A reliable fuel card allows trucking businesses to track purchases, set spending controls, get significant fuel discounts, and streamline IFTA reporting. Additionally, many fleet fuel cards do not charge monthly or transaction fees.
They also offer excellent security and control by allowing daily transactions gal, loan limits, and postal code restrictions. This real-time transparency greatly simplifies accounting processes for owner-operators.
Taxes
Many truckers who use a CFN fuel card for work can get a tax credit for the gasoline they purchase. However, these credits aren’t without risk. Fraudulent fuel tax credit claims are on the IRS’ Dirty Dozen list, and the agency warns taxpayers to steer clear of promoters offering these claims.
Some fuel cards offer fair prices for truckers and provide trucking-specific perks like 24/7 U.S.-based customer service and an app for discounts. For example, the WEX Fleet Fuel Card offers $0 transaction fees at more than 45,000 locations and provides a robust automated IFTA reporting system that automatically associates purchases by jurisdiction and vehicle for quarterly IFTA filings.
Fleet fuel cards also make it easier for drivers to pay other fixed vehicle expenses rather than variable, including car insurance, depreciation, value, registration, and taxes. By using data to reimburse those fixed costs rather than cash allowances, companies can avoid the pitfalls of misaligned expense management. Samsara integrates with FLEETCOR to automatically add fuel purchases to your IFTA reports, streamlining the process.
Convenience
Whether trucking companies use them for fleet management, expense tracking, or roadside assistance, fuel cards can save significant money for owner-operators. Though the savings from a single fill-up may seem minimal, those numbers can add up over time and make a big difference to the bottom line.
Using the right fuel card helps driver-owners streamline IFTA reporting, simplify end-of-month budgeting, and prevent unnecessary expenses. Many of these cards are also compatible with in-cab technology that allows drivers to record odometer readings and driver IDs, ensuring every purchase is documented accurately.
Besides fuel discounts, some cards offer monthly rebates to help drivers save even more. Additionally, most truckers can find many station locations that accept these cards. However, selecting a card offering comprehensive network coverage on your route is essential to ensure you have enough options. The more stations you access, the easier it is for your driver-owners to meet business needs quickly and efficiently.
Savings
Truckers’ savings by using fuel cards can be used to pay for other expenses, such as maintenance and repair costs. This can help them save money on fees and reinvest in their businesses.
Many fuel cards provide a set weekly line of credit for the driver and offer discounts at in-network stations. The cardholders can also save time and effort by eliminating the need to keep track of receipts. Depending on the card provider, some may even offer automatic tracking for IFTA functions and accounting purposes.
Some fuel cards display the price of a gallon at each station in real time, making it easy for drivers to find the best fuel prices. They also enable drivers to identify low-performing trucks, quickly saving them money on repairs. Lastly, a fuel card can also track mileage data and analyze performance over time, providing the most cost-efficient ways for truckers to save. The Fuel Freedom campaign is dedicated to breaking our oil addiction and removing barriers to competition so that natural gas, methanol, biodiesel, and other replacement fuels can compete with gasoline at the pump.
Tracking
Whether you’re an owner-operator or manage a fleet of trucks, managing expenses is an ongoing process. A fleet fuel card offers a streamlined approach to accounting, savings, and more.
These cards automatically collect data with every purchase, providing a better view of a truck driver’s expenditures than paper receipts or bank statements. They include the driver’s name, odometer reading, date and time of purchase, and what was purchased for how much money. This granular information helps eliminate errors and streamlines end-of-month budgeting.
Fuel cards also improve security and control by offering adjustable spending controls, daily gallon and transaction limits, odometer reading requirements, and more to prevent fraud, theft, and unauthorized spending. In addition, many offer the option to integrate with GPS tracking for deeper insights into truck routes and fuel consumption. This can help reduce the cost of fuel and improve a truck’s overall efficiency. This is especially important in regions with high gas prices. Integrated GPS tracking can also simplify IFTA reporting.
Accountability
A fuel card gives fleet managers a more structured record-keeping system that reduces overhead and enables more accurate financial analysis. These cards also capture more detailed transaction data, such as driver ID and odometer information on each purchase, unlike a typical credit card receipt that only displays date, location, and amount. This data makes monitoring performance and identifying inefficient driving habits or vehicles easy.
Additionally, many fuel cards offer additional management tools, including IFTA reporting and expense tracking, that streamline administrative tasks for the trucking business. For small-scale fleets with limited resources, these tools are precious and help to lower overall costs.
A reliable fuel card helps truckers save on diesel, an unavoidable cost in the industry. Savings on fuel can have a powerful ripple effect, reducing other operational expenses and improving profit margins across all areas of a trucking company. Fuel cards provide flexibility for drivers to make purchases at partnered locations and often offer discounts that can aid in lowering fuel costs. They are simple to use and give truckers and owner-operators access to the highest fuel quality at a discounted cash price.