Control your fuel costs: automate your diesel fuel clause in Boltrics TMS

The fuel market is anything but stable. Geopolitical tensions and fluctuating oil prices mean that diesel costs are constantly changing. What applies today may be different tomorrow. For you as a logistics service provider, this is not just a background issue. It directly affects your rates, your agreements, and ultimately your margin.

You make pricing agreements with customers and carriers, while fuel prices continue to fluctuate. This raises the question: which diesel fuel clause applies, which reference date do you use, and is the surcharge being passed on correctly? If this process isn’t tightly managed, you lose control.

Why fuel agreements quickly become confusing

A diesel fuel clause seems simple: if the price rises, a surcharge follows. In practice, it’s more complex. You work with different customers, carriers, and contract agreements. One agreement is based on a fixed scale, another on a current price. Sometimes you calculate using percentages, sometimes using fixed amounts. On both the revenue and cost sides.

Timing also makes a difference. The chosen reference date (order, loading, or unloading date) directly determines the outcome. When you track this manually, for example in Excel, the process becomes prone to errors. Employees look up prices, check contracts, and perform calculations. That takes time and makes it difficult to justify afterward why a surcharge was or was not applied.

From one-off calculations to a standard part of your process

With the Fuel Clause functionality in Boltrics TMS, you can integrate fuel agreements into your process. You define diesel fuel clauses once and specify who they apply to and how they are calculated. This includes the base price, current price, fuel share, and rounding. This creates a single, clear logic that is applied throughout the whole organization. Centrally secured in your TMS.

How this works in practice within Boltrics TMS

The power lies not only in automation, but in the fact that you define fuel agreements once and then have them automatically applied to every transport order. You define the fuel prices and link them to your contract and rate agreements.

From that moment on, the system recognizes which clause applies to each order, and the surcharge is automatically calculated and added.

In the video below, you can see how this works in practice within Boltrics TMS.

Automated integration into your transportation process

As soon as a transport order is processed, Boltrics TMS automatically determines which fuel agreement applies. The system calculates the correct surcharge and immediately adds it as a cost or revenue line item within the order. This makes the fuel adjustment an integral part of your regular process, from order to invoicing.

You no longer need to make corrections afterward or add calculations manually. Everything happens at the right time and is based on established agreements.

Would you like to apply this approach more broadly within your transport process? Download our TMS brochure and discover how Boltrics TMS helps you gain control not only over fuel costs, but over your entire operation – from order to invoicing – with a single centralized solution that integrates rates, surcharges, and scheduling.

A single, consistent approach for customers and carriers

Fuel price fluctuations affect both your costs and your revenue. That’s why you manage both within the same structure. Boltrics TMS applies a single, uniform logic to customer and carrier agreements. This prevents differences in interpretation and gives you control over your margin. Regardless of whether you work with groupage, dedicated transport, or subcontracting.

Multiple clauses? That’s manageable too

Do you work with multiple diesel oil clauses, for example, per customer or per contract? Then you want to be sure that changes in fuel prices are applied consistently.

Boltrics TMS supports the recalculation of multiple diesel clauses at once. This prevents you from having to check individual files and keeps your records in line with the current situation.

In the video below, you can see how to easily recalculate multiple diesel clauses.

Practical example: automatic calculation without debate

Suppose you have agreed on a base price of €1.95 per liter with a customer. The current diesel price rises to €2.30. In Boltrics TMS, you enter the current price. Based on the configured diesel oil clause, the system automatically calculates which surcharge applies. For example: a 1% surcharge is calculated for every €0.03 increase.

As soon as the transport order is processed, the system applies this logic and automatically adds the surcharge as a revenue line. No manual calculations. No separate Excel files. And no disputes afterward.

Greater control and transparency for your customers

Fuel prices continue to fluctuate. That’s not going to change. What you can influence, however, is how you handle it. By automating fuel clauses, you prevent differences from disappearing unnoticed from your margin unnoticed and reduce manual work.

You also create transparency. Agreements are consistently applied and traceable. By sharing these insights via your customer portal, you give customers direct insight into surcharges and calculations. This prevents questions later on and lightens your administrative load.

Your process adapts to the market

With the Fuel Clause functionality in Boltrics TMS, you automate the calculation of diesel fuel clauses and make them part of a standardized process. This allows you to maintain control over costs, revenues, and margins. Regardless of how the market evolves.

Would you like to learn more about how this works in practice? Check out the explanation on our Learn page.