Fleet fuel cards: all you need to know

Fleet fuel cards: all you need to know

Fuel and EV charge cards offer an easier way to pay for your petrol, diesel or electricity!

Tired of running after your fleet drivers, managing your fuel spend and keeping up with that growing collection of receipts?

If you manage a fleet of business vehicles, your business’ fuel spend is one of your biggest expenses, and managing fuel spend can be a big challenge. So, saving where you can is crucial to making your fleet operations more efficient.

Whether your fleet’s small, medium or large, try simplifying your fuel spend with fuel cards.

Why?

• Get better control over your company’s expenses
• Save money on fuel
• Cut down on admin and make your VAT claims easier

Fleet fuel cards are a great way for your business to save time and money, and we've partnered with Allstar to provide your fleet with an excellent range of fuel payment solutions.

So we’ve created a guide of all the information you need to know about fuel cards and how you can take control of your fuel expenses. 

What are fleet fuel cards?

Fuel cards are an alternative payment card that businesses can use to purchase fuel at a petrol station or charging point.

They look and are used just like a personal credit or debit card. Businesses give them to their fleet drivers and the company is billed directly when buying fuel, which is more convenient for your employees.

At the end of the month, the fuel cards outstanding balance must be paid in full by the business.

Allstar have a large range of fuel cards, depending on your business’ individual needs. 

How do fuel cards work?

Fuel cards can only be used by businesses, not individuals for personal use.

If you’re using a charge point, you’ll park in a charging bay and plug the charger into your EV. Then follow the instructions on the charge point screen and you’ll be asked to place your Allstar One Electric card up against the screen. The charging session will then begin and the car can be left to charge.

When you’re ready to stop charging, you’ll need to press ‘stop charge’, swipe your Allstar card and then unplug your vehicle.

It’s that easy!

An Allstar One Electric fuel card can be used to refuel your electric vehicle or Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicle, so you won’t need to worry about making the transition to electric right away.

If you’re paying for petrol or diesel, you’ll use a fuel card the same way as if you were paying with a personal payment card.

You’ll need to ensure the fuel station is included in the Allstar fuel network – Allstar have a pump locator to help you find your nearest site - then fill up with the amount of fuel you need, present your fuel card, and enter your four-digit pin.

There are even a range of add-on services which can give ease of payment for tolls, servicing, maintenance, and repair for unexpected events like a breakdown. These added services are designed to reduce the hassle of unexpected payments for your drivers.

Where can I use my fuel card?

If you’re looking for a fuel card with great coverage, the Allstar One Electric has access to one of the largest public charging networks and to over 90% of fuel sites in the UK – so don’t be alarmed if you’re a mixed fuels fleet. 

If you have electric fleet vehicles, the Allstar card can be used at over 10,200 charge points, over 6,000 fast chargers and 3,600 rapid/ultra rapid chargers across the UK. It covers 85% of motorway charging sites so your drivers are unlikely to have trouble finding a compatible charger on one of their breaks.

Allstar also partners with Zap-Map, so these specific charging locations can be found by lodging your Allstar card into the Zap-Map App. The charging points are also labelled to show that an Allstar card is accepted.

Are fuel cards a taxable benefit?

Fuel cards are only taxable if your fleet drivers use their fleet fuel cards for personal use too.

Your employees will need to keep record of the exact mileage used for any personal travel and pay you back for this fuel.

If HMRC question any VAT reclaims, you’ll have the records to prove that any reclaims have been made for business journeys only.

How do fuel cards benefit your business?

• Reduce fuel spend

An online portal comes with all of the Allstar fuel cards as standard and can provide valuable insights into driver behaviour patterns, and where your drivers are buying fuel or charging their EVs. This feature could help you work out where you can cut costs, for example, avoiding filling up at more expensive sites.

Exclusive discounts are also available on a fuel card, and you can save up to 10p off every litre of diesel at participating discount sites.

• Simplify admin with invoices that are HMRC-compliant

HMRC approve fuel card invoices, so you’ll have no problems working out your fleet’s total fuel consumption when you want to claim back on VAT. It also means you’ll spend less time chasing after those never-ending paper trails and manually entering data, meaning you can focus on more important matters.

• Stops the hassle of pay and reclaim for your drivers

Having your drivers pay for fuel and then claim back the expenses is a common option for fleets when paying for fuel. But adopting fuel cards means you can give your employees the freedom to pay for travel expenses without leaving them out of pocket.

This’ll leave your drivers worry-free and keep them on the move, making sure your business operations are running as smoothly as possible.

• Control business spend

You can choose how much money your drivers have to spend on their fuel card and increase or decrease their limit when you want to. You also choose what can and can’t be bought with them, which prevents any of your employees taking advantage of the card by adding any unnecessary mileage.