Commercial cleaning companies manage multiple clients, travel across varying distances and often operate a fleet of vehicles to transport employees and equipment. With fuel prices fluctuating and operating costs increasing, these businesses continually seek ways to reduce overhead while maximizing output. One of the most effective strategies for achieving cost savings is using fleet cards.
One of the most obvious benefits of using a fleet card is the potential for fuel discounts and rebates. For commercial cleaning businesses that operate a fleet of vans, trucks or cars, these per-gallon discounts add up quickly.
Fleet fuel cards are specialized payment cards designed for any business that operates vehicles. At first glance, they appear similar to traditional credit cards. However, they offer additional tailor-made benefits for companies relying on vehicle fleets to deliver their services. For commercial cleaning companies, these benefits include fuel rebates, purchase tracking, improved expense reporting and various cost-saving opportunities that can significantly impact the bottom line.
Understanding Fleet Cards
Before diving into specific ways fleet cards help janitorial or commercial cleaning companies save money, it’s essential to understand what fleet cards are and how they differ from standard payment options:
Purpose-built For Vehicle-related Expenses
Fleet cards are specifically designed to manage and control fuel and vehicle maintenance costs. They often include reporting features, spending controls and discount programs not available with traditional credit cards. These features help ensure every dollar spent contributes to the efficient operation of a commercial cleaning fleet.
Accepted at Extensive Networks
One key advantage of fleet cards is their widespread acceptance. Major fleet card providers partner with thousands of gas stations, repair shops and related service outlets. Broad acceptance networks ensure that commercial cleaning companies can easily refuel and maintain their vehicles without worrying about out-of-network fees or inconvenient locations.
Advanced Control and Monitoring Features
Businesses can set spending limits, require driver identification for each transaction and receive alerts when purchases are made. These controls significantly reduce the chances of unauthorized spending and fraud while making it easier to track expenses.
Rewards and Discount Programs
Many fleet card solutions offer fuel rebates and discounts on vehicle services. This is an easy way for commercial cleaning companies to reduce per-gallon fuel costs, save on maintenance expenses and improve cash flow.
With these basics in mind, let’s explore how fleet cards can help commercial cleaning companies save money.
The Cost-saving Benefits of Fleet Cards for Commercial Cleaning Companies
Fuel Discounts and Rebates
One of the most obvious benefits of using a fleet card is the potential for fuel discounts and rebates. For commercial cleaning businesses that operate a fleet of vans, trucks or cars, these per-gallon discounts add up quickly.
Per-gallon Fuel Rebates
Many fleet cards offer fuel rebates for using in-network gas stations. With Shell, you can get a rebate of up to 6¢ for every gallon of gas or diesel purchased. These rebates are tiered, meaning the more you fuel, the more you save on each gallon. Over time, such rebates can make a tangible impact on a cleaning company’s operating costs. When your vehicles travel constantly from one client site to another, even a small amount of savings per gallon can mean significant yearly savings.
Discounts on Parts and Service
Some fleet cards have partnerships with specific providers offering discounts on maintenance. Saving on parts and services is a great way to reduce overhead. With Shell fleet cards, users can save 15% to 20% on services at participating Jiffy Lube locations.
Expense Tracking and Fraud Prevention
Untracked expenses or fraudulent fuel transactions can heavily erode profitability. Fleet cards offer robust expense tracking and fraud prevention features:
Continuously Updated Transaction Monitoring
Many fleet card providers supply web-based or mobile-friendly dashboards that track each transaction as it occurs.
This means your drivers don’t need to collect receipts or complete fuel expense reports. All purchase details are captured in this state-of-the-art data tracking feature. You have access to:
- Date and time of purchase
- Purchase location
- Fuel type and grade
- Purchase amount
- Purchase volume
- Odometer reading
Administrative or management teams can quickly identify purchases that fall outside spending policy guidelines or seem suspicious.
