Mistakes to Avoid for Trucking Businesses New to Fuel Card Services

Getting fuel management right is an ongoing process. Even if you’ve chosen the right fuel card company, fuel card services and gotten discounts negotiated with your contract, you may be under stress to provide the lowest possible fuel costs for a small business, or a large enterprise corporation.

If you neglect the fleet fuel review at your company, you’ll be passing up savings and benefits such as no lost money at the pump. Plus, an accurate recording of what is actually happening while your drivers are on the road.

Some mistakes you can make include not assessing fuel payments, exceptions, duplicate transactions and discounts.

Getting the Data on Fuel You Need for Your Trucking Business

If you don’t know what is happening with prices for fuel in general, you have no measure against which you can determine how much you actually should be paying.

Aside from your knowledge of the market for fuel prices, it’s a great idea to sign up for a fuel pricing service, which can give you immediate data on the fluctuating national price of fuel.

However, you also want to keep an eye on the local price of fuel, which is going to be lost in the shuffle of the national market.

Avoid Duplicate Charges on Your Fleet Fuel Account

After you check up on taxes, you can calculate the amount that your card vendor is making and check the numbers against the agreed rate. This should be standard practice.

But it’s also important to make sure you’re not getting duplicate charges. Because there are so many purchases made on a fleet account, it’s always possible for duplicate charges to occur.

You can account for this by having in mind what your fuel prices should typically be, and noting that against what it actually is. If you find a discrepancy, check deeply. Make it a habit to review a selection of your data each month.

Keep A Standard of Use for Each Fleet Fuel Card

Because you may have large trucks that are filling up with hundreds of gallons of fuel at once, and all of that amount is going to be spent on a single card, it’s important to know that you’re getting the right rates.

Aid yourself in this by designating certain cards with certain trucks or single pieces of equipment. That way you’ll be clear about what is being spent where, how much – and you’ll have a steady record from which to compare.

Keep the Right Fuel in the Right Place

Another mistake to avoid is using the wrong fuel for the trucks in your fleet. If you’re using on-road fuel to fill up an off-road vehicle, you may be paying up to 50 cents more in taxes for that product compared to its proper destination. Again, using a single card for a single vehicle will ensure you’ll see the discrepancy.

All of these steps are designed to keep your trucking business as efficient as possible. Fuelz specializes in helping you maintain an efficient fleet with cost-effective fuel card services and nationwide coverage. Give us a call today at 855-GO-FUELZ and get started saving money and improving your fleet management.