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.