As some of you know, MrsC and I run a ChipsAway franchise in the Cotswolds. A significant part of our business involves driving around the area doing estimates on customers' cars and then driving to and from their properties to carry out the repairs. The upshot is that we do around 20-25k miles a year, which is likely to rise with the addition of a new employee starting on Monday.
We run a VW Transporter T6 (diesel) and a 1.4 T-Jet Bravo (petrol).

We have been thinking about getting a fuel card to consolidate our fuel spending, but we're not sure whether there are any pitfalls and better/worse deals to beware of.

I'm sure there are some FCCUK business owners out there with thoughts? Pray tell...

Being self-employed for 30 years, I always used my credit card to purchase fuel as it was easy to track the costs, especially for the Tax man, as would a fuel card.

With 2 vehicles in your fleet (and possibly more) the fuel card would be easier to reconcile for accounting purposes. Does a fuel card limit you to one brand of fuel outlet on can you use it at say Shell or BP depending on where you are or who has the cheapest fuel?

Is there an administration fee imposed by the fuel card supplier and, if so, does this cost offset your accounting fees when using a credit card?

Hope this helps.

Thanks, Possum, this is basically the point: will the admin savings and possibly lower fuel costs offset the charges for the card itself. Some cards allow you to use up to 95% of fuel stations, so that flexibility would be good. Might need a bit more research...