Untracked expenses or fraudulent fuel transactions can heavily erode profitability. Fleet cards offer robust expense tracking and fraud prevention features.
Driver and Vehicle Verification
Most cards require drivers to input a unique PIN or driver ID each time they purchase fuel. Some cards require drivers to enter the odometer reading. This helps monitor vehicle usage and adds a layer of security to prevent unauthorized transactions.
Detailed Reporting and Analytics
From daily reports to monthly breakdowns, fleet cards offer comprehensive data on each vehicle’s fuel consumption, mileage and spending patterns. These insights enable commercial cleaning companies to identify outliers—such as a driver using too much fuel or a vehicle underperforming—and take corrective action.
Fraud Alerts
Some fleet cards can be programmed to send automated alerts if an unusual purchase is detected. This helps minimize damage by flagging suspicious activity as it happens.
Reduced Administrative Costs
Beyond saving money at the pump, commercial cleaning companies can reduce back-office expenses by leveraging the accounting and reporting tools that come with fleet cards:
Automated Accounting Processes
Using a fleet card automatically organizes each transaction in a digital format. This eliminates the need for manual data entry and receipt collection, decreasing the likelihood of errors. Administrative teams can download detailed expense reports directly from the fleet card provider’s portal, streamlining bookkeeping and reconciliation.
Consolidated Billing
Instead of managing multiple credit card statements or petty cash logs from various drivers, all purchases are consolidated into a single statement. This reduces administrative complexity and time spent reconciling different data sources.
Improved Budgeting
With dynamic data insight into fuel and maintenance costs, decision-makers can create more accurate budgets. They have a clear view of how much money the fleet is spending, enabling them to plan for future investments or expansions.
Less Paperwork
The transition from manual receipts to automated digital records means fewer misplaced receipts, fewer disputes and more accurate record-keeping. This saves valuable time and helps maintain compliance with accounting standards or tax regulations.
Tips for Implementing Fleet Cards
Once you’ve chosen a fleet card solution, proper implementation is key. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you transition to using a fleet card for your commercial cleaning business:
Train Your Team
Fleet card programs are far more effective when your team supports using them. This means education is key. Provide clear guidelines and training sessions for drivers and managers. Ensure everyone understands what a fleet card is, why you use it, what data is tracked, what its capabilities are and how to use the fleet fuel card.
Set Clear Policies
Establish spending limits and define what expenses are allowed on the card (fuel only, maintenance, etc.). Communicate these policies to everyone who will have access to the card. To help enforce your policy, use the fleet cards’ built-in purchase controls. These controls can be customized to align with your fuel spending policy. Limit purchase amounts, fuel types, days or hours of approved use and more.
Regularly Review Reports
Make it a habit to review detailed expense reports. Look for anomalies in spending, check whether any driver consistently reports higher fuel usage than others and investigate unexpected spikes in costs.
Encourage Feedback
Drivers who are on the road daily can provide valuable insights into which fueling stations offer the best experience and prices. Encourage them to share feedback that can help refine your fueling strategy.
Leverage Additional Tools
Consider using telematics or GPS software alongside your fleet card program. This combination provides deeper insights into route optimization, driver behavior and vehicle performance, further enhancing cost savings.
Fleet Cards Equal Savings
By harnessing the power of fleet cards, commercial cleaning businesses can offset some of their most significant expenses, including fuel and vehicle maintenance, while simplifying administrative tasks. From per-gallon rebates and volume-based rebates to fraud prevention and streamlined operations, fleet cards help companies save money in various ways. The on-demand data insights gained from these specialized cards allow managers to swiftly identify issues and take corrective measures, leading to long-term cost savings and improved operational efficiency.
For more in-depth information or guidance on implementing a fleet card program for your cleaning company, explore BusinessFleetSolutions.com. By leveraging expert advice and industry-leading tools, commercial cleaning companies can save money, operate more efficiently and position themselves for long-term success.