With gas prices getting higher than Cheech & Chong, everyone's trying to do what they can to save up. That led me to this latest ReviewMe advertiser: Corporate Reimbursement Services (CRS).

The Newton, MA based management consulting firm has a vehicle reimbursement program that some businesses might find useful, especially those whose employees frequently travel between states (such as delivery companies, moving companies, salespeople, etc).

Calculating the costs of driving doesn't just include gas and tolls. There are also insurance premiums, property/excise taxes, and license/registration fees. If your business just operates in one state, keeping track of all these factors may be manageable, though perhaps a headache. But what if you operate nationally? What if you have an army of transport trucks across ten or twenty states?

Solving that problem is what CRS aims to do. They claim that they can calculate these "geographic cost variances," as they call them, and offer a "fair, accurate and defensible reimbursement rate for each individual driver."

Sounds like a pretty useful service. And even better, its program is set up in accordance with the IRS so that your employees can be reimbursed tax-free. That's a nice perk.

In addition, CRS' program also includes:

  • Mileage reports and trends - so you can revise your routes to improve efficiencies
  • DMV record checks - to help make sure your drivers are legally compliant
  • Online reports - so you can check all of your records and stats online
  • Driver safety training - high-risk drivers can be given online training (though I'm not sure how practical that really would be)
  • Reduced risk & liability exposure - businesses are 100% liable if employees with company vehicles get into accidents; CRS' in-house Risk Management Team can provide guidance on this (though hopefully not with ineffectual online training)

I don't mean to sound like a brochure for these guys. I've never used them before, so all I can do is summarize what they claim on their website. How much are their services? I don't know. They could be expensive. They're at least doing well enough to afford some SEO on the keywords: "vehicle reimbursement program". That much I can say.

I can also add that Mike Antich of Automotive Fleet wrote an article entitled, "Reimbursement is Unfair to Employees" that attacks companies for failing to fully and fairly reimburse mobile employees.

I have yet to hear of a company that reimburses at a rate that fully compensates drivers for the actual cost of operating a vehicle, especially in this era of escalating fuel prices. In addition, the cost of gas, insurance, license/registration fees, and vehicle maintenance vary substantially by region. If the reimbursement doesn’t cover actual expenses, a driver, in essence, ends up with a pay reduction.

CRS' program appears to satisfy the shortfalls of the other programs to which Antich is referring. Back when I was a traveling consultant, I used to be reimbursed for gas, but nothing else - no fees or insurance reimbursements. So I can certainly see Antich's point.

So if CRS' program is what it's cracked up to be, it could be worth a test drive. Or, at the very least, ask your current employee benefits provider if they have a vehicle reimbursement program of their own.