Fuel Variance

Reviewing Fuel Variance Reports

The Fuel Variance report can be printed after the first seven steps to tracking fuel inventory have been completed. Two versions of the Fuel Variance report are available: standard and daily. Both versions calculate tank differences between the computed fuel inventory and actual fuel inventory. The computed fuel inventory is calculated as such:
(Beginning Tank Inventory + Tank Deliveries) – (Fuel Entries + Tank to Tanker Transfers)
Actual fuel inventory is determined by the pump meter and tank stick readings. The ideal situation is for the computed and actual fuel inventory to be identical, though, realistically there will probably be a slight fuel variance each time. The acceptable variance quantity can be set in the tank record (MUM). Variances can be caused by a number of things such as:

• Fuel expansion, compression, or evaporation due to weather conditions
• Erroneous data entry of fuel drops, meter readings, stick readings, or fuel tickets
• Too many fuel deliveries and/or tickets have been recorded (past cutoff point)
• Not enough fuel deliveries and/or tickets have been recorded (i.e., paperwork missing or not turned in)
• Tank leakage
• Theft

Standard Fuel Variance Report

To print the Standard Fuel Variance report, do the following:

1. Select Fuel > Pump/Tank Proc > Print Variance from the RTA main menu (FPV).
2. Select a radio button indicating the report type. Select Tank/Pump to report variances for all pumps and tanks, Tank to report variances for all tanks, or Pump to report variances for one pump and the tank to which it is attached.
3. If you selected the Pump option, enter a pump number or press F1 to select a pump from the lookup list.

The top section of the Standard Fuel Variance report compares the difference in the meter readings to the amount of fuel posted. The left column is the current data, which may represent one day or a week depending on how often meter and stick readings are updated. The right column is the monthly variance information; it is reset when the end of period for vehicles is processed (SEV). The bottom section is the tank summary, which shows the variance in gallons and dollars between the computed inventory and the actual inventory. The monthly stick difference accumulates until end of period is processed. The yearly stick difference accumulates until end of year is processed.

Daily Fuel Variance Report

The Daily Fuel Variance report is broken into three sections for each tank on file: the daily pump information, the daily tank information, and the monthly tank information. The daily pump information compares the starting and ending pump meter readings to come up with the fuel usage. The fuel usage is then multiplied by the price per gallon (from the tank record) to come up with the usage cost. 
The daily tank information takes the previous and current stick readings and tank deliveries to calculate the flow-thru fuel. That number is then compared to the pumped fuel (derived from the fuel usage in the daily pump section) to come up with the daily loss or gain. Ideally, the flow-thru fuel and the pumped fuel should be equal; realistically, these two numbers will vary slightly but should be close. The daily sections are zeroed out each time the variance report is rolled so the process can be repeated the following day. The monthly tank total section, however, accumulates the monthly totals until the end of period processing for vehicles is performed (SEV).
The monthly tank totals compares the fuel pumped to the flow-thru to come up with the monthly gain or loss which is then compared to the allowable loss or gain (from the tank record). If the loss is within the acceptable limit, YES appears in the compliance column. The allowable loss or gain is determined from the figures in the tank record and the monthly flow-thru as follows:
Allowable Variance Qty + (Monthly Flow-Thru x Allowable Variance Percentage)
To print the Daily Fuel Variance report, do the following:

1. Select Fuel > Pump/Tank Proc > Print Variance from the RTA main menu (FPV).
2. Select the Daily radio button.
3. Select a radio button indicating whether or not to roll over the daily tank values immediately after the report has been processed. We suggest not rolling the tank values the first time the Daily Fuel Report is printed. Rolling the tank values resets the inventory levels and clears out the daily tank data; it should only be done after the daily data has been reviewed for accuracy, all corrections have been made as needed, and a hardcopy has been successfully printed.

Adjusting Fuel Variances

Two options are available for adjusting fuel variances. As with all adjustment options in RTA, it's best to post adjusting entries, whenever possible, where the problems occurred so there is an audit trail. However, sometimes it's necessary to make changes directly to pump or tank variances using the two options available.

Adjust Pump Variances

The information displayed through this option is divided into four sections: 1) tank information, 2) pump usage for the period, 3) current pump usage, and 4) current variance between the pumped fuel (meter based) and the charges posted to the pumps (based on fuel tickets). The average cost per gallon comes from the tank record for this pump. To display and adjust a variance for a single pump, do the following:

1. Select Fuel > Pump/Tank Proc > Adjust Pump Variances from the RTA main menu (FPA).
2. Enter a pump number or press F1 to select a pump from the lookup list.
3. Make the adjustments as needed and choose Update. Adjustments can be made to the following fields:

• Period Start Reading: This is the pump meter reading at the beginning of the current accounting period. Changes to this field may be necessary if there were problems during the end of period process (SEV).
• Previous Reading: This is the pump meter reading replaced by the new pump meter reading entry. Changes to this field may be necessary if erroneous meter readings and/or meter corrections were made.
• Charges Posted: This is the number of gallons posted through fuel entries. Changes to this field may be necessary if fuel transactions were processed (FFP) and then additional fuel entries for the same time period were later input and processed.

A Fuel Variance report can be generated for the displayed pump and tank by choosing Print.

Adjust Tank Variances

A stick variance is calculated each time a new stick reading is entered. The variance is the difference between the stick reading and the computed tank inventory. The computed tank inventory is based on the following formula:
Beginning inventory + Tank deliveries – Tank usages
This is the number of gallons that should actually be in the tank if all conditions were perfect. It doesn't take into account some of the common problems when dealing with tanks: evaporation, condensation, expansion, contraction, leakage, and theft. The stick reading, on the other hand, gives you a close approximation of the number of gallons of fuel in the tank, and it does address these items. The monthly and yearly stick difference reported on the Fuel Variance report can be used as a guideline in determining if a problem exists in these areas. If adjustments are needed for the stick differences, do the following:

1. Select Fuel > Pump/Tank Proc > Adjust Tank Variances from the RTA main menu (FPD).
2. Enter a tank number and fuel type or press F1 to select a tank from the lookup list.
3. Make the adjustments as needed and choose OK.