One of the advantages of using fleet cards over cash or other types of cards is that you, as the fleet manager, can set controls that limit what, when, and how much your employees spend with their cards.  This enables you to tighten the budget, limit wasted money and fuel, and keep an eye on the fuel economy of the vehicles in your fleet.

There are a number of controls that you can place on your fleet credit cards.  Here are a few ways you can limit your drivers’ purchases as well as the benefits of doing so.

• Type of purchase: One of the most common ways to limit your drivers’ purchases is to restrict them to certain types of transactions.  For example, many fleet managers limit their fleet cards to just fuel purchases, or perhaps both fuel and maintenance.  Paying for both fuel and maintenance with your fleet cards allows you to keep track of how much fuel a vehicle is going through, as well as when it was last service, so that you can keep track of when if it’s due for more work.  At the same time, you can prevent your drivers from using your fleet cards to buy snacks and other things, ensuring that your fuel and maintenance budgets won’t be wasted on unauthorized purchases.
• Amount or number of purchases: Another way to limit the purchases on your fleet cards is to limit the number or amount that the card can be used for.  For example, say you want to put a cap on the amount of fuel your drivers can buy on any given day.  You can also put a limit on the amount of fuel they can purchase in a single stop, or the number of times they can stop for fuel.  If you are worried about drivers using your fleet cards to purchase fuel for their personal vehicles, this is a great way to keep tabs on where your fuel budget is going.
• Time of purchases: This is another great way to limit the purchases your drivers can make on their gas cards.  For instance, if you run a local delivery fleet, you can easily set controls on your drivers’ gas cards that only allow them to be used during normal hours of operation, or during your drivers’ shifts.  Just as when you limit the number of purchases or the amount your drivers can spend, this can ensure that your drivers don’t take their cards home with them and use them to put gas in their own cars.
• Type of fuel - Another way you can use the controls on your fuel cards is to limit your drivers to one type or brand of fuel.  For instance, if you use routing software that shows the optimal places to get gas along a route, and you want to ensure your drivers comply, you can restrict their cards so that they can only use them at certain stations.

The controls that fleet credit cards offer are one of the main reasons why fleet managers choose them over other forms of payment.  Cash offers very little convenience, other than how much you give your drivers, and none of the convenience of a card.  Other gas and credit cards offer convenience, but without the control.  Fleet cards, on the other hand, provide the most control over your drivers’ purchases, while offering the convenience that makes everyone’s jobs easier.

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