Fuel Cards, Telematics, and FMIS: One Source of Fleet Truth

How Do You Build a Single Source of Truth for Fleet Data?

Make your FMIS the system of record and feed everything else into it. Assign fuel cards to vehicles instead of drivers, connect fuel and telematics data to the FMIS, and only migrate legacy data that’s accurate. When fuel, usage, and maintenance data live in one place, fleet leaders can see cost per mile, PM status, and utilization for every asset.

Why fleet data ends up scattered

Most fleets add systems one at a time. Telematics arrives for safety. Fuel cards arrive for convenience. Maintenance lives in spreadsheets or on paper. Each system holds part of the picture, and none of them agree.

That’s where Luke Conway, Fleet Director for Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County, started. On Episode 253 of The Fleet Success Show, he explained that fuel cards were assigned to people, drivers didn’t enter a vehicle at the pump, and the only reliable way to get mileage was to email each department and ask for a mileage sheet.

Step 1: Assign fuel cards to vehicles, not people

When a card follows the driver, fuel spend can’t be tied to an asset. Luke’s fleet is now writing a fuel policy that requires every card to be assigned to a vehicle, so they can see what’s happening with each asset.

This matters because fuel misuse is common and hard to catch. Shell Fleet Solutions’ Fleet Trends Survey estimates that 2% to 5% of fleet fuel spend is lost to misuse each year. [1] Vehicle-level fuel data makes unusual transactions easier to spot.

Step 2: Use telematics as your utilization tracker

Luke’s fleet adopted telematics before it had an FMIS because it needed accurate mileage to know when PMs were due. That’s a common first use. Telematics answers which assets are moving, how far, and how often. It also supports safety, which helped Luke earn buy-in from a self-insured organization.

Step 3: Make the FMIS the hub

As host Marc Canton put it on the episode, telematics is complementary. The FMIS is the single source of truth, and fuel and telematics data should flow into it. Centralized data means centralized knowledge.

Step 4: Don’t migrate bad data

When Luke’s fleet moved from pen and paper to RTA Fleet360, it chose not to import its paper records. Starting clean meant the new system wasn’t polluted on day one. Bad data has a real cost: Gartner estimates poor data quality costs organizations an average of $12.9 million a year. [2]

Questions to ask before migrating legacy data

Is the data complete and consistent across assets?
Will anyone use it to make a decision in the next two years?
Can it be validated against a reliable source?
Is a clean starting point plus a short archive of key records a better option?

What a single source of truth makes possible

Once fuel, usage, and maintenance data live in one system, fleets can:

Track cost per mile by asset and class
Tie PM compliance to real mileage instead of guesses
Build replacement plans based on utilization and cost history
Hold shops accountable for productivity and turnaround

How RTA Fleet360 helps

RTA Fleet360 is a single system of record for public fleets, bringing maintenance, fuel, parts, and lifecycle data together so fleet leaders can see what’s happening and stand behind their decisions. Book a Demo

Frequently asked questions

Should fuel cards be assigned to drivers or vehicles? Vehicles. Vehicle-assigned cards tie fuel spend and mileage to a specific asset, which supports cost-per-mile tracking and misuse detection.

Is telematics a replacement for an FMIS? No. Telematics captures location, usage, and driving data. An FMIS manages maintenance, costs, parts, and lifecycle decisions, and should be the system of record that telematics feeds.

Should you import old data into a new FMIS? Only if it’s accurate and useful. Many fleets are better off starting clean than carrying unreliable records forward.

Need help evaluating your POV program? RTA Fleet Consulting helps organizations analyze reimbursement, utilization, and right-sizing. Talk to Fleet Expert