By Daniel Simon, CEO and Founder, Coast
July 31, 2024
It’s a tough time to be managing operations. Fleet managers must keep costs low even as prices rise, but it’s important to think about the fleet management function beyond simply controlling costs. When fleet managers are given the tools to work more efficiently and enable their fleets with technology, they can serve as a much-needed lever to increase productivity and profits.
New technology provides solutions that streamline fleet management and spending, giving you more visibility into every aspect of your fleet operations. If you haven’t explored new offerings in this area, including smart fuel cards, you’re likely spending too much time and money managing your fleet. Here’s how smart fuel cards help boost your fleet’s security, data accuracy, and integrate with your existing tools, boosting your company’s bottom line along the way.
The Problem with Traditional Fuel Cards
Traditional fuel cards have been a mainstay in fleet management for decades, but they come with significant drawbacks. They often don’t connect to other fleet tools, like telematics systems. They can be lost or stolen, as can the personal identification numbers (PINs) they rely on. They also often use magnetic stripe technology, which can be “skimmed” with illegal devices installed on fuel pumps or point-of-sale terminals. These devices capture data that can be used to replicate the cards and steal from victims.
The repercussions are serious: A study commissioned by Shell shows that 57% of fleet managers believe fuel-related fraud is a major concern, and two out of five drivers have witnessed fraudulent activities firsthand. Even without fraud, simply following up on expenses costs both time and money; one study found that, on average, processing just one expense report takes 20 minutes and costs $58.
Introducing Smart Fuel Cards
Designed to meet the needs of modern fleet management, smart fuel cards are an innovative alternative to traditional cards. They incorporate advanced technologies that streamline expense tracking and enhance security while allowing technicians the independence they need to work efficiently.
In particular, upgrades in security, integrations, and data accuracy are revolutionizing the ways businesses manage their fleets.
Enhanced Security through Card and Software Upgrades
With a modern card platform, fleet managers can add the employee’s mobile phone and other identifying information and assign it to 
their card within the fleet card’s software portal. This means that the card is useless unless the employee has checked in via their mobile device. This also effectively means that if the card is stolen or picked up off the street, it cannot be used or skimmed. These cards utilize chip technology, which significantly reduces the risk of skimming and cloning.
When used in conjunction with telematics software, smart fuel cards can alert managers to irregular fuel consumption patterns. If employees fill up too much, fuel at unapproved gas stations, or spend outside of geofencing boundaries, automated alerts will let you know.
By enabling fleet managers to set spending limits, restrict where, when, and how often cards can be used, and specify the types of purchases permitted, fuel management cards reduce mismanagement and save money.
Automated Processes through Software Integrations
Older fuel cards weren’t always built to handle real-time transaction reporting or connections to other software. Smart fuel cards provide more than just a payment method: by seamlessly connecting with standard software applications, they let fleet-owning businesses automate time-consuming processes and collect more accurate data.
Detailed purchase data can be easily imported into accounting software such as QuickBooks, for example, for better accounting and more accurate job costing. Integration with fleet management software and telematics applications allows managers to automatically import fuel transactions, enable more accurate vehicle tracking and routing, and block transactions that happen away from company vehicles.
Easier, More Accurate Data Collection
Collecting data manually is both time-consuming and susceptible to error. But with a smart fuel card, managers or accounting personnel can match card usage accurately to the correct driver and vehicle, allowing administrators to correctly categorize transactions and spot any potential card misuse.
By passing identifying data through the Short Messaging Service (SMS) on driver phones, the driver no longer has to memorize a vehicle code and can check in at the pump through their own phone. With the workflow on an employee’s mobile device, the system automatically captures which card is being used and matches it to the right driver and vehicle, and then applies the correct spending rules.
Managers can get more accurate odometer readings and tie fuel usage data to specific users and vehicles. This level of transparency helps them quickly identify discrepancies or unusual patterns that may indicate fraudulent activities.
Fast, accurate data also provides better visibility into expenses, fuel usage, vehicle performance, and more. These insights help companies identify inefficiencies and make more accurate predictions about job costs and budgets.
Key Features to Look for in Smart Fuel Cards
When selecting smart fuel cards for your fleet, it’s important to choose one with features that make life easier for both fleet managers and technicians. Look for the following capabilities:
- Flexibility to cover expenses beyond just fuel
- Real-time alerts and the ability to block transactions via geofencing
- Integration with telematics, fleet management, and accounting systems
- Ability to set spending and purchase category limits
- Rewards such as discounts or cash back
With advanced features like these, smart fuel cards reduce costs, simplify reporting, and enable better decision-making. Even better, they save time and make life easier for fleet managers. With improved safeguards and optimized workflows in place, you can focus on keeping your fleet—and the business as a whole—running smoothly.
About the author
Daniel Simon is the CEO and founder of Coast, a modern fleet card and expense management platform that helps companies govern their fuel and fleet spending. To learn more about smart fuel cards, visit coastpay.com.
