Keeping costs down for Plumbing and Heating professionals who operate one or more vehicles is essential especially when competing with rogue traders. If you are a commercial or domestic plumbing or heating engineer or company who doesn’t already use a fuelcard, you missing out on substantial cost savings – EVERY week ! That’s the view of lead trade association, APHC, who also point out that these firms are lumbering themselves unnecessarily with a lot of timeconsuming administration including reconciling receipts and reimbursing employees.
With fuel costs continuing their upward march in recent months, APHC warns that anyone still using a cash or credit card ‘pay-andreclaim’ system for fuel purchases is inevitably leaking precious profitability. Instead of spending time hunting the local area for the best pump price, and then paying the full price shown when refuelling, they could be enjoying consistently lower prices per litre, greater management control – with minimal office time needed – and better security against fraud.
Using any fuelcard is cash-free and easy-to-use – but choosing the right one can bring even greater(dividends.That) 's why APHC did all the hard work for its members and identified abbey Fuelcards as their fuelcard partner for its APHC Fuel Management Services.
The APHC scheme offers several fuelcards each designed to suit individual operational needs. The fastfuel card is the only UK card to offer discounted prices on both petrol and diesel at around 1400 texaco sites nationwide. For diesel-only customers, there are other fuel cards within the scheme with different site network profiles that may be a better fit.
Each week, all holders of abbey fuelcards receive, quoted in advance, the price per litre that will apply for 7 consecutive days anywhere in the country at refuelling sites accepting the card concerned. This typically delivers savings of 2-3 pence per litre against the current national average pump price. For APHC Fuel Management scheme members, however, this benefit is actually guaranteed, as part of an exclusive retail pricing scheme. Over time, it adds up to very significant savings off the annual fuel budget.
But that’s only one part of APHC-abbey fuelcard benefits. The weekly invoices are formatted to save valuable time and effort in administering fuel purchases – and they’re VAT-registered to be fully compliant with new EU rules on recovery of tax. Each card-member organisation is entitled receive regular, customised management reports and analyses of fuel purchase transactions and consumption. Again, there’s no extra charge for 24/7 on-line account access, personal account manager, card replacement, or for text or Sat-Nav site locator services. Also free are various security features including instant card stop, irregular usage monitoring and alerts, and zero liability protection.
APHC Chief Executive Officer, Clive Dickin, is sure this represents an unbeatable best-value deal for plumbers and heating professionals, whether small local businesses or national contractors:
'Here’s an excellent example of how APHC is successfully providing its members with valuable assistance to support their businesses. Through our partnership with abbey, our fuel management card-holders not only make significant savings on weekly fuel costs, but also get a time-saving, comprehensive support service, that’s tailored to their individual needs. I was speaking with one Member recently who had saved over £300.00 in one quarter over his fleet.'