A business has only two ways to pay for chauffeur travel: trip by trip, or through a corporate chauffeur account. In other words, you either pay for each trip individually, or you set up an account with consolidated monthly billing. Neither is automatically better. Instead, they suit different kinds of businesses for different reasons.
How pay-per-trip works
You pay for each booking at the time you make it, usually by card, and receive a receipt per journey. This suits businesses that book chauffeur travel only occasionally rather than on a regular basis. In that case, a formal account wouldn't add much value. It also suits a department or individual who expenses their own travel directly.
How a monthly corporate chauffeur account works
A corporate chauffeur account groups every booking made across the month into a single consolidated invoice. That invoice usually breaks down by date, passenger and cost centre if needed. You agree payment terms once at setup, rather than negotiating them per trip. After that, you can make new bookings by phone or online without handing over a card each time.
Which businesses tend to prefer an account
Some businesses have regular travel needs, whether that's client pickups, staff airport runs or recurring events. They generally find a corporate chauffeur account simpler to manage than reconciling a pile of individual receipts every month. It also means nobody needs a company card to hand for every booking. That matters more than people expect once several people across a business are booking travel.
What to expect when setting up a corporate chauffeur account
Setting up an account typically means providing basic company details and agreeing payment terms. You also nominate who within the business can make bookings against it. From there, booking works the same way as any other Apex trip. The only difference is that we don't take a card at the point of booking.
Cost centres and reporting
For larger businesses, we can often break invoices down by department, project or individual. As a result, internal reporting becomes considerably easier than matching up separate receipts after the fact. So if your finance team needs travel spend split a particular way, ask about this specifically when you first get in touch.
Setting up a corporate chauffeur account with Apex
Call 0333 533 3530 to talk through whether a corporate chauffeur account or pay-per-trip suits your business better. We can then set up an account if that's the right fit. Also, there's no obligation to commit to a minimum volume of travel to open one.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a minimum spend required to open a monthly account?
No. We set up accounts based on what suits the business rather than a required minimum. However, they tend to make more sense for businesses with regular travel needs.
Can multiple people within a business book against the same account?
Yes, this is a common setup, and you can add or remove authorised bookers as needed.
Can invoices be split by department or cost centre?
Yes, we can arrange this when we set up the account. Just ask directly if your business needs travel spend reported a specific way.