Fuel Cards Help Companies With Small Fleets Get Discounts on Fuel and Services to Keep on Trucking

In a Nutshell: Businesses must manage their expenditures to keep their operating costs in check and maximize profits. TransConnect Services (TCS) helps trucking outfits temper fuel costs with its fuel card. In addition to helping businesses access discounts on fuel and services, TCS helps companies prevent fraud and locate fueling stops along a route.

I was spending an afternoon at a friend’s house when I was young, and their German shepherd knocked over a glass of water I’d irresponsibly placed on the carpet. When I asked where the paper towels were so I could clean up the spill, my friend directed me to grab a fresh roll from the large pantry adjacent to their kitchen.

When I entered the pantry, I felt like I’d stepped into a different dimension. The room was full of large amounts of household items like toothpaste, laundry detergent, and, of course, paper towels. I couldn’t figure out why a family of three needed enough toothpaste to satisfy a small army, but I didn’t understand the economics of buying in bulk at that point.

Buying in bulk is a useful strategy for a household, and it can benefit trucking companies as well.

Trucking companies go through a lot of fuel in a given year, and it isn’t free. To help manage costs, many trucking businesses partner with companies that offer fuel cards so they can tap into fuel discounts.

TransConnect Services offers fuel cards that help businesses save money and track expenses. We spoke with Chris Courts, the President and Managing Director of TCS, to learn how businesses can leverage the company to maximize their fuel spend. Courts, a longtime veteran of the fuel card industry, told us that much has changed during his time working in the field.

“When I started in this business in 1991, there were 15 or 16 viable fuel card companies, and now there are two major providers, EFS and Comdata,” Courts told us. “What we decided to do was to partner with both EFS and Comdata to become not a fuel card issuer, but a value-added reseller. In 1991, there were no resellers to speak of, but now there are hundreds of companies that resell EFS and Comdata services.”

The entire senior management at TCS used to work together at EFS, and they bring a collaborative spirit and deep industry expertise to TCS’s bench. 

The average fleet size of a TCS customer is 2.5 trucks. Courts said TCS operates as an industry aggregator, which means it takes a lot of small carriers and aggregates their purchases to allow them to access significant discounts.

“A small trucking company that only has one to five trucks is going to have a hard time getting discounts on the merit of their own purchasing volume,” Courts told us. “They’re just not doing enough business to get on the radar of truck-stop salespeople, so we create that market. Our motto from the very start has been to level the playing field between the small and big fleets.”

Barry Sanders is one of the greatest running backs in NFL history, yet he stood only 5’8’’ while a member of the Detroit Lions. Sanders didn’t let his diminutive stature prevent him from shattering rushing records. Instead, he used his size to his advantage, darting in and out of crowds of players before defenders could track him.

Smaller trucking companies don’t have all the advantages their larger counterparts do, but, thanks to TCS, they can compete with businesses that are many times their size. Courts told us that companies with large fleets of trucks can have distinct advantages over companies with smaller fleets. 

“Some of the advantages the big fleets have is they can get big discounts on fuel with low or no transaction fees, and they have access to the latest tools and technology,” Courts told us. “If you use our network, there are no transaction fees. And our card works anywhere an EFS or Comdata card is accepted.”

TCS started in 2014, and one of the company’s long-term goals was to reach $1 billion in discounts provided to small carriers. This amazing milestone was realized on December 1, 2024. The transaction that put the company over the $1 billion mark was a client who has one truck, which was especially gratifying, Courts told us.

The trucking industry is in the midst of a freight recession. Courts told us that means that there are basically too many trucks and not enough freight. 

Business spiked during the height of the pandemic, but the momentum didn’t last long. And many companies with smaller fleets have had to consider filing for bankruptcy.

“For a lot of small carriers, the math just doesn’t work now, and a lot of them are going out of business,” Courts told us. “One of the things about trucking is that there are very few barriers to entry, but there are also very few barriers to exit. So many of these people that came in to get a part of those huge freight bills that were out there just a few years ago are struggling now, but we take a lot of pride in helping these little guys compete.”

Truckers on long trips need more than just fuel for their vehicles to keep their journeys rolling. Trucks can sustain damage as they log miles, and having access to quick repair services can mean the difference between arriving on schedule or being late.

TCS maintains a partnership with Travel Centers of America, better known by its logo TA. Courts told us that TA has a unique advantage in the truck-stop space because it has service bays for trucks at locations across the U.S. That enables truckers who are on the road to get an oil change or have their tires repaired or replaced without incurring lengthy delays.

Owning a fuel card from TCS entitles businesses to more than fuel and service discounts. Courts told us that TCS has its own customer service group that takes pride in providing excellent care to the company’s clients.

“The average speed in which we answer calls into our call center is under 45 seconds so far this year, and we had a month that was as low as 37 seconds,” Courts told us. “We also offer a really great mobile app that almost all of our clients use, especially the smaller ones, because a lot of our clients are also truck drivers in addition to owning a trucking business. They can literally manage almost every aspect of their fuel card program through our mobile app.”

When I’m traveling on a major highway, it seems there’s a stand-alone gas station, travel plaza, or small town every mile or two. But when my car’s running low on fuel, I sometimes wonder if I’ll ever see the bright glow of a gas station’s sign again.

TCS provides a fuel-finder tool to help truckers avoid the panic that can accompany not knowing where the nearest fueling station is. The tool is particularly valuable to a driver who travels different routes and doesn’t have fueling stations along the way committed to memory. The tool also helps truck drivers compare fuel costs. 

“Having a tool like our fuel finder is absolutely critical for drivers to be able to do all the things they’ve planned on a trip,” Courts told us. “We have some clients who transport hazardous materials, and they don’t necessarily follow the beaten path because they can’t go near major cities due to the danger of what they’re hauling. We’re working on some enhancements in the app to serve those following alternate routings.”

As more payment instruments become available, criminals have more avenues to exploit vulnerabilities. Courts told us the trucking industry is mired in a type of deception known as skimmer fraud that captures a card’s information when it’s used to pay for fuel. The company provides fraud protection to help ensure customer transactions are secure.

TCS offers a tool called Dynamic Prompt that allows drivers to go on the company’s app and obtain a code before they start filling up their truck with fuel. Drivers input the six-digit code, which is valid for 30 minutes, when prompted at the pump. 

“The number we provide changes for every transaction they make,” Courts explained to us. “So, the bad guys may see the number if they’re using a skimmer to illegally capture payment details. But the driver will get a different number to use the next time they need to pay with their card, so it circumvents the fraudster.” 

Businesses that issue corporate cards may worry about an employee’s misuse of funds. But TCS provides card controls that allow business owners to customize a card’s capabilities to the needs of the cardholder.

Card controls also provide peace of mind to business owners in the event a card ends up in a criminal’s hands. Supplying robust card-security measures is one more way TCS takes the load off trucking companies, so they can focus on what they do best.

“Typically, clients come to us because they’re looking to access discounts,” Courts told us. “But they stay with us because of the service we offer.”