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Picture two civil contractors. Same size business. Same machines. More than 20 fuel pods each, spread across a handful of jobs.
At the end of the month, they both ask the same question: where did the diesel go?
Frank opens a pile of paper fuel logbooks. Bob opens his phone.
Our 60-second video follows the two of them. This is the longer version, and it shows why paper fuel logbooks cost more than most contractors realise.
Frank's way: paper fuel logbooks and guesswork
Frank runs his fuel the way most civil businesses always have.
Every time someone fills a machine, they're meant to write down the pod, the litres, the plant number and the job code. The logbook lives in the ute or hangs off the pod. At the end of the week, it comes back to the office.
That's the theory. Here's what actually happens:
- Fills get skipped when the crew is under pressure
- Entries get written at knock-off, from memory
- Pages get wet, torn or lost
- Handwriting is hard to read, and plant numbers get mixed up
- Subbies fill up and nobody writes it down
- The logbook for the pod on the far job doesn't come back for a fortnight
None of that makes Frank's crew bad at their jobs. They're operators, not bookkeepers. The system asks them to do admin at the worst possible moment.
What paper fuel logbooks cost Frank at month end
The real cost shows up in the office.
Reconciling the books
Someone has to match the logbooks against the supplier invoices. When the numbers don't line up, they chase the crew, guess, or give up. Reconciling 20 pods by hand can easily take half a day a week.
As an example, 4 hours a week at $70 an hour is $280 a week, or $14,560 a year, spent rebuilding records that should have been made at the pump. Put in your own numbers. Most people are surprised.
Job costing on guesses
If the job code is missing or wrong, the fuel ends up in overheads. Frank can't say what each job really burned, so job costing is based on averages and his next quote is a guess.
Fuel tax credits rounded down
Diesel used in plant off public roads can usually be claimed back as fuel tax credits. But the claim needs records that show how much fuel went into which machines. When the logbook has gaps, the bookkeeper rounds down. That's money left with the ATO.
Problems found too late
If a pod is being drained, or a machine is suddenly using more fuel than it should, Frank finds out weeks later, if he finds out at all.
Bob's way: scan, pump, done
Bob's crews do something much simpler. They open the Fuellox app, scan and pump, and get back to work.
Each machine has a QR code. The operator scans it, the pump unlocks, and they fill up. The record is made as the fuel moves:
- Who pumped the fuel
- Which machine got it
- How many litres
- When and where, by GPS
- Which job it belongs to
Nobody writes anything down. Nobody brings a book back to the office. If the pod is on a site with no signal, it doesn't matter. Fuellox talks to the phone over Bluetooth and syncs when coverage comes back.
It fits the gear Bob already has: pods, bunded cubes, ute tanks, trailers and service trucks.
Frank vs Bob, side by side
- Recording a fill. Frank: written in a book, if someone remembers. Bob: recorded automatically at the pump.
- Job costing. Frank: fuel lands in overheads. Bob: every litre is charged to the right job.
- Fuel tax credits. Frank: gaps, so the claim gets rounded down. Bob: a clean report, split by machine and use.
- Spotting problems. Frank: weeks later, at month end. Bob: the same day, on the dashboard.
- Subbie fuel. Frank: arguments at invoice time. Bob: a record both sides can see.
- Month end. Frank: hours of reconciling. Bob: run the report.
Why paper fuel logbooks fail
It's tempting to blame the crew when the logbooks don't add up. But the problem is the system, not the people.
Paper fuel logbooks depend on someone stopping, finding a pen and writing accurately at the exact moment they want to get back to work. Multiply that by 20 pods, dozens of machines and a rotating crew of operators and subbies, and gaps are guaranteed.
The fix isn't a stricter logbook. It's taking the writing out of the job.
What switching looks like
Moving from paper to scan and pump is simpler than most people expect:
- Fit a Fuellox unit to each pod. Most people do it themselves in under an hour.
- Put a QR code on each machine.
- Set up your operators and subbies in the app.
- Set up your jobs as projects.
- Keep pumping. The records build themselves.
If you mainly need better records rather than pump control, Fuellox Logbook replaces the paper book with the app.
For a closer look at where diesel goes on civil jobs, read how to track diesel usage on site. For the numbers, see what a fuel management system costs over five years.
The result
At the end of the month, Bob's office has clean job costs and fuel tax records ready to go. Frank's team is still digging through logbooks.
Bob's already at the pub.
Watch the 60-second version
The video below follows Frank and Bob through the same day on site. It takes a minute, and it's the fastest way to see the difference.
Try it yourself
The best way to see it is to use it. Take a Test Drive and you'll get access to a live Fuellox environment, where you can run a sample fill and watch the records and reports update. No install needed.
Prefer a walk-through? Book a free demo and we'll show you how it would work across your pods. There's more on fuel management for civil construction too.
Frequently asked questions
Are paper fuel logbooks good enough for fuel tax credits?
They can be, if every fill is recorded accurately with the date, litres, machine and type of use. In practice, missing pages and entries written from memory make paper records hard to rely on. When the records have gaps, most bookkeepers round the claim down, which leaves money with the ATO.
What should a fuel logbook record?
Each fill should record the date and time, the tank or pod, the litres, the machine or vehicle that got the fuel, the operator, and the job or project. For fuel tax credits, it also helps to know whether each machine works on or off public roads, so the right rate is claimed.
What replaces a paper fuel logbook?
An app that records each fill at the pump. With Fuellox, the operator scans the machine's QR code and pumps, and the record is saved with the litres, time, location and job. It works offline over Bluetooth, so remote sites with no signal aren't a problem.
