If you like many other people are looking around for another Fuel supplier, then please read our seven success tips which explains how Fuel Cards work and what they can do for your company.

We hope that reading this will help you make an informed decision on what to do next and also help you to choose the right Fuel Card for your company.

1) Fuel Pricing

Fuel costs are more often than not, the first point raised by new clients when discussing the various fuel card options. With fuel prices consistently reaching new highs here in the UK, there is more emphasis than ever to save money wherever possible so it seems like the logical place to start!

There are a number of fuel card products that offer the user a fixed, weekly rate for their diesel (and even on unleaded petrol too for “Fastfuel” customers).

Some of these products are “commercial” fuel cards which offer (predominantly) diesel at wholesale rates, usually linked to the Platt’s pricing mechanism.

These cards normally offer the best solution for those looking to save money off pump prices, with savings occasionally as high as ten pence per litre in extreme cases, but usually closer to two or three pence below the UK national average pump price.

However, many suppliers have been known to offer artificially low fuel rates in the first instance to gain interest from their prospects and then slowly but surely increase rates over time, often eventually leading to the customer consistently paying rates higher than average pump price!

One of the key factors you should look out for when opening a commercial fuel card account is to request a weekly price notification from your chosen supplier. This would normally be sent in advance either by email, SMS text or fax, whichever is your preference.

Receiving a price notification allows you to monitor the price
movement from week to week and compare it with national
average or individual pump prices at the stations you regularly use to ensure you continue to receive a competitive rate.

If a fuel card supplier refuses or is unable to send you a price notification, this should set alarm bells ringing, as it probably means they’re reluctant to be up front about their fuel pricing!!

In other instances, fuel may be supplied at a national rate based on the card supplier’s
network of sites. This can result in savings for some or result in paying a higher rate for others, it all depends on how competitive the pump prices are at the particular outlets the end user draws from.

Once again, a price notification in advance ought to be requested to ensure you’re paying a fair rate.

Finally, there’s a number of fuel cards that simply offer fuel pricing at the prevailing pump price at the time of the transaction, which of course means no savings are made but equally importantly, you’re not paying more than the pump price either!

In 2009, Forecourt Fuels successfully introduced a brand new, price guarantee scheme to over 500 customers which ensured the account holder would save a minimum of three pence per
litre on average off the national average pump price over the course of the year, the first of its kind and something no other supplier had previously offered before or since (at the time of
writing).

These customers were assured by the guarantee they would receive at least a three pence per litre saving off national average or else they would receive a refund for the difference in the event  of the savings falling short of target!

Since 2009, over three thousand UK businesses have taken advantage of what is still a unique offer in the fuel card market and have collectively saved over £3.5 Million off their fuel costs!!

2) Site Coverage

Another vital aspect when choosing the right fuel card for your business is the service
station coverage it offers.

This could range from a handful of sites in the case of a small, independent company that own a handful of sites through to several thousand sites with extensive coverage right across the UK (and Europe in some cases).

Some businesses just need sites in their
local town or on a particular route, whilst
others may require regional or even national coverage in the case high mileage drivers, larger fleets or companies with multiple depots.

When speaking to a potential fuel card provider, be sure to tell them about any key areas where site coverage is essential to your business… and get them to prove any recommendations they make will meet your requirements in those locations.

Either way, it’s vital to do this or else you may well end up standing the time and cost of drivers having to go off route to fill up (which can easily negate any potential savings on offer through a keen price!).

Forecourt Fuels have recently launched an app in conjunction with UK Fuels called
“e-Route UK” which allows users to pinpoint their nearest available sites by card type, either by current location or destination.

Alternatively, to gain a greater perspective of available site coverage in any chosen part of the UK and to help you to see which product best fits your needs,
visit our Station Locator

In addition to this, Forecourt Fuels have also added a free satellite navigation website at
www.SatNavDownloads.com which allows regularly updated service station networks to be
downloaded and installed on to TomTom, Garmin and Navman units, ensuring drivers can easily find their nearest available site.

3) Online Account Management

Most, but not all suppliers are now able to offer an online facility to enable you to manage your account via the web.

