Paua has been working on resolving challenges with compensating drivers at home since 2022. In this period we have seen a number of parties endeavour to offer home charge reimbursement based on home charger data.
In this blog post we are going to reveal [seven] reasons why home charger data for reimbursement is unreliable, risky and potentially an expensive error to make.
Drivers who charge at home and drive for business want to be fairly compensated. If you are using your home electricity tariff to pay for your business miles then you want compensated for this. However the AER alone does not support this (more on the AER in this blog).
There are eight reasons why businesses cannot rely on home charger data for reimbursing business electric vehicle drivers.
The second electric vehicle risk
The friend with an EV comes to visit risk
The shared / community charger risk
Charge point data quality risks
The two employee’s one house risk
The commuting mileage risk
The three pin plug risk
The replace all the chargers risk
Understanding each of these risks enables better management of home reimbursement
If home charger is the only way you collect your data then there is a risk that you do not know whose electric car you are charging. This risks manifests in a number of different ways.
Having two electric cars in the household will only become more common as the world electrifies.
In particular drivers who are familiar with electric vehicle charging will be more confident taking an electric car.
Therefore it is reasonable to assume that if your driver has a car for business they will seriously consider an electric car for a personal car.
With 35% of the UK households having a second car this is a serious risk to consider when compensating for electricity through the home charge point. You could well be compensating for the households second car.
Sharing your charger with a visitor is a pretty reasonable request. With challenges around the number of chargers and the mantra of “charge when you stop” it is increasingly common that a visitor with an EV may request a charge.
It would not seem unreasonable that most hosts would allow our visiting friends to charge.
Therefore there remains in risk that another party will charge on the charger reducing the quality of the data.
And the risk that the business compensates someone else to charge their car.
Just as Air BnB became a trend for sharing spare household space the same is true for EV charging.
A numbers of businesses offer the “AirBnB of EV charging” model.
Some of the frequently referenced ones include Co Charger, Book My Charger, Joosup, Manta Ray EV and Just Park. Community charging or peer to peer charging introduces another risk.
If the same charger that is used for the business vehicle is used to share the charger then a significant risk emerges.
A business could compensate for energy dispensed through an EV charger AND that charger could be paid by a visitor. The householder who owns the charger is happy but the business has just compensated the wrong driver
If you rely entirely on charge point data you rely entirely on charge point data.
Therefore issues that emerge around connectivity, data errors, information asymmetry, energy losses in charging etc that question the ability to rely on this data.
When you are entering a sensitive tax arena then data quality and the ability to audit this for tax purposes become important.
The two employee’s one house risk
With increasing use of electric vehicles by businesses it is increasingly likely that two employees of a business that compensates for energy use can occur.
Under this scenario two businesses now compensate for the energy use.
Such double compensation is great for the home owner but a massive loss for the business.
The company policies for compensating drivers for their business mileage often includes a recognition that commuting miles are not included.
However, a home charge point has no data on this important characteristic of reimbursement.
Therefore home charger data, once again, introduces a further risk to paying employee’s.
Without additional data there is a risk that reimbursement is paid for miles that should have not been compensated.
Yes electric vehicle drivers still charge with three pin plugs.
The “granny charger” method is convenient for some who are tenants in a property or do not want the additional cost of a home charge point.
Whilst three pin plug is not considered the safest way to charge it is still something that is done.
If you can only compensate drivers via a home charger then a group of drivers is suddenly discriminated against.
Another reason that relying on home charger data for home energy reimbursement contains significant risks.
If you need charger data then you need to integrate with the charger.
If your business has already deployed charge points, or if your drivers have chosen their own chargers there is a high possibility that your chosen device is “not available yet” or “awaiting integration”.
Such limitations can force you to consider replacing all your chargers.
But before you do maybe consider a provider who is agnostic to charge point data.
As by now you have learnt that charge point data, on its own, is a flawed approach to home charge reimbursement.
Don’t despair.
What you require is a solution that remains agnostic to home charger data.
Paua Reimburse is a single solution to pay for business charging at home, work or on the road.
Paua makes it easier for fleets to compensate drivers for business miles when they charge at home. A comprehensive programme over the last 12 months has seen Paua develop a market leading proposition for reimbursing drivers.
Paua Reimburse offers two routes to fairly compensate drivers; full cost reimbursement and "the reverse AER method".
With Paua Reimburse you can
Fairly compensate your EV drivers “everywhere they charge”. Paua everywhere
Accurate and auditable mileage capture. Say goodbye to guesswork
Works with any vehicle, Any charger, Any tariff. Home charging benefits without compromise.
Contact us to find out more.
Yes. Paua clients have received HMRC tax approval for both versions of Paua Reimburse. You should always seek your own tax advice.
A combination of data points is required. Paua simplifies the process to create an auditable approach to capturing this data. Importantly this is integrated with the Paua EV charge card capturing all public charging data.
Most businesses do not allow a driver to claim for their regular home to office commute. Paua enables this to be set and automatically excluded in mileage calculations.
Yes. Paua realises that most businesses have already installed home chargers or do not want to be tied to one suppliers list of compatible chargers. Therefore Paua Reimburse works with any charger.
Contact us to find out more.