Choosing the best fuel card for your business

A fuel card is, as the name suggests, a payment card that is used specifically for fuel. Sometimes they can be used for other vehicle-related purchases such as engine oil and screenwash, but generally the cards are very limited in their reach.

However, this is exactly why they’ve come to prominence. Other methods of paying for fuel, such as cash or business debit cards, have become outdated. Carrying around wads of cash is hardly the most secure way of managing company funds, and it means drivers will have to keep hold of receipts which then get sorted through at a later date. There are lots of steps where things can get missed or neglected.

With business credit cards, the receipt issue remains, on top of the fact that an employee will have unbridled access to the company bank account, and it’s not always clear what’s been spent and by whom.

Business fuel cards eliminate these issues. When a driver uses one at a petrol station, they carry out the transaction as normal, and that’s all they need to do. The business will then receive HMRC-compliant invoices displaying all the payments for a particular period. This means there’s no need to sort through piles of receipts, and because the card can only be used for fuel, there’ll be no mystery payments.

On top of this increased visibility and security that fuel cards have over other payment methods, a major appeal of these cards is that most of them offer cheaper fuel rates than those advertised at the pump. It may only be a few pence per litre, but this can make for considerable yearly savings.

With Soldo, there are a couple of options when it comes to paying for fuel. Soldo does offer specific fuel cards, and we’ll come to those in a moment, but if you’re looking for a wider-ranging card, then we’ve got you covered.

With a Soldo prepaid card, you get all the benefits of security and visibility that comes with company fuel cards, but without the limits. In fact, the only limits are those set by yourself, so you are in complete control. You preload your cards with an amount of your choice, then allocate categories for that card so they can only be used for certain things.

When employees are on the go, fuel expenditure might not be the only charge, and they might need to pay for food, accommodation, or even laundry, and a fuel card cannot cover these expenses.

You can top up their cards remotely using Soldo’s mobile app or desktop console, or switch a card off if it gets lost. This is where the versatility of Soldo comes into its own, as it offers maximum flexibility and complete control.

One of the biggest advantages of Soldo fuel cards is that, unlike other fuel card companies, they aren’t restricted to specific brands, so your drivers don’t need to waste time seeking out particular fuel sites. Fill up anywhere in the country, and track fuel spend in real-time with transactions uploaded straight into the Soldo mobile app.

If you have a fleet of vehicles, you can manage its fuel payments by associating cards with specific vehicles. Create reports that provide a list of payments made at each service station. Then, by combining the expenses of all vehicles into a single report, Soldo can provide an overview of the total spent and the distribution of VAT costs for each individual vehicle.

With Soldo, you can choose a card that works best for you and your business. This level of choice means that fuel cost management becomes a breeze, and with no more time wasted trying to sort it manually, you can get back to the tasks that matter.

It takes minutes to apply, with no need for a credit check, and your account can be up and running the very next day.

Optimise your cash flow and cut down on admin time by signing up to Soldo today.