19/06/2012
The term White Van Man was coined by Sarah Kennedy during her Radio 2 show back in '97. And since then he's become a legend on our roads.
The small business landscape
As a sole trader or micro-business, people like you are the backbone of the British small business scene, generating a massive £35 billion a year for the UK economy. It's a fascinating picture. According to the Federation of Small Businesses there are four and a half million small businesses in Britain with SMEs making up 99% of the total (4). Our SMEs employ an estimated 13.8 million people and a fifth of all UK enterprises – 876,000 of them - operate in the construction industry.
But four years of recession, credit crisis and fuel price rises have taken their toll and saving money on everyday running costs is more important than ever. Especially when you drive your white van an average of 9,426 miles (3) a year.
A look at the average white van man
A recent survey (1) revealed that around 75% of British van drivers don't stray too far from their home base. They're local businesses and tend to focus on urban environments. Which means your average per-mile petrol costs are higher than, say, someone who drives long distances on motorways.
Most drivers see their van as a business tool, with just 22% of white van traffic attributed to fleets and couriers. Which means your van is vital for your business. If you can't afford to run it, you're in deep trouble. And 26% of you are self-employed, which makes cutting fuel costs even more important for your pocket as well as your peace of mind.
The AA Insurance Van Value Study (2) showed that 59% of drivers believe their van is essential to the smooth running of their business. And 24% said they'd lose an average of £362 per day if their van was out of action. That's a lot of cash with more than 2.5 million white vans in Britain (3) at any one time!
All of which makes fuel cards a worthwhile tool to help shave as much as possible off your business's variable costs, even more so when you choose fuel cards like ours, where drivers can also collect handy Tesco club card points and Morrison miles.
We recently analysed every fuelGenie fuel card transaction that took place over a year, looking at around 1,000 businesses and 20,000 vehicles. Our results showed that 88% of fuel transactions took place within 5 miles of a fuelGenie site, which is good news for white van men and women everywhere. And a massive 64% of transactions took place just 2 miles from a garage where people like you can use our fuel cards.
What are the business benefits of fuel cards for white van man and woman?
In a nutshell:
On average supermarket fuel is cheaper than other suppliers, so you're onto a winner straight away
You can use your fuelGenie cards to pay for oil and for washing your van, so it has a varied role to play in keeping your vehicle on the road
Because there are Tesco and Morrisons outlets all over Britain, you're never far away from the cheapest fuel around – good sense for local businesses like yours
You don't need to carry cash, credit or debit cards
You can keep your fuel costs separate from your other expenses so accounting and expenses are much simpler to calculate
It's free to apply, with no contract, ongoing account management charges or hidden costs
You get a competitive credit facility, great for keeping your small business cash flow flowing nicely
You can access online reports in a few clicks, to keep detailed tabs on your spend
All transactions appear on one invoice, which is pre-approved by HMRC so it's easy to reclaim your VAT
You enjoy free 24/7 access to your online account where you can set card usage limits, request new cards and more
References
1. SIRC - Renault Master White Van Man Study
2. The AA - White Van Men Worth Over £35 billion
3. autonetinsurance.co.uk - White Van Man: The Definitive Facts & Figures
4. Federation of Small Businesses - Small Business Statistics
