As the cost of doing business rises, a review of where to find savings to bridge the gap suddenly takes on added significance.
Companies can’t control prices at the pump so with the cost of UK fuel hovering at near record levels, now is the time to review your operation.
Treat higher fuel costs – a litre of diesel is £2 per litre for the first time while unleaded petrol is 174.71p* – as a prompt to take a fresh look at the wider operation.
Where is money being spent, where have inefficiencies crept in over time and what are the small tweaks that could add up to meaningful savings?
What can you control?
Fuel prices are affected by factors largely outside a business’s control, from crude oil and wholesale costs to exchange rates and global events.
Recent disruption to international oil and fuel supplies has seen the average price of diesel climb by more than 57p per litre, while petrol has increased by almost 42p*.
That means filling a typical 55-litre vehicle now costs around £110 with diesel, or £96 with petrol.
For businesses operating multiple vehicles, those increases are putting additional pressure on budgets. But there is a way to seize back control by looking into where the business could be saving money.
Small efficiencies, big difference
Savings don’t necessarily have to come from one major change. A simple review of everyday processes can reveal opportunities that are easily overlooked when prices are stable and things are running at full tilt.
That might mean reviewing routes to reduce unnecessary mileage, encouraging drivers to think carefully about where they fill up, keeping vehicles properly maintained or promoting more fuel-efficient driving.
It could also mean looking at the hidden cost of administration in three key areas:
- How much time does your team spend chasing and then processing individual fuel receipts?
- How easy is it to see what’s being spent across different vehicles or drivers?
- Do you have the information you need to spot unusual spending or make informed decisions?
Individually, these may seem like small areas for improvement but across a fleet and over the course of a year, greater efficiency makes a noticeable difference.
Improve your visibility
Before identifying savings, it’s crucial to understand where the money is going.
Having clear sight of fuel purchases makes it easier to identify patterns, compare spending and see where changes might be made.
A business fuel card brings transactions together in one place without the need for employees to pay for their own fuel and submit individual receipts.
Their pump purchases are recorded against the business account, providing a clearer picture of expenditure across drivers and vehicles.
Consolidated HMRC-compliant invoices also simplify administration and VAT reclaim, reducing the time spent dealing with paper receipts.
At a time when every additional cost matters, better visibility helps businesses focus attention on areas where they have the greatest opportunity to make a difference.
Could your fuel be working harder for you?
The current landscape means it’s more important than ever to ensure the way your business buys and manages fuel is as efficient as possible.
fuelGenie offers a straightforward way to manage fuel while providing wide access to low-cost supermarket pump prices.
The fuelGenie card can be used at more than 1,350 Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s forecourts, giving drivers plenty of choice on where they fill up.
For businesses that need a broader network, fuelGenie+ expands this to more than 2,300 locations, including most Shell petrol stations and most Welcome Break motorway services.
Businesses can manage their account online and through the fuelGenie app, making it easier to monitor transactions and fuel spend. HMRC-compliant invoices bring purchases together too, helping to simplify administration and VAT reclaim.
fuelGenie+ also offers up to 45 days’ payment terms, subject to status, giving eligible businesses additional time between purchasing fuel and payment being collected – valuable flexibility when higher costs are putting pressure on cash flow.
Make rising costs a reason to review
No business welcomes higher fuel prices. But they can provide a useful reason to stop and examine just how efficiently your operation is running.
You might not be able to change the prices on forecourt signs, but they could be a good prompt to look at journeys being made, processes behind them and how fuel spend is managed.
Because when an unavoidable cost rises, making the costs you can control work harder matters more than ever.
Find out more about fuelGenie and fuelGenie+ – and see how your business can make fuel management simpler and more efficient.
*RAC Fuel Watch figures
