Fueling Your Business
If you attend a dog event, whether it be a show or sporting venue, you will often see handlers providing treats for energy to their dogs. They are giving their dogs ‘fuel’ for the occasion.
Businesses often need actual fuel to move around their people, products, or services. The best approach to fuel your business, regardless of size, may be in the form of fuel or fleet cards.
As a sole proprietor, Illuminate’s accountant told us early to either establish a separate business credit card or, if using a personal credit card, to only charge business related costs on that card. Essentially, do not mix business with personal accounts. There is, however, an alternative to using a credit card for fuel needs of a business. It is often referred to as a fuel card or a fleet card. The term fleet refers to a fleet of vehicles.
Fuel or fleet cards are usually specific only to gasoline. A company applies for the card and, if approved, can partake of benefits such as reduced gas prices in the form of per gallon discounts, centralized reporting, and fraud prevention measures. Often, these cards are specific to a particular gas company. You will want to confirm which gas stations you or your employees have the most access to in your geographic network.
One of the key features of these cards is that the use is limited to gasoline. This way your employees cannot charge food or supplies or anything else your business should not be covering. The reporting options vary per card but will normally offer a monthly reporting output. This will help manage the accounting side of such cards. Do your research to identify which brand of fuel card would provide your firm with the best gas discount with the least amount of internal administration.
As our business and personal worlds become more mobile again and not as remote as we have been since 2020, exploring the concept of a fuel or fleet card for your business should be worth the time. Knowing the options as your firm expands or you and your employees hit the road again, can only help fuel your growth.
Be well.
