your fleet, the territory your fleet covers and your company’s location are all very important considerations when choosing a fleet card. Your fleet card provider should strive to select the right FleetMatch for your organization’s requirements.

Because of the wide array of options available to each individual company, it’s important to know what you want the fleet card to do for you. Some businesses only want to use their fleet card for fuel purchases. Other organizations would like to be able to expense maintenance costs on their fleet cards as well as fuel. Both options are available with a fleet card.

In addition, fleet cards have a great deal of flexibility within the realm of reporting. Each fleet card can come specifically tailored with a reporting package that suits the requirements of your organization. Fleet cards can offer maintenance and vehicle reports, account activity reports, summary reports and exception reports. Each of these types of reports can be as detailed or not as you choose. If you’d rather have a short summary of your fleet’s activity, that’s certainly an option available with a fleet card, and it’s important to let your fleet card provider know what you’re looking for in a fleet card reporting package.

Furthermore, a fleet card allows you to set and limit purchase controls. If you’re worried about possible fraudulent activity, or even just the impact of uncontrolled spending on your bottom line, it’s possible to set a very tight control on the fleet card you select. On the other hand, if you want your drivers to have some flexibility with their purchasing, you can set a control to allow for that. Certain fleet cards will even let you limit what time of day and what day of the week purchases can be made on it.

There are many different types of fleet cards, and each one depends on knowing the exact requirements of your business. Since fleet cards can be tailor made and custom designed, they are a very useful and versatile tool to ensuring smooth operations of any fleet.

The best advantage to having a fleet card is the overall savings associated with it.  While fleet cards can help you manage your business more efficiently they can also reduce your overall fuel expenses by 10%.  So, just by signing up for a fleet card you have taken the first step in saving money.

When using a fleet card, it’s often possible to get a discounted rate on gas. For example, certain fleet cards allow you to purchase your fuel from a network of gas retailers. Because of this agreement, most fuel companies will allow you to purchase your fuel at a much lower cost. With a lot of vehicles in your fleet, this can really add up over time, and can save you as much as 10% off of your overall fuel purchases. With gas prices on the rise, getting a fuel card can only have a positive impact on your company’s bottom line.

In addition, fleet cards can help you save money on other items, other than just fuel prices. Everyone knows that maintaining a fleet of vehicles can be very expensive. If any of your vehicles are operating at a less than optimal rate, you’re basically throwing money away. With accurate and up-to-date reporting, a fleet card lets you know how much fuel each vehicle is using. This reporting will let you know if you’re wasting money on unnecessary fuel purchases, and whether or not you should replace the vehicle if the waste becomes too excessive.

Maintaining each fleet vehicle is of prime importance when conducting fleet operations. Instead of wondering and not being sure of each vehicle’s last maintenance check, fleet card reporting will let you know. This can save your organization from getting a vehicle serviced too much or not enough. When a vehicle is serviced too much, you can be throwing money away on an unnecessary maintenance check. Conversely, when a vehicle is not serviced enough, often little problems can become big issues, which would have you spending money on costly repairs for items that could have been fixed cheaply if noticed on time.

Although an issue that can be quite touchy at times, employee fraud is a reality in some organizations. By using a fleet card, you will be cutting down on the opportunity for fleet driver’s to commit fraudulent activity. Fleet cards can set purchase controls on each transaction so you can limit the items and amount for which they are used. On top of that, fleet card reporting sends accurate receipts to the fleet card operator so organizations are no longer reliant on obtaining receipts from their employees. There no longer is any opportunity for a lost or misplaced receipt.

Fleet cards have a myriad of controls that are adaptable to the needs of each and every organization. They can help each fleet operation save money, and in turn, better serve their customers.

The cost of fuel is a daily concern, and with fluctuating prices it is to impossible to budget accordingly. And, if your business operates a fleet, it is even more of a worry. Balancing your company’s budget with many vehicles purchasing fuel at different prices is a difficult task. The best way to combat the rise and fall of gas prices is to look for patterns in pricing, and to check each vehicle in your fleet’s fuel economy.

Finding out and keeping track of your vehicles’ fuel economy is best done by utilizing a fleet fuel card. With it you can track exactly how many miles per gallon each vehicle is getting and budget accordingly. You can set card gallon limits and set purchase restrictions by card.  Accordingly, it will be easy to see if one of your fleet vehicles starts to use more gas than it previously had  by viewing transactions and exceptions reports in real time. If that happens, you’ll know right away and will be able to act accordingly to increase the vehicle’s fuel efficiency.  Certain fuel management programs even offer real time alerts notifications.

Fuel Gauge

Tracking your fleet vehicles’ fuel purchases is crucial to the success of your business. If certain vehicles are getting poor mileage per gallon, then it is imperative that it be fixed. Excessive fuel waste can eventually put you out of business. It sounds ridiculous to say, as if a few dollars here and there really matter. But multiply those few dollars by each vehicle in your fleet and then multiply it again by the amount each vehicle is used, (how often it needs to be filled up), and then again by the length of time you’re in business and the sum could be pretty astronomical. It could certainly be the difference between a profit and a loss for your business.

Utilizing a fleet fuel card means working with an offensive strategy rather than a defensive. Instead of panicking about fluctuating fuel costs, you’ll be able to relax in knowing that each of your fleet fuel vehicles is running at optimal fuel efficiency, that you’re making each one of your dollars stretch as far as it can, and that you are reducing your overall fuel costs. Excess fuel waste will be a thing of the past, and you’ll be in a much better position to ride out fluctuating gas prices.

