10/12/2014
As the New Year approaches, fuelGenie is advising companies looking at their year-end finances to consider using fuel cards to track vehicle expenses.
Fuel cards are effective at reducing the administration associated with expensing and processing fuel claims. Fuel cards will also allow for increased transparency of business expenses through online transaction reporting.
Many employers opt to reclaim business mileage; this involves keeping an accurate record of miles driven for company purposes. According to HMRC in a car or van it is possible to claim 45p per mile for the first 10,000 miles, then 25p per mile after that.
For end of year reconciliation fuel cards enable a simplified process for collecting VAT from HMRC.
Business owners may also claim a portion of their car’s running costs including petrol, insurance, road tax, repairs and maintenance. This is based on their annual business mileage; however, home to work travel does not count as ‘business use’ in this case.
Claire Alderson, sales & marketing manager at fuelGenie comments: “Sorting out year-end finances can be a time consuming and exhausting process. Fuel cards are an effective way to manage company fuel and provide HMRC with clear reporting. It also takes away the hassle of keeping and collating paper receipts.”
“Fuel tax claims is not the only thing that can save businesses money, owners can also look at where employees are filling up their tanks. Recent research showed that only a fifth of small businesses fill up regularly at supermarket forecourts despite supermarkets offering some of the biggest fuel savings.”
Keeping on top of company accounts is key to continue claiming successfully, as the HMRC can request proof of expenses up to six years after they are claimed. Therefore if your company still keeps paper receipts it’s important to file everything as if you can’t show evidence then you may be asked to pay the money back.
The fuelGenie Fuel Cards provides business drivers with everyday value pump prices at over 1,000 conveniently located Tesco and Morrisons forecourts nationwide. fuelGenie does not charge fees or hidden surcharges and offers unlimited free cards with no minimum monthly spend.
