Get our free PDF, "Seven Success Tips For Choosing The Right Fuel Card For Your Business Vehicles"

Today we would like to tell you all about our brand new & free online PDF that we have put together for anyone who is thinking about Fuel Cards. This handy guide will help you to understand what fuel cards can do for your business, if you are looking for for a Fuel Card for the first time or if you are looking around for a different supplier, this guide will leave you in a much better place to make an informed decision. Just click the 'Download Our Free PDF' button on the homepage and get our "Seven Success Tips For Choosing A Fuel Card" totally free.
 

Let www.forecourtfuels.com show you the best deals based on your individual requirements, from your estimated fuel spend to the size of your fleet.    

"Seven Success Tips For Choosing The Right Fuel Card For Your Business Vehicles"

Simple tips to save money on Petrol and Diesel costs

Hopefully, you’ll have recognised by now that whilst we are a fuel card provider we are always encouraging drivers to save as much money as they can in as many ways as possible. At Forecourt Fuels we recognise that the cost of fuel has hit many businesses hard in an economic recession. Whilst our business is growing many people are looking to save money to survive.

Here we have another two tips to save fuel costs:

1. Unusually, we recommend that you don’t fill your vehicle right up with fuel each time. Fuel is
    heavy so having a full tank of fuel feels good but the reality is that you are around 4% less
    efficient with a full tank of fuel.

2. Remember that having your foot hard on the accelerator doesn’t always mean the car is
    travelling faster. It may be that a heavy right foot can be delivering unrequired fuel, so ease
    back on the pedal a little.

Fuel Consumption

We all know in reality, that driving more sensibly will improve the fuel consumption of the vehicle. Driving at a constant speed with fewer gear changes makes motorways the most fuel efficient place to drive. It is estimated that with actual driving changes you could save up to 10% on fuel costs alone.

In addition, the following two suggestions will save around 10%

1. Turn off the air conditioning unless you really need it. Air conditioning uses as much as 8% more
    fuel, although having a single window open can also increase fuel consumption by around 3%

2. Taking the roof rack off a car when not needed will decrease overall fuel consumption by around
    2%

Savings on Fuel Costs

It's actually possible to cut your annual petrol or diesel cost by up to a third, saving potentially hundreds of pounds a year, just by making a few driving changes. The highest proportion of the actual cost of fuel goes in tax as a deliberate result of successive government’s environmental and anti-congestion policies. Saving money on fuel is not just about finding the cheapest forecourt price; we can do that for you. We mean saving even more money by driving your car in a more efficient way.
The first two tips may be fairly basic by design, but simply work:

1. Keeping your tyres correctly inflated will not only help with the overall safety of your journey but will also increase your miles per gallon fuel consumption by up to 3%

2. Having the boot full of junk will increase your fuel consumption by around 3%. Just have a look at what you genuinely need and you’ll be saving collectively 6% by just inflating your tyres to the correct pressure and emptying the boot.

Fuel Tax in the UK

Fuel tax in the UK has constantly changed over the last decade and has risen steadily over the last 15 years. From 1993 to 1999 there was a rapid increase with duties on fuel consistently increasing by above annualised rate of inflation. This was as a result of a major change in petrol taxation in 1993 when the government of the time introduced the Fuel Price 'escalator'. This was legitimised as a way of the government helping to protect the environment by discouraging people from using their cars. Naturally, it produced a new source of revenue for the government in the process.
The fuel escalator forced prices to rise from one of the lowest in Europe to now, certainly one of the most expensive. When it was first introduced fuel prices rose by 3 pence a litre and tax contributed to 72.8% of the total cost. By 1997, just four years, the escalator had added 11.1p to the cost of unleaded petrol and was at 75%.

What is a Fuel Card?

A fuel card is similar in principle to a credit card, except its entire expenditure is transport related. Fuel cards have other characteristics that make them invaluable for managing company fuel costs. In days gone by, fuel stations would have an arrangement with a company and would write down a customer’s name and company information and then invoice the company at the end of each month. These were normally referred to as petrol accounts and most companies operated them at a very local level with their local petrol station.

As business developed and transport became essential the use of fuel cards for companies became the norm. Monthly sales meetings attended by employees armed with envelopes stuffed with receipts to be reclaimed, became less fraught. Now a fuel card can be used to purchase fuel and agreed items in the same way as a credit card would be used by an individual motorist. With over 4000 petrol filling stations available throughout the UK having a fuel card for business use is now the easiest and safest way of paying for fuel.

How To Save Money On Fleet Fuel Expenses

If you own a business where you have high fuel expenditure or if you manage a vehicle fleet, you will be painfully aware that increases in fuel costs are a regular feature these days. Unless you are already constantly reviewing your fleet and fuel costs to ensure that you are getting the most from your expenditure, we are here to help you.

At Forecourt Fuels we understand the need to balance the savings in fuel costs against the need for a full range of petrol stations in all the areas that you cover geographically.

A single call to one of our friendly front line staff and we can tell you just how much you could be saving and without any set up costs or monthly management charges, you can have a fuel card for all of your vehicles within a week.