Examples of the type of features you should expect to be available to you free of charge include:-

•    View transactions on your account, both historically and new, uninvoiced ones
•    Organise individual cards into cost centres for accounting purposes
•    Run MPG reports
•    Gain snapshots of MPG fuel usage patterns either individually or collectively
•    Stop any existing cards promptly and reliably, especially in the event of loss or theft
•    Order additional cards for any new vehicles or employees
•    Download or view historical invoices for your account
•    Update account information such as contact details etc.

With the vast majority of companies now using the internet as an integral part of running their business, it’s vital that any prospective fuel card supplier is able to offer these facilities (especially in the case of larger fleets) to ensure your account runs smoothly and efficiently.

Of course, if you’d rather speak with a human being when you have a query, then make sure
you have a point of contact you know you can confidently expect to reach during business hours.

Forecourt Fuels have their own bespoke online account management called “Velocity” which has all of the above features plus several more and is available to all clients completely free of charge.

4) Management Information / Cost Centre Reporting

One of the main features of using a fuel card, regardless of type and normally of supplier too, is the additional information available as standard to the account holder, which is normally sent as part of the regular invoicing at no extra cost.

Features such as breakdown by vehicle in showing the registration and mileage at the time of the transaction cannot be demonstrated by any other purchasing method, including credit cards.

This makes life far easier for businesses needing to break costs down by individual driver or vehicle in order to help manage their fleet efficiently, as mentioned in the previous section

VAT breakdown is also an extremely useful feature for your accountant or accounts department and will save you money alone as it means you won’t need to trawl through mountains of receipts working out the VAT element!

If you’re running a larger fleet of vehicles, you may need to break the standard transaction reports down into cost centres (as mentioned in the previous section) to enable different parts of your business to breakdown their individual costs.

Not all fuel card providers have the technology available to meet these requests and in the case of those that do, will charge for it in many instances.

If cost centre reporting is important to your fleet, be sure to check with any provider you speak with as to whether they’re able to meet your requirements.

5) Security

Another feature that sets most fuel cards apart from other fuel purchasing methods is the ability to pick and choose by individual card exactly which products can and can’t be purchased.

An example of this would be a fleet with twenty vehicle comprising 15 salesmen, 3 engineers and 2 directors.

The salesmen could be restricted to just diesel only to ensure they’re not buying snacks,
cigarettes or magazines etc, on the company’s account!

However, the engineers may need petrol as well as diesel to power machinery for example, so their cards could be set up to allow “all fuels”.

And finally, the directors could have a fuel card which allows them to buy anything available within the shop (as after all, it’s probably their money! ☺)

Some fuel cards are issued with a pin number for added security. Normally this is a 4 digit number and is generated at random when the card is produced.

6) Free Issue Of Fuel Cards, Transaction Fees & Set Up Costs

Another factor to check with your preferred fuel card provider is whether they charge for
opening an account by way of an admin or set up fee and do they charge an annual or monthly fee for the cards themselves?

It has also recently come to light that one of the leading fuel card suppliers in the UK has
started charging up to £2.00 per transaction! This alone can add up to 5 pence to the cost of every single litre which could potentially cost a large fleet thousands of pounds a year for
essentially zero added value!

For example, a fleet with 100 vehicles, all of which fill up twice a week, would have just had their fuel costs increased by £20,800 + VAT!!

Card fees have also been known to vary from £5 a year (or 40 pence a month) per card to a whopping £75 per year per card in some cases, so well worth checking the small print and asking the question when signing up as failure to do so could cost you a small fortune.

Finally, I’ve also noticed recently that some suppliers have started charging their account holders for low or non-usage so once again, check the small print carefully.

Personally, I’ve always felt it inappropriate to charge customers for choosing Forecourt Fuels as their fuel supplier and therefore we definitely do not charge any of the additional fees mentioned above!

There’s only one product we have a card cost for and this is because we’re contractually bound to do so by the oil company in question!

7) Interest Free Credit

My final tip is to check the payment terms applied to your fuel card and ensure there are no charges for receiving a credit account.

Payment terms are nearly always by direct debit only, normally taken on a set amount of days after the end of the accounting period (usually a minimum of seven).

Some fuel card providers will also offer monthly payment terms (subject to credit status) to give you the maximum amount of credit available.

Again, if requesting monthly terms, this may come at a price due to the “cost of the money” and the very small margins associated with selling fuel so it’s worth asking the question whether the additional credit line sought will affect the cost of the fuel and if so, by how much.

