How to take control of your company's fuel costs

WITH fuel prices nudging 120ppl for a litre, businesses must start to manage their company car fuel expenditure – or let costs spiral out of control. By Neville Briggs, managing director of fleet software company, CFC Solutions.“Savings in fuel expenditure of 5-10% are reasonably common.”

BUSINESS car managers must take this opportunity: to take control of your company’s business car fuel costs. The impetus to do this has been provided by the recession and likely future price rises as the cost of both petrol and diesel heads towards 120 pence per litre with or without any increase in fuel duty. In our view it provides ideal momentum for action.

It’s one of the reasons we have been advising business car managers for years that fuel is a key area where costs can be reduced. However, it has always been a difficult ‘sell’ thanks to lack of understanding about how petrol and diesel buying and use can be managed, so take up has been low.

However, now is the time when business directors can push for genuine change. The fuel price increases being forecast are considerable and, combined with the pressure for cost cutting created by the recession, they should receive director board backing.

A common misconception by company directors is that nothing can be done to control fuel costs and that price increases simply have to be accepted and suffered.

But our experience is the opposite. Fuel is a major expenditure for most companies with business cars and responds very well to managerial control. Savings in expenditure of 5-10% are reasonably common.

How can fuel cost savings be achieved?

To take control of fuel expenditure we would advise a business to issue fuel cards and link them to fleet software – in this way you have both control and analysis.