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.

There are so many different types of fuel cards these days, that it can be difficult to determine which one is best for your company. There is often some confusion around what a fleet card is and what it does, and how it could be of benefit to your business.

Explaining fleet cards

Essentially, a fleet card is a corporate gas card. Now, that doesn’t mean that they’re only applicable to Presidents and CEOs of major corporations. In fact, fleet cards are beneficial to any organization that owns and operates a fleet of vehicles.

What do fleet cards do?

A fleet card helps an organization keep track of their operating expenses, and since gas prices often fluctuate, it allows them to budget their variable costs more effectively. In addition, companies can be assured of more security, as they are able to place security controls on the card which makes drivers accountable for when, where and how they purchase fuel. Furthermore, a fleet card can help an organization manage their fuel expense budget, because by using a fleet card, they no longer have to deal with the hassle of employee reimbursement and cash transactions.

Fueling transactions

Eliminating employee reimbursements by using the fleet card helps protect companies against fraudulent fueling transactions. Your employees can no longer request reimbursement for an expense and claim a lost receipt. If you adopt a fleet card program for your company, you’ll be able to go through a wide range of fuel management options and choose which are most suitable for your business. So, if you need stricter controls on the cards, you can choose that.

Fleet cards also come with a wide variety of reporting options. Your company can choose to get maintenance and vehicle reports, (which will help you schedule and budget for vehicle repair.) You can also get account activity and summary reports so you can track total expenditures for your company. All in a convenient package, without the irritation of dealing with reconciling your balance sheet with missing receipts and with unexpected and unexplained costs.

How do fleet cards work?

Simply decide which options are best for you, issue cards to your employees and enjoy the freedom of a stress free operating structure.
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Transport Trucks

When you hear the word fleet, your mind automatically conjures up a picture of a group of gigantic transport trucks zooming down the highway. But actually, a fleet is any large group of vehicles owned and operated by the same company. You could own a fleet and not even know it.  To help you out, we’ve compiled a list of industries that might need or have a fleet, so that you can start taking advantage of the opportunities that fleet ownership can bring. So, aside from the transportation trucking industry, what are the other possible businesses that might have a fleet?

Sales

Many organizations send their sales representatives out in the field with company owned vehicles. Because the company usually owns the vehicle and pays for all expenses related to running and maintaining the car, the company is actually in the business of fleet ownership. They might not be aware of it because they’re not technically in the transportation industry.

 Sales fleet

Trades

Electricians, plumbers, roofers and many other trade workers are constantly going to other out of the office locations to do their jobs. It’s almost a guarantee that they’ll need to bring their tools with them and will need a fairly large vehicle in which to transport them. These vehicles are most often owned by the company that employs the worker, and the company is usually responsible for the repair and upkeep. Although it probably doesn’t occur to them, company’s that own trade vehicles are also in the business of fleet ownership.

Professional Services

‘Flower’ is not usually an image you picture when you think of the word fleet, but if you’ve ever taken delivery of a bouquet, or had a package delivered to you, chances are the person bringing your goods drove a company vehicle to make the delivery. And, because the company usually has more than one person making deliveries for them at a time, and they are also usually responsible for the vehicle’s expenses, they also participate in fleet ownership in addition to their main business.

Flower Delivery

Landscape

The people who design and build our beautiful gardens need to tote a lot of materials around with them to effectively do their job. A lot of their work is quite messy, and the company they work for typically supplies a van to their employees. Most of these businesses are a decent size, and they often have quite a few crews in their employ, therefore they possess and run a small fleet of landscaping vans.

So, in effect, it’s possible to be in the fleet ownership industry, and not even realize it. I’m sure most of you didn’t realize the above industries were in the fleet business in addition to their regular work. Can you think of any other businesses that don’t fit the stereotypical idea of a fleet, but that are actually in possession of one?