Vehicle Reimbursement Solutions Allow Businesses to Save Money, Reduce Admin Burden, and Satisfy Staff

In a Nutshell: Managing a vehicle reimbursement program can be an onerous and resource-intensive task for businesses. Cardata takes that task off a business’s shoulders by offering intuitive vehicle reimbursement programs that can save them time and money. Workers appreciate how easy it is to use Cardata’s solutions, leading to an increase in employee satisfaction and retention.

Think back to when you were preparing for your first day of your first full-time job. Prior to that, you’d likely completed countless hours of schooling, hit the pavement to find and apply for job opportunities, and participated in multiple rounds of interviews with prospective employers. And when you finally held that perfect job offer in your hands, or viewed it in your email inbox, you knew you had to be ready to impress on day one of your new role. 

Different jobs require employees to use different tools, and who pays for those tools, employer or employee, can vary from one job to the next. People preparing to start a career as a medical professional may have to purchase scrubs and diagnostic tools, such as a stethoscope, to use at their place of work. But bank tellers don’t have to purchase a bunch of safety deposit boxes for customers, the bank provides those. 

You may not lose too much sleep over buying an inexpensive item or two to use in your line of work. But when it comes to items with ongoing expenses — like cars — expense management can be more complex for businesses and their employees. Cars require maintenance and fuel, leaving businesses that purchase cars for their employees with a neverending to-do list.

Cardata offers a streamlined approach to managing reimbursements for businesses that allow their employees to use their personal cars for work. We caught up with Haywood Marsh, Cardata’s CEO, to learn more about the company’s solutions and how they make life easier for businesses and their employees.

“The average carrying cost of a vehicle per year, including insurance and maintenance, is probably upward of $12K to $14K to the company, and that’s quite expensive,” Marsh told us. “For a lot of these companies, managing a fleet of vehicles isn’t their core competency. So a lot of the market is realizing that reimbursing employees is a much more economical way to go for the employee and the company.”

Allowing employees to use their personal vehicles, rather than a company-issued car, can also empower an employee to be more efficient. Marsh told us employees may be more comfortable driving their own car that’s stocked with all the features that suit them best.

Cardata works with businesses across North America and supports entities operating in various industries, including construction, home healthcare, manufacturing, and pharmaceutical companies. 

“We’ll work with really any industry that has people that drive light vehicles, such as cars and trucks,” Marsh told us.

Anyone who’s been in the market for a new vehicle lately knows that cars come with plenty of features these days. It’s always nice to have choices to customize a purchase, especially one that you rely on to do your job. 

Cardata gives its customers options when it comes to reimbursing vehicle expenses. Companies can reimburse employees by providing a certain rate for each mile they drive, or they can provide a flat rate to drivers each month. Marsh told us companies that comply with IRS regulation can do tax-free reimbursements, saving money for employers and employees.

“We also offer an option called FAVR that uses a fixed and variable rate and allows us to track your insurance costs, the make and model of the vehicle, and the gas prices along the routes you drive,” Marsh told us. “So you get a fixed amount plus a variable amount or a mix of the two. It’s an equitable program for folks who really want something that’s going to be the most efficient for the business and the employee.”

The owner of a home healthcare company may not have much experience in making decisions about managing employee vehicle expenses. Cardata consults with businesses through the sales and implementation process to educate them on best practices within the industry they operate in. Marsh told us industries have different standards related to whether they assign vehicles to employees or follow a reimbursement model.

Businesses opting to provide employees with a flat car allowance follow a straightforward process, paying their employees a set amount each month. 

FAVR is a more complex, but ultimately the most beneficial solution for the company and its employees, and Cardata helps customers manage the program. Marsh told us most businesses that are transitioning from managing a fleet of vehicles to allowing their employees to use their own cars for business purposes start by offering a flat allowance program or a certain rate per mile driven. 

Businesses find out about Cardata’s services in numerous ways, including from Cardata customers who share their positive experiences working with the company.

“We love receiving referrals from our customers,” Marsh told us. “But a lot of people, especially these days, they’ll do 70% of the buying cycle before they even talk to anyone about us because they can find a lot of the information they need online. So we have a wealth of resources that professionals can consult online before making a decision, and we’re also often at events and conferences where people can meet and talk to us.”

Cardata’s programs can benefit multiple departments within a business. Finance departments charged with cutting expenses appreciate the cost-savings reflected on their income statements after implementing Cardata’s programs.

Human resources departments value the employee satisfaction Cardata’s services yield, which can boost retention efforts. Cardata’s programs also help a company foster a culture of safety.

“Companies want to make sure that they’re not putting someone on the road who maybe has a suspended license or was recently charged with driving under the influence because they could be liable for that,” Marsh told us. “Our motor vehicle record monitoring can help companies control those risks. These types of integrations are very critical for our customers.”

Cardata uses customer feedback to inform improvements to its products and services. Marsh told us the voice of the customer is vital to Cardata, and the company uses a number of different channels to access customer input.

Cardata collects feedback from customer support tickets and measures its performance by evaluating its Net Promoter Scores. Marsh told us he enjoys meeting with customers in person and learning how they use Cardata’s systems so he can better understand their experiences.

Cardata’s app, which tracks mileage, is easy for employees to use, and businesses can leverage it as a recruiting tool, Marsh told us. Employees can also use the app to help them schedule their workdays.

“People can go into the app and see the trips they took that day or that month, and then they can set up their schedules so the app tracks the hours they’re on the road without them even having to think about it,” Marsh told us. “They can also manually adjust it if they’re going to be starting their day outside their normal working hours. And if they take a personal trip during the day, they can easily reclassify it so it isn’t included with the rest of their miles.”

I bristle at the thought of having to call a company’s 800 number for customer support. Sure, I look forward to working with a customer service representative to resolve the issue I’m encountering. But slogging through a maze of interactive voice-response services isn’t my idea of a relaxing afternoon.

Marsh told us Cardata wants customers to be able to reach someone quickly when they have a question or are troubleshooting an issue. The company assigns a customer success manager to each business it works with, and Cardata tasks its team with knowing the strategic goals of its customers.

“We want our customer success managers to understand how our customers are using our product, as well as features they’re not using, so we can make our programs better,” Marsh told us. “We’re looking out for the return on investment for our customers as much as we are for ourselves. Because if you take care of your customers, then they’ll take care of you.”

Taxes can be a burden on a business that doesn’t have a tax expert on its staff. Cardata helps businesses comply with tax codes. Marsh told us business owners want to avoid being audited and finding out they owe more money on their taxes than they thought they did.

Cardata also calculates the tax savings businesses can realize by using Cardata’s services and shares those figures with businesses.

“We want to make sure everything we do, whether it’s our services or our products, is easy, educational, and of good value,” Marsh told us. “If you’re carrying a bunch of light vehicles within your business, I think you have to strongly consider moving to a reimbursement approach because it can save you money while reducing your liability and increasing employee satisfaction.”