Choosing a Fuel Card for a Fleet – Important Things to Consider

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(Newswire.net — January 24, 2019) — Successful fleet management is all about gathering the correct knowledge. Today, fuel is one of the most talked about topics, primarily because of its increasing global price rates. Hence, it is important that you scan your fuel usage for your vehicle and spend cost-effectively. The advent of the fuel cards has added ease and order to the fleet management.

However, selecting a fuel cards for trucking is not easy. Especially today, with several service providers being present online choosing the correct company is a matter of thorough scrutiny and research. Discussed below are some of the essential factors that you need to consider.

1.      Consider the location

Don’t immediately start looking for a fuel card that would address your requirements. Ideally, it is always best to determine all your needs first. List down all the probable questions you have, for instance, where are you planning to use the cards. There are few fuel card companies whose services are functional in chosen regions and countries. The others might be accepted in particular stations only. The ones who have decidedly fewer options in their functioning territory might want to be a bit cautious about restricting drivers to just a couple of stations. It could result in your employees in using more fuel than required. Hence, it is best to look through the location specifications before you proceed with your search.

2.      Determine the pricing

It might appear perplexing, but the cost that you get to see in fuel pumps isn’t exactly what will get presented in the fuel card buys. There are chosen products where you can batch the fuel purchases as well as issue pricing based on your volume after a certain period. It also has the scope to save the finance of your company. However, that might come with several other charges or requirements that cards might not pay off. The solution here is to know about your present fuel expenses. Also, remember if this pattern is likely to carry on, or would there be an increase or decrease in the days to come.

3.      Learn about the connectivity

Are you just receiving a statement during the month end? If yes, chances are you aren’t doing great with the fuel costs. There are several fleet management solutions available that you can incorporate with a prominent fuel card. It will help you to generate a direct link to the remaining vehicle data you have. Having this information in hand, you have access to the total mile/cost of the vehicle. That aside you can also view the fuel economy calculations automatically, manage the uncertain fuel buys and many more. It means, when you link your buys to a well-integrated system, it will seamlessly place all the essential fleet data in a single location. It results in useful analysis and informed decision making.

4.      Review the controls

Using a fuel card, you have the chance to restrict the card users the way you want. You can also limit the cards to a pump as well as a convenient store.  It helps you avoid chances of anyone misusing the card.

It is essential to have specific parameters in mind when you are selecting a trucking fuel card. When you keep the factors mentioned above in mind, you can choose intelligently.