So what exactly is a petrol card? Most people know that petrol cards make life easier for businesses and individuals who are trying to keep track of their fuel expenses, but the details of how they work and their additional benefits remain a relative mystery! This article helps explain what a fuel card is and how they make your life easier. Whether you’re an individual, small business owner, or company, fuel cards will save you time and most importantly money!
What Is a Petrol Card?
A petrol card is very much like a normal credit card, in that you can make purchases on credit and then pay for these purchases at a later date. They even look like credit cards, with the same collection of embossed information on the card (e.g. your name, card number, expiry date etc.) and often the symbol of the credit company they are partnered with (e.g. VISA, MasterCard).
Controlled Spending
But unlike a normal credit card, petrol cards are limited to fuel and fleet related expenses (e.g. tyres). You can’t use it like you would a normal credit card, only for paying for petrol and other purchases that relate to your card. So hang on… if they are limited, what is the advantage in having a fuel card vs. a normal credit card? In fact, the ability to restrict purchases is one of the key advantages; if you have other people using the card (e.g. employees) you can be sure the are using it only for its intended purpose!
Streamlined Reporting
The other key advantage of petrol cards, is that all the purchases made with the card are tracked and managed, so you don’t have to worry about spending hours constructing reports or doing your tax every month. When you swipe your card at a service station, the data from the transaction is sent back to a database that stores all this information for you. That means when you receive your monthly report (or logon to their website to access your data) all your transaction information is already organised and tabulated for you. You can then use this data to pass on to the taxman, your boss, or maybe analyse it yourself to see how much fuel you are actually using! So instead of using a log book or collecting receipts, use a petrol card and all your fuel and fleet purchases are tracked and accessible in report format!
Sick of Managing Cash?
Not having to use cash is a major advantage of petrol cards. Anyone who has to manage their own fuel expenses or the expenditure of others (e.g. employees) and is doing so by handing out cash, knows how difficult this is. Dealing with cash is the ultimate time-vacuum! You have to calculate how much is needed, either hand it out to your employees (or convince them to spend their own money in advance!), make sure they collect receipts for every purchase, make sure they give them back to you, then.. after all that.. you have to spend hours adding up each employees petrol expenditure to make sure the books balance!! What a monumental waste of time! Thank heavens for petrol fleet cards – with a fleet card your employees can simply swipe a card each time they need to fill up
Petrol Cards Sound Great!
By now, you’re probably thinking about all the time you waste dealing with petrol expenses and you’re ready to embrace the convenience that is the humble fuel card! Well hold your horses, make sure you do you’re research into the right card for you. There are many different options out there, but most fall into two categories: oil company cards (e.g. Shell, BP, Caltex, Mobil) and independent cards (e.g. Motorpass).
Generally the difference is fuel ‘discounts’ when you go with an oil company card (this means you are tied to going to the company every time, which means you don’t always get the cheapest price and are often inconvenienced), and greater coverage and account features when you go with an independent petrol card (e.g. Motorpass has 90% service station coverage in Australia and the best reporting capabilities of all cards).
Thanks for reading!
