The Fuel Card Group, the parent company of The Fuelcard People is so confident in its pioneering MileageCount system, with GPS dongle, that it is offering fleet managers a free 60-day trial. Group marketing manager, Steve Clarke, said: “Some fleet managers might be sceptical of just how good MileageCount is, especially when used with the GPS dongle, so we are challenging them to try it for a couple of months, without charge. We would be very surprised if anyone wants to give it back at the end of the free trial.”

The GPS dongle, representing the state-of-the-art in mileage monitoring, is normally offered as an option with MileageCount Ultimate, the most all-encompassing of the three MileageCount service levels. It ensures complete mileage accuracy through satellite tracking.

All a driver has to do is plug the dongle into their vehicle’s cigarette lighter socket, then wait a few seconds for the green light to show that it is ready. The dongle has a short start-up time, with a fast signal acquisition that typically means the first fix within 30 seconds if starting from cold. A hot start, under an open sky, can take less than a second.

Every week – or whatever other interval is most appropriate – the driver simply removes the dongle and plugs it into the USB port on their computer. By following the simple prompts, their complete journey history will be uploaded in seconds. After the upload, MileageCount uses trip co-ordinates to log each journey’s start and finish postcodes. The dongle is accurate to within ten metres but postcodes can be amended if they are slightly out.

MileageCount uses Google maps to plot journeys, which can be viewed for reference. It can also display the shortest distance for the journey from Google maps, if this is different from the route actually taken. Each journey can be marked by the driver as a business or private trip. If a journey is marked as private, the person approving the journeys will not see details of that journey, only the distance travelled.

Steve Clarke said, “There are so many powerful benefits to MileageCount Ultimate that using GPS dongle tracking to ensure HMRC reporting compliance is only the start. This is complete fleet management automation, covering everything from checking employees’ driving licences to verifying the insurance and MOTs of ‘grey fleet’ vehicles. There is a wealth of options covering everything from training to duty of care. The only way to really get to grips with it is to have a free trial.”

The 60-day free trial of MileageCount Premium, with GPS dongle, is offered with no obligation, no contract and no minimum or maximum number of drivers. There is a deposit of £35 per dongle, but this is fully refundable if the equipment is returned in good condition. At the end of the trial, fleet managers simply sign up or switch off.