Well, that’s it! I hope you’ve found this guide to finding the best fuel card for you helpful and informative and has made the numerous choices available a little easier to set apart from one another!

If you have any questions on using a fuel card that remain unanswered, please feel free to call our team here at Forecourt Fuels completely free of charge on 08000 14 14 64 and ask away!

Thanks for reading and best wishes,

Nick Staples

Managing Director – Forecourt Fuels Ltd

www.forecourtfuelcards.co.uk

Petrol retailers warned Treasury minister Danny Alexander in a face-to-face meeting that the financial crisis at the Coryton refinery in Essex – one of the UK’s biggest suppliers of fuel – would cause chaos at the forecourts if it ceased production.
RMI Petrol chairman Brian Madderson said: ‘I told him the Government needed to be aware that the refinery was in a critical state. It’s amber alert. I asked him what were the contingency plans.’
With reserves at ‘an all time low’ Mr Madderson said: ‘The country could grind to a halt.’
He said that Mr Alexander told him the Government was keeping a watching brief on events and that he had been trying in vain to speak to the Department for Energy today.
‘After warning them last week I wanted to ask what contingency plans have been put in place,’ he said. ‘But they’re not returning my calls.’

Motoring misery: Petrol retailers have warned that the crisis could cause snaking queues and chaos on the forecourts as pumps run dry. Mr Howitt told BBC Radio 5 Live the refinery was being dragged down by its parent company.
He said half the jobs were well-paid, highly skilled positions, while the other half were contractors, many of whom have already received their redundancy notices.
He said: ‘One thousand job losses in Essex will have a devastating impact on the local economy.
‘I don’t want to be alarmist about this, but I don’t want to be dishonest either. Supplies across London and the South East could be affected and I have been told this could impact the Olympics.’
He said that the closure could lead to petrol shortages and called on the Government to prevent ‘devastating consequences’.
The MEP said: ‘The Government cannot continue to stand back from the devastating consequences of this crisis.
‘The Government has failed to heed our warnings and done nothing to protect the jobs in my constituency and must now recognise it has a duty to assure security of supply without further delay.’
Motorists are already on course for a 2p a litre fuel price hike at the pumps that could take diesel prices to a new record high, the AA has warned.

It is adding £4.25 a month to already hard-pressed family budgets and increasing the cost of a fill-up for ‘Mondeo Man’ by  £1.40.
The AA said drivers have already seen a 1p a litre rise over the last fortnight – with another 1p now  in the pipeline as wholesale prices rises work their way through to forecourts.
It said latest data from industry price trackers Experian Catalist  showed that the latest average pump prices for petrol are133.66p, compared to 128.14p a year ago , and 111.80p in mid January 2010.
Diesel prices are now averaging 142.07p a litre compared to 132.53p a year ago and 111.91p in mid January 2010.
Record  pump prices set on  9 May 2011 are 137.43p a litre for petrol and 143.04p for diesel.
Retailers told Treasury minister Danny Alexander that the fuel crisis could cause chaos on Britain’s forecourts

The AA today urged motorists to not to panic buy, which could drain petrol stations of their reserves and lead to queues on the forecourts.
There are only eight refineries in the UK – at Fawley near Southampton, Grangemouth, Stanlow, Milford Haven, Lindsey in north Lincolnshire, South Killingholme and Pembroke, as well as Coryton.
They may now be called upon to help make up the shortfall following the 586-acre Essex site’s closure.

The refining market has come under pressure in recent years as operating expenses and the cost of crude oil surge at a greater rate than the value of the products.
A survey carried out by energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie in 2010 showed that 29 of 96 refineries in the EU did not generate a positive net cash margin.
However, the market has become tougher as the economic downturn in Europe has hit demand for transport fuels and competition has grown from the refineries in Asia.
Petroplus reported a net loss of $413million (£265m) in the first nine months of last year, while in December its banks withdrew a $1.05bn (£675m) portion of its $2.01bn (£1.29bn) credit facility.

The other main supplier for the South East and London is the Exxon Mobil refinery in Fawley, near Southampton.
There is speculation that former owners BP might be asked to step in to help protect a strategic energy supply.
BP, a major customer of the Coryton refinery, said it had no immediate supply issues but it was ‘watching the situation very closely’.
The refinery was operating as usual today but no deliveries of petrol or other products, including bitumen, were leaving the site, according to union officials.

