Barclaycard Business Solutions, in association with The Miles Consultancy (TMC), has launched a new fuel card, Fuel+.
Fuel+ is designed to help both drivers and fleet managers, and combines a fuel expenses Barclaycard with a mileage capture and audit system, developed by TMC.
The Fuel+ Barclaycard, with global Visa acceptance, allows drivers to refuel at almost all petrol forecourts in the UK, while the TMC mileage system gives fleet managers visibility of their staff’s fuel spend and reduces costs by streamlining and automating processes.
Following a successful pilot with 30 corporate clients including supermarket brand Morrisons, Fuel+ is now available to all organisations with large vehicle fleets that have a fuel spend of more than £500,000. There are plans to roll it out to smaller fleets in due course.
The system works by enabling drivers to log their business mileage simply online, over the phone or via text.
Companies can also opt to use the TMC Mileage App, which allows drivers to utilise the GPS tracking in their smartphone, letting them log their miles on the go.
The system then analyses all relevant data including card purchases, mileage stats, distance travelled and even vehicle-specific tank capacity.
It can identify any irregular patterns of spend, significantly reducing over-claims. It also helps ensure accurate VAT recovery, making it simple and easy to reclaim without the need for driver receipts.
Alejandro Stein, managing director of Barclaycard Global Commercial Payments, said: “Fuel costs are a significant and rising cost for many businesses and can be complex and time consuming to manage.
“Fuel+ will help to make things much simpler for both drivers and fleet managers and could help businesses cut, on average, a quarter off their business fuel costs.
“Fuel+ Barclaycards, with chip & PIN security, allow drivers to use almost all filling stations in the UK, including pay-at-the pump sites, meaning drivers don’t have to plan ahead when thinking about re-fuelling.
“While fleet managers will find managing fuel costs much more straight-forward through the audit and reporting capabilities.”
Paul Jackson, managing director of TMC, said: "Fuel+ gave outstanding results during the extensive trials when it was in daily use by thousands of drivers employed by 30 fleets.
“It is a single, proven, fleet fuel and mileage solution combining market-leading audited mileage capture options with a global Visa corporate payment card.
“It also sets new standards for visibility and control over corporate fuel budgets, helping ensure HMRC compliance while freeing drivers to buy fuel efficiently wherever they are."
Morrisons case study
Supermarket brand Morrisons wanted to simplify the way their fuel expense system operated. Fuel purchases and mileage claims at the time went through a time-intensive manual process. It has piloted Fuel+ over the last year.
Morrisons found that the solution eliminated the need to keep VAT receipts and streamlined processes.
Also, by mandating accurate reporting of mileage and transactions, it delivered a direct saving of over £300,000 on the corporate fuel budget in the first year of operation.
A further £500,000 of potential cost savings and tax-efficiency improvements have also been identified.
See next week's Fleet News for more on the Barclaycard/TMC fuel card.
Nigel Boyle - 14/03/2014 12:09
Is there a fuel surcharge over the pump price? Are there annual fees? I few crucial missing facts.