Runzheimer Launches Alternative To Fleet Cards

Management consulting firm Runzheimer International Ltd. is rolling out its own fleet spend management solution to offer businesses an alternative to fuel cards, the company said Wednesday (Sept. 27).

The business fleet technology company announced Equo Fuel, a solution that automatically calculates cents-per-mile reimbursement rates for fuel expenses. Equo Fuel analyzes local fuel prices, fleet vehicle MPG data and other data sets to calculate how much a driver should be reimbursed for fuel spend.

“By connecting this new solution to actual business miles, our clients will be able to reimburse their employees for the fuel actually used for business — without the administrative hassle of dealing with fuel cards,” said Runzheimer senior vice president of business development and marketing, Donna Koppensteiner, in a statement.

Equo Fuel uses Runzheimer’s existing mobile app, Equo, to capture the miles driven by fleet drivers. The app automatically tags those trips as either business or personal use based on the driver’s work schedule. The fuel spend reimbursement management solution then automatically captures local fuel rates to calculate how much the driver spent while driving for his or her employer.

Drivers can benefit from the solution by gaining access to more simplified information for tax calculations, which require data that differentiates between personal and business expenses. The solution, Runzheimer added, also means drivers do not have to generate expense reports to be reimbursed for their fuel spend.

Runzheimer launched Equo last year to help drivers log miles driven while on the clock. The company was established in 1933 to help employees that drive a vehicle for both work and personal matters separate business from personal use.

A research report released by the company found that 72 percent of sharing economy drivers are forced to track their miles manually when using a personal vehicle for professional use.