When you own a small business, there’s a lot of talk about bells and whistles attached to different products or services. Especially in the world of credit cards, the number of options can be overwhelming. Sometimes, it’s helpful to filter out the noise by asking, what will I be able to do with this? Here is a look at the top 5 things you want to be able to do with your small business fuel card.
1. Access Your Account by Phone
A small business owner on the go often can’t find time in the day to sit down, let alone check accounts on a computer. When you have a spare second to get ahead on some accounting, make sure you can do it from anywhere. For example, Valero fleet card customers can use the Fleet SmartHub mobile app to make payments, check your credit, track spending, and manage cards. And you can do it whenever and wherever you find the time.
2. Fuel Anywhere
Small businesses have to stay flexible and responsive to survive. Sometimes, in the hustle to get things done, you don’t have the luxury of planning your route around fuel. For example, the Valero Fleet Plus card lets you fill up at 95% of U.S. gas stations, but you can save up to 8¢ per gallon when you fuel at Valero. That’s the kind of flexibility that most small businesses need.
3. Automatically Track Fuel Expenses
Busywork is a productivity killer. Small business owners who automate busywork can spend their time on more valuable tasks. That time could give their business a critical edge. With the right fuel card, you won’t have to collect receipts and enter fuel purchase data manually. (That process is vulnerable to human error.) Valero fleet cards automatically gather accurate information on driver, location, fuel grade, sales tax, and more, so you can reinvest that time into your business.
4. Pull Reports on Key Data
Unless statistics is your hobby, raw data isn’t worth much to a small business owner. If you don’t have time to review data for inconsistencies and opportunities, that data may never benefit your business. Valero fleet fuel cards give small businesses access to key data distilled into digestible reports. Then you learn what you need to know and take action to improve your business.
5. Put Guardrails on Spending
If you’re the only person who buys fuel for your business, you can look to yourself to reign in spending. When employees begin refueling company vehicles, a few baseline security measures make a lot of sense. Instead of training staff on appropriate spending, give them a company card that can only be used to purchase fuel. Valero fleet fuel cards tie each purchase to a unique driver ID number and allows for purchase restrictions based on amount, product type, time of day, and day of the week. This will give you ultimate flexibility to maintain healthy boundaries with your staff around purchasing.
Get The Right Fuel Card
Hopefully this blog has given you a new way to look at fuel card options for small businesses. For a small business owner, there’s never enough time to do everything that needs to be done. That’s why focusing on what a fuel card does for you helps get to the root of the matter. Valero fleet fuel cards help take pressure off a small business today, while giving it room to grow and change tomorrow.