Fleet software in the news
12th March 2009
Fleet finance: Tread carefully to avoid making costly tax mistakes
Marie Jarrold, car fleet controller at BCA, uses Jaama’s fleet software and says that the P11D module works well.
“We have very minimal involvement with P11Ds,” she says.
“We have only 20 drivers that we need to P11D, as most are on the company ownership scheme.
"But we’ve never made any mistakes. We follow the HMRC guidelines rigidly and we’re very aware of the penalties.”
Most companies will guard against errors by giving a draft copy of a P11D form to an employee, before submitting it to HMRC.
This gives the driver the opportunity to challenge things like the CO2 figure, or the date the car was allocated. It also gives fleet managers the chance to pick up on mistakes.
Under-reporting of fuel
The part of the form concerning fuel is most at risk of inaccuracies. Haynes describes it as “a thorny area”.
“If the company is happy to pay private and business fuel that’s fine,” she says.
“But if not, they need to write to company car drivers saying that they don’t intend to provide private fuel and that all private fuel has to be reimbursed.”
Fleet managers should also ensure mileage is recorded accurately. “The onus is on the employee to record business mileage accurately, but it is important that the employer undertakes routine checks,” says Davies.
“We advise our clients to require drivers to include postcodes in business mileage logs so they can be checked.”
Davies reveals the case of one company that paid a hefty price for failing to have adequate checks in place.
“All the company car drivers had fuel cards and they were required to reimburse the cost of private fuel to the company each month,” Davies explains.
“They kept logs of business and private mileage and this was used to calculate the amount to reimburse.
EDITOR’S NOTES
Jaama is a fleet software and occupational road safety specialist.
As a certified Microsoft® development partner, Jaama uses the latest technology to provide customers with greater integration, control and automation. It brings innovative vehicle management software to fleet operators, contract hire and leasing companies.
And Jaama is the first to combine fleet management software and risk management services to help customers meet their driver health and safety responsibilities under occupational road safety regulations.
High resolution photographs to accompany all Jaama press releases can be downloaded at http://www.jaama.co.uk/temp/Photos for PR.zip
Please direct media enquiries to Ashley Martin at Ashley Martin Communications on 01733 390691, 07801 434338 or at ashley.martin32@btopenworld.com
About Jaama
Jaama is a fleet software and occupational road safety specialist. As a certified Microsoft® development partner, Jaama uses the latest technology to provide customers with greater integration, control and automation. It brings innovative vehicle management software to fleet operators, contract hire and leasing companies. And Jaama is the first to combine fleet management software and risk management services to help customers meet their driver health and safety responsibilities under occupational road safety regulations.
http://www.jaama.co.uk
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