Fleet fuel cards are known for their controls and reporting.  Their ability to be customized can also really help an company’s with their operating expenses not to mention their fuel management expenses.  One of the greatest features of the fleet fuel card is the different reporting options you can receive. Since fleet cards have the ability to be customized to your business’ needs, you can pick and choose the type of reporting that is most beneficial and then receive the information electronically that will help you manage your company’s financial data.  These reports can also be exported into excel.

When choosing the reporting package that will be specific to your company’s needs, you’ll have the option of choosing from maintenance and vehicle reports, account activity reports, summary reports, exception, denial, employee management, tax exemption and exception reports.

Maintenance and Vehicle Reports

If you’re managing a large fleet, it can be really hard to keep track of when each vehicle has had its latest maintenance inspection or if it’s performing at its optimal rate. By choosing to receive maintenance and vehicle reports, you can learn how each vehicle in the fleet is performing, and thus be able to schedule maintenance and repairs on a cost efficient basis.

Reporting Package

Account Activity Reports

Account activity reports are important so that you can know exactly what is going on with each fleet card. You can get vehicle and driver reports which will help you determine the miles per gallon for each vehicle. (And make adjustments as necessary if certain vehicles are spending way more in fuel than others.) You can also get tax exemption reports and invoice reports, which will help you keep track of all expenditures.

Summary Reports

Want a brief snapshot of what your various drivers and fleet vehicles are doing? Include the summary reports as part of your reporting package, and you’ll be able to get brief but detailed reports that will give you details on account transactions, vehicle mileage etc.

Exception Reports

Exception reports are really useful for any organization. In the fleet fuel card report package you could get a report on time of day variances (for fuel prices). This could help you tell your driver’s when they should gas up to save you money. You can also track mile per gallon variances (pattern discrepancies should be able to point this out), product variances, excess fuel purchases and track all transactions made to account.

Fleet fuel cards offer many reporting options.  So, it is important look at your organization’s requirements and select your reports based on your current business needs.

The beauty of fleet cards is their ability to be customized to meet the current requirements of your business. Unlike a regular gas card or a regular credit card, both of which do not have the customizable security and controls to meet your company’s needs, a fleet card provider can look at your company’s current fueling method and determine what security and controls your company needs and then creates a customized program designed with your business in mind.

While corporate customization is a great feature, it’s also important for the card to be flexible in its usage. Obviously, a fleet card is used to make fuel purchases, (Often at a lower, more fixed rate), and can be very useful for a company that is trying to keep track of their operating expenses. Issuing fleet cards to driver’s means that you can keep track of their purchases, and set limits on the fleet card so there are not any unauthorized transactions, or fraudulent activity.

Maintenance Inspections

In addition, fleet cards can also be used to schedule and pay for maintenance inspections. In order to keep profitability high, it is important to keep your fleet vehicles in optimal working order. Delaying repairs or regular tune-ups can be dangerous for drivers, and can end up costing you more money in the long run. A small, inexpensive problem can become a costly mess really fast if it’s ignored. Plus, if you use your fleet card to schedule your maintenance inspections, you can plan it so that not all of your vehicles are in the shop at the same time. Having your vehicles repaired on a rotating basis means that you still have fleet vehicles out on the road conducting business, and in addition, payments will be better spread out instead of one massive bill.

Fleet cards are versatile and flexible, and allow for controls to be placed on the card according to your needs. Having a fleet card issued to all of your driver’s means that you’ll be able to budget your fuel costs, schedule maintenance and repairs, and receive reporting on all the transactions made.

The main objective of any business is to be lucrative in its endeavors. And, while you may be quite successful at bringing in revenue, your business is still not profitable because of your high cost-of-doing-business. Can you change this? Can you start seeing profits and reducing your overall fuel expenses? Can you move your company from red into black?

As we know, high operating costs can be the downfall of any company. However, if fleet management is part of your business, there is a way to decrease costs and to create a budget that will account for and manage your variable expenses. If you sign up for a fleet card program, you’ll be able to control issues like security, accountability and reporting, which will only have positive effects on your bottom line.

Security

Fleet cards allow fleet owners and operators to place purchasing controls on the cards so they can limit and track fuel purchases of them. This can help protect against fraudulent practices, as it prevents drivers from making unauthorized purchases on their fleet card which had, without a fleet card program, previously ballooned operating expenses. It can also be used as a method of controlling purchases, and can be used to set limits on when, where and how much drivers can spend on their fleet card.

Balance Sheet

Accountability

When you have a fleet card program in place, you can say goodbye to the days of employees handing you crumpled up receipts with coffee stains on them, or sometimes, not even handing in any receipts at all. The users of your company fleet card are now completely accountable, because you can pull fuel and maintenance transaction reports real time and therefore reducing misplaced receipt or suspicious claims. Creating your complete balance sheet will be a much easier task, and eventually you’ll be able to determine a pattern and produce a reasonable estimate of each month’s operating expenses.

Reporting

When preparing a balance sheet and finalizing a budget, proper documentation is always needed. It’s not just about reconciling receipts, it’s about looking for trends in expenses, and managing costs efficiently in order to maximize profits. A fleet card program offers a wide variety of reporting options which can help with these fuel purchase expenses. For example, it’s possible to track the fuel efficiency for each of your fleet vehicles,  by pulling fuel and maintenance transaction information, exception reports, employee management reports, vehicle management reports and some fleet management programs even offer customizable reports to fit your specific reporting needs. You can also use a fleet card to keep track of maintenance costs, and also use it to help determine the best time to do maintenance inspections.

A fleet card program can be very beneficial to managing your business’ operating expenses, and it could be the difference between seeing a profit or seeing a loss.