Managing EV fleet charging costs

Charging an electric company car or van at home can unlock significant cost savings for drivers and businesses alike.

EV specific energy tariffs and innovative technology can take what was once a bit of an administrative headache to effectively manage EV fleet charging costs and make life a lot easier for drivers and fleet managers alike.

 

 

Charging a fleet/company electric vehicle at work

Each business is going to have a slightly different EV fleet management policy for charging company vehicles.

Some will have a EV fleet policy in place where cars can be charged at the workplace, as well as back at the driver's home and on the public charging network.

Some vehicles will mainly be charged at a depot, with some en-route or destination charging necessary as well.

Regardless of the way a vehicle is charged, pricing needs to be recorded, managed and reimbursed accurately.

It's also essential to be able to split what charging is related to business mileage and what is for personal trips.

 

Are there any grants for adding a charging infrastructure to my workplace?

The Government is supporting businesses with its Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS).

This fund provides financial support to fleet operators wishing to have electric vehicle charge points installed at their work premises.

The WCS is a voucher-based scheme that contributes up to £350 towards the upfront costs of a car charging point purchase and installation.

 

 

Reimbursing EV fleet charging costs when charging at home

There is a pretty simple mechanism introduced by the Government to help simplify reimbursement costs for those charging up their work vehicle at home - it's called the advisory electricity rate (AER).

This works in a similar way to advisory fuel rates (AFRs) that are used for petrol and diesel cars, that offers a fixed price per mile to be paid.

One of the big issues fleets and drivers have with an AER flat rate though is that it's difficult to reflect the changes with energy prices.

Some in the electric vehicle fleet management and charging industry believe the AER is a bit too simplistic and has been described as a "blunt instrument" for what is more of a nuanced challenge.

There are so many factors that can impact on the price paid, including the tariff someone is running at home, which fleets sometimes have no control over.

Fleet operators can pay above the AER (which is currently 9p per mile as of March 2024), but they would have to provide evidence to the HMRC of each charge location, duration and kWh, or risk employees and the employer themselves having to pay additional tax on the difference.

It's why many fleets are increasingly turning to technology to help simplify reimbursements and charging management, as well as make sure payments are as accurate as possible.

 

Which home chargers are best for keeping track of charging costs?

Having a smart home charger installed can be really helpful to track data and manage reimbursements and charging sessions.

Luckily, we've already put together a guide to some of the best EV chargers for your entire fleet of vehicles, that can track charging sessions and feature advanced cost reporting.

This includes chargers like the WaEV-Charge EV1i, Easee One, Hypervolt Home 3.0 and Simpson and Partners Home 7.

 

Managing electric vehicle fleet mileage

Fleets need to track business and personal mileage, as well as track EV charges between home and public charging (as well as workplace charging sessions to create a fully holistic picture of both charging needs and energy trends).

Business and personal mileages can be logged using tracking apps, some are free or more sophisticated and detailed versions will come with a charge.

Larger and medium sized fleets, particularly commercial fleets with electric vans, will also likely use telematics and software to help with tracking mileages too.

Some of these services can track mileage directly from a vehicle's odometer (the built in system used for measuring the distance traveled by a vehicle).

 

Claiming back charge sessions expenses at public EV chargers

Again, there's going to be a mix of approaches from fleets. Some will be taking more of a manual approach where drivers are logging their own charging sessions and then claiming a receipt from the charger.

This can be a bit of a process (see below). Other fleets are using services that can track payments and charging sessions across multiple networks.

For example, Paua Tech's electric vehicle fuel card (that also comes in smartphone app form), was launched in 2021 and it aggregates over 20 charge point operator (CPO) networks.

It means if you’re driving on business you can roam across a wide network of charging points, including Mer, Osprey, Shell & Ionity, while just needing one card or app for the business to pay directly for EV miles clocked up while driving for work.

All receipts are aggregated into a single VAT invoice for businesses and Paua can send real time data and analytics to fleet managers so they have a live picture of how drivers are charging their vehicles on the road.

• Read our full interview with Paua Tech's chief executive and co-founder Niall Riddell here.

 

Getting a receipt

Tracking receipts is important for those charging out on public networks.

Some charging networks allow you to claim back receipts either through their network app or through a link on their website.

For example, those using the Ionity charging network can request invoices through its Receipt Portal by scanning the QR code on the charger's payment terminal or visiting https://receipts.ionity.eu.

Likewise, Gridserve has a digital receipt portal for drivers to download or print their digital receipts at their own convenience.

 

Are there any "fuel card" like services for electric fleets?

There are multiple companies that are innovating to help fleets and drivers manage their charging costs and reimbursements.

The businesses below are some examples of the work being done to remove as many headaches as possible for fleets switching more of their vehicles to zero emissions.

 

Paua

Paua Reimburse is a single solution to pay for business charging at home, work or on the road.

Paua makes it easier for fleets to compensate drivers for business miles when they charge at home.

Paua Reimburse can track charging sessions wherever an EV has been charged, including at home and on public charging networks. It can accurately record mileage data and it works with an EV, any charger and any tariff.

 

Allstar Chargepass

Allstar's Homecharge solution monitors every charging session and covers the cost of each session.

Payments are made directly to a driver's energy supplier, so they're never out of pocket or have any expense claims or receipts to submit.

Allstar can automatically track home energy consumption, tariff changes, energy supplier switches and charge sessions for each driver.

This means the exact amount of charge, at the correct rate, is automatically and accurately paid.

This level of accuracy means drivers are getting reimbursed correctly and employers are also paying the correct amount, without under or overpaying.

Fuel payments giant Allstar acquired Mina in September 2023 and you can read our full interview with founder and former CEO of Mina, Ashley Tate here.

Tate is now the managing director of Allstar Chargepass.

 

Monta

Monta is a software company that specialises in developing solutions that join the dots for the entire of EV charging infrastructure ecosystem.

Sponsored charging is a feature with Monta Charge which allows companies to sponsor their employees to charge their EV at home.

Fleets can manage sponsorship requests from employees, group employees by profiles, and monitor charging expenses, all while ensuring a direct and effortless reimbursement process for employees.

 

Electroverse Business

Octopus Electroverse offers fleet management software that gives fleets and drivers control and access to public charging.

This includes an analytics dashboard, customisable reporting and contactless (RFID) cards that company car and van drivers can use to tap and pay on the public charging network.