For clients operating in transport, mining, or other fuel-intensive industries, fuel tax credits (FTC) are a significant lever, but their benefits are only realised when eligibility, rate applications and apportionment are accurate and backed by evidence.
Mixed fleets, messy fuel records, and overlapping job activity can become time-heavy to validate and risky to stand behind. Because of this risk, businesses tend to make conservative estimates, which results in clients under-claiming what they are entitled to. This creates a distinct value lane for accounting and tax firms.
By organising fuel data and creating clear evidence trails up front, our FTC platform is designed to relieve you of that burden. This way, your FTC claims become repeatable, accurate and defendable rather than a quarterly reconstruction.
Why FTC accuracy has become a bigger deal for businesses
FTC seems simple on paper. In reality, accuracy lies in the details, and that’s where risk can arise for both clients and businesses.
For your fuel-intensive clients, FTC accuracy is important because it directly affects:
- Cashflow risk. Under-claiming quietly erodes client cash outcomes. Over-claiming creates repayment exposure.
- Audit risk. If eligibility, activity splits, or rate periods can’t be proven, firms face added stress and rework during review time.
- Decision risk. When fuel isn’t allocated correctly, job margins and forecasts become distorted. This also affects advisory services.
The real friction tax and finance teams see with FTC claims
If you support fuel-heavy clients, you’ve probably seen the same pattern repeat:
- Fuel records arrive late, scattered across cards, receipts, telematics, and spreadsheets.
- On-road vs off-road splits rely on assumptions rather than proof.
- Mixed-use vehicles and auxiliary equipment create grey areas.
- Each BAS period turns into a reconstruction exercise.
- Audit defensibility becomes a quiet source of stress.
When those gaps exist, the risk isn’t abstract. It shows up as claims you are unable to fully defend, rates applied to the wrong period, and eligibility splits that rely on judgement instead of evidence. That’s why BAS time so often ends up reconstructing the past quarter’s journeys – and why firms end up being conservative to protect clients and themselves.
None of this is because clients are careless. Any operation juggling multiple sites, concurrent vehicle uses and job types, will generate complexity unless fuel is treated like a discipline, not an afterthought.
Why we built this with firms like Ryan, our tax partner
Ryan supports some of Australia’s most fuel-intensive operations: clients with mixed fleets, multiple concurrent jobs, and fuel used across on-road, off-road, and auxiliary equipment. That complexity is where FTC accuracy really lives or dies.
Together, we’ve shaped a practical FTC workflow that removes the reconstruction work from BAS time. Nuonic handles the fuel structuring, allocations and evidence trail. Ryan remains the trusted advisor, reviewing claims with confidence and helping clients understand what the numbers mean for the business.
And importantly, this partnership doesn’t just improve recovery, it reduces FTC exposure for complex client by replacing assumptions with consistent, evidence-backed allocations. For several of Ryan’s largest clients, that’s shifted FTC from “best-effort estimates” to accurate, defensible recovery tied to real operational activity, without adding admin load to their in-house finance teams.
What changes when Nuonic supports FTC
Our FTC platform is built to remove the two things that create the most FTC risk: uncertain fuel allocation and inconsistent evidence.
| For your firm, that means: | For your clients, that means: |
|---|---|
| FTC calculations you can sign off with confidence | More accurate FTC recovery each BAS period |
| A clear, consistent methodology across clients that reduces grey-area exposure | Legitimate recovery without the anxiety that comes from guesswork |
| Less time chasing receipts, logs, and allocations | Faster turnaround and fewer surprises |
| A cleaner workpaper trail if claims are ever reviewed | Better visibility of fuel use by job, vehicle, or site |
| BAS periods that feel like review and advice, not reconstruction | Reduced disruption if they’re ever reviewed |
One example from our work with Ryan: a client operating a mixed fleet across multiple construction zones was previously relying on manual allocation to distinguish public and non-public road fuel use. Because temporary construction roads were not reflected in base mapping, eligible off-road activity was being conservatively treated as public road use.
By applying time-bound, project-specific geofencing aligned to documented construction phases, vehicle activity was reprocessed, and fuel was apportioned based on actual operational use. This resulted in a more accurate and defensible FTC position, reducing under-claiming risk and replacing assumption-based allocation with substantiated evidence.
With Nuonic supporting Ryan’s review process, fuel is now allocated by actual activity and period, the correct rates are applied consistently, and the evidence trail holds quarter to quarter. The result is more accurate FTC recovery and far less time spent rebuilding the journey behind it.
The advisory conversations that accurate FTC unlocks
Once FTC data is accurate and defensible, it becomes usable, not just claimable. That reduces decision risk and gives firms confidence to rely on fuel data beyond compliance. For fuel-intensive clients, accurate FTC supports advisory conversations as:
- Job and project margin accuracy, with fuel allocated to actual activity rather than averaged or estimated.
- Predictable FTC recovery, allowing it to be factored into cash flow planning rather than treated as a variable.
- Fuel efficiency and leakage analysis, where consumption can be assessed against real operational output.
- Scenario planning, using inputs that can be stood behind if challenged.
In practice, this is where FTC shifts from a periodic claim to a reliable input into financial analysis. Enabling better advice, lower-risk advice without adding complexity to the firm’s workflow.
What partnering with Nuonic looks like
We keep it simple and headache-free:
- Nuonic handles the fuel data structuring, FTC calculations and evidence trail. Your clients just need to upload their fuel statements or receipts, and you’ll get sent the report every month.
- Your firm stays the lead advisor and relationship owner
- Outputs fit neatly into your BAS and tax rhythms
- You choose how far you want to extend FTC as an ongoing service
If you have clients where fuel is one of their biggest expenses, this is one of the most practical ways to deliver impact quickly.
Why this matters now, more than ever
FTC is not getting simpler. Mixed fleets, overlapping job activity, and changing rates mean risk accumulates quickly when evidence is weak. Firms that can make fuel clear, defensible and claim-ready protect clients from exposure and unlock stronger cash outcomes at the same time.