Russ Ball, regional officer of Unite, said lorries would be ‘stacking up’ and were not allowed to leave because of the insolvency arrangements.
‘Crude oil is still being produced and the refinery is operating, but nothing is going out of the gate,’ he said. ‘I am still confident because the refinery is viable and productive and hopefully we will know more in the next 24 hours.’
Petrol deliveries to garages and supplies of bitumen for road building and repairs will be affected ‘pretty soon’, he said.
Professional services firm PwC confirmed it was appointed as administrator to the UK arm of Petroplus, which includes the Coryton refinery, an oil storage site in Teesside and a research and development site in Swansea.
PwC said Petroplus had suffered as a result of ‘low refining margins and high restructuring costs’.

Steven Pearson, joint administrator and PwC partner, said: ‘Our immediate priority is to continue to operate the Coryton refinery and the Teesside storage business without disruption while the financial position is clarified and restructuring options are explored.
‘Over coming days we intend to commence discussions with a number of parties including customers, employees, the creditors and the Government to secure the future of the Coryton and Teesside sites.’

Visit www.forecourtfuels.co.uk and see how our fuel cards can save you money on your next journey.

With recent years being hard-hitting it is likely that during 2011 the repercussions of the recession will continue, with finances already restricted inflated fuel prices are yet another blow to an already difficult time.

There are endless statistics and articles published which give hard figures of fuel price increases however, even the smallest of rises always would  have been felt by the fleet manager.

UK business are currently experiencing a change in culture; whereby business meetings are no longer accepted and attended without thought, in many cases every aspect of travel is being scrutinized and for this reason a rise in teleconference technology has been reported.

But what about those companies who cannot simply cut travel?

It would be foolish to think every company can simply cut journeys. We realize there are many industries where travel cuts cannot happen, the haulage industry is a classic example.

For those companies where travel is fundamental fuel cards are becoming increasingly popular, and it’s clear why….

Fuel cards are thought of as one of the simplest forms of managing and rejuvenating the fuel purchasing process, the key added benefit which comes with using a fuel card is the vast amount of information that can be accessed about each and every transaction made by a driver.

At the point of sale a fuel card almost acts as a data chip collating the important information about the driver and his vehicle, this combined with information the forecourt provides gives a wealth knowledge to the fleet manager.

Imagine; gaining more information about your fuel expenditure, lowering time spent on administration, whilst making guaranteed savings, well…..with a fuel card this no longer has to be a thought- but can easily become a reality.

Information is so accessible managing the fuel purchasing process has never been easier.

A business area which is often target for cost reductions and monitoring is the company fleet; this is why fleet managers are often considered to have one of the most stressful job roles.

The pressure of reducing vehicle costs whilst lowering administration can seem like an impossible task, and is often time consuming with little result. Many fleet managers and business owners have no choice but to look for a realistic solution.

With competition becoming more and more fierce, fleet managers and business owners are looking to fuel cards as an easy and effective way to manage the fuel purchasing process and ultimately the bottom line.

Fleet managers have become confident in fuel cards. Not only can the manager monitor the amount of fuel drawn but also get a better insight into mileage figures and benefit from great cost savings too. With fuel being an unavoidable expense for many companies and the heart beat for others such as hauliers and taxi drivers fuel cards are a profound solution. The days of pay and reclaim schemes are long gone!

Many fuel card companies offer guaranteed discounts on the cost per litre of fuel, which can make a significant cost savings over a period of time, as administration radically lowered subsequently costs also diminish.

Other savings include the limits which can be put on a fuel card. The manager can specify the limit of fuel which a driver can draw and also the additional products such as food which can be purchased at the forecourt, thus eliminating unnecessary expense claims. With fuel cards allocated to a specific vehicle the worry of drivers abusing the system by refueling their own vehicle is eliminated completely.

There are many articles available which discuss how to find the best fuel card for your business, but the secret lies in your fuel card supplier. Having a reliable friendly account manager that you get on well with, will ensure your fuel card system works effectively. Your fuel card account manager should have extensive knowledge and be able to cater to your distinct needs. There are numerous fuel card suppliers in the market, by researching the company and having a chat about what you require from your fuel card will enable you to see if you are choosing the right fuel card and supplier; you will quickly find out if you can establish a good working relationship and thus really get the most from your fuel cards.