Handling small business expenses can be tough; however, a fuel card can help you reduce gas expenses and make accounting easy.
Operating a transportation company is one of the most troublesome jobs since you need to tackle many hurdles. For instance, gas tends to be expensive, but you can reduce the expenses by offering your fleet of drivers fuel cards.
A fuel card is a financial tool that helps to reduce gas expenses and provide better control of your budget. On that note, we have compiled this guide on the various benefits of using a fuel card. So, sit tight and enjoy this informative read!
Difference Between Small Business Fuel Cards And Traditional Gas Cards
Before understanding the different benefits of owning a small business fuel card, it is important to be able to differentiate it from traditional gas cards. Most people assume that both these cards serve the same purpose; however, that isn’t the full truth.
Gas Cards
Technically, a regular gas card is a type of credit card which is issued to the driver so that they can fill fuel for their trucks and vehicles. However, you can only borrow the amount for gas if you have a good credit score. As such, you might find it difficult to get a fuel advance if your credit score is low.
In addition, traditional gas cards are only accepted in a few gas stations since they are typically associated with a certain brand. Therefore, you might have to travel a long distance until you finally find a place offering diesel and petroleum.
Another drawback of using a traditional gas card is that it charges a high-interest rate for the sum borrowed by the truck owners. Also, there is an annual fee charged at the beginning of the year, which makes it hard to clear off the loan.
Small Business Fuel Cards
Small business fuel cards are designed to reduce fuel expenses by giving gallon discounts on oil, diesel, petroleum, and gas. Besides this, a trucking service company can set a fuel allowance for the truckers to easily purchase fuel from the stations.
Moreover, it offers better management of funds and expenditure since it allows the company to monitor the driver’s expenditure. For instance, a pre-set allowance will discourage drivers from stealing since they can’t use the money to help their friends or buy food.
Using a fuel card also helps drivers maintain a good credit score since they don’t require to take any credit for purchasing fuel. This improves the drivers’ morale since they don’t have to lose out by paying heavy interest and annual fees.
Plus, fuel cards provide other perks to the trucking company, such as discounted repairs, detailed reports, easy maintenance, and many more.
Benefits Of Small Business Fuel Cards
1. Special Discount On Fuel
Unlike traditional gas cards that don’t offer any discounts or financial aid to bring down expenses, a fuel card offers many special discounts to the users. In fact, fuel expenses tend to be high, which can put a lot of financial burden on the business. However, fuel cards offer users different types of discount programs.
For example, some fuel cards give drivers a 40% discount per gallon of fuel. Hence, small businesses can work more efficiently since they maintain their budget and cut down on unwanted expenses.
2. Enhance Spending Control
Another benefit of using a fuel card is that it allows the trucking company to control its spending. Normally, it is hard to keep track of all expenditures made using a traditional gas card. This encourages a lot of drivers to spend more than they should; as such, the business incurs a heavy loss.
Nevertheless, unwanted expenses can be controlled on a fuel card since a trucking company can set a fuel allowance for the drivers. It also allows the company to set food and other allowances for the drivers, so they don’t feel financially burdened while working.
3. Allows Easy Management Of Funds
Fuel cards also allow small businesses to manage their funds efficiently by letting them monitor the expenditure of the drivers. For this purpose, the trucking company can download the app provided by the fuel card manufacturer and create an online profile. This profile allows you to monitor all the drivers and their expenses in real-time.
In fact, you can deactivate the card anytime if you misplace it or lose it while driving since the app allows the users to control the card. This adds an extra layer of protection in case the card falls into the wrong hands.
4. Provides Comprehensive Reports
Apart from providing financial aid services to drivers, a small business can benefit from a fuel card since it provides a comprehensive report of all expenses. For a small business to prosper, it must avoid making heavy expenses while increasing its overall productivity.
Hence, a comprehensive and in-depth report is a convenient way for the business to monitor all its expenses throughout the month and year. Therefore, it allows businesses to improve their budget and cut down their expenses in the future. Besides this, they can prepare necessary business strategies to improve productivity while minimizing costs.
5. Easily Accepted In All Stations
Traditional gas cards are usually not accepted in every gas station, which can create a lot of inconvenience for drivers if they run short on fuel. However, this problem doesn’t occur if you have a fuel card since it is accepted in all gas stations.
With that, we have reached the end of this guide. As mentioned earlier, a fuel card is one of the best financial assistance for a small business since it offers discounts and additional perks such as controlled spending, comprehensive reports, and many more.
That said, stay safe, and we hope to see you next time.