TL;DR
Home charger data is unreliable for reimbursing electric vehicle drivers due to various risks, including shared chargers and data quality issues. Businesses need a comprehensive solution like Paua Reimburse to accurately compensate drivers for their business charging needs. Relying solely on home charger data could lead to costly mistakes.
- Having spent time since 2022 providing home reimbursement services Paua outlines why home charger data cannot be relied on for home reimbursement
- 8 reasons why home charger data cannot be relied on for home charging reimbursement
Why home charger data cannot be relied on for home reimbursement
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
The second electric vehicle risk
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.
The friend with an EV comes to visit risk.
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.
The shared / community charger risk
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
The charge point data quality risks
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 commuting mileage risk
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.
The three pin plug risk
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.
The replace all chargers risk
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; overcoming the challenge
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".
The benefits of Paua Reimburse
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.
Frequently asked questions
Is Paua Reimburse a HMRC approved approach?
Yes. Paua clients have received HMRC tax approval for both versions of Paua Reimburse. You should always seek your own tax advice.
How do you determine the reimbursement rates for EV's?
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.
What should be done about regular home to office commutes?
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.
Can Paua Reimburse be used with any home charger?
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.
How do I get Paua Reimburse?Contact us to find out more.
