Plumbing businesses could be saving 3% on their total monthly fuel bill by switching to supermarket forecourts for their petrol and diesel requirements – so says fuelGenie, the supermarket fuel card provider, which points out that supermarket fuel stations offer an average saving of over 3p per litre at the pumps when compared to the national average.
FuelGenie commissioned a study which showed that more than 53% of plumbers and over 43% of construction firms visit the pumps between six and 10 times a month.
It was also found that nearly a third of businesses operating a fleet of three or more vehicles operate a traditional pay-and-reclaim system where employees pay for fuel and then reclaim the expense, often requiring completion of paperwork and submitting a receipt. The research suggest that companies using this system are not only reimbursing employees for their fuel expenses, but are also incurring the cost of lost working hours through employees spending time submitting their mileage claims. Further time is also required by the business to process each claim and ensure payment is made.
FuelGenie says that while a total monthly saving of 3% on fuel expenses can appear minimal, when combined with the saving that can be made through switching to a fuel card, companies could be saving thousands of pounds a year.
Robert Pieczka, MD of fuelGenie, says: “As a rule people tend to buy fuel from the most convenient place and not necessarily the cheapest. So, by making the simple switch to supermarket fuel stations businesses could make a saving on their monthly fuel bills.
“However, by switching to a fuel card, businesses can not only help reduce their ongoing fuel costs, but also help to reduce the hidden expense of employees spending work time processing mileage claims instead. With expenses often needing to be submitted, approved and processed each time business could be making a considerable saving by adopting a fuel card.”
