In a recent Fleet Owner webinar, “The Digital Shift: How Creative MultiCare Transformed Fleet Payments and Maintenance with Fleetio + Car IQ,” industry leaders came together to explore how one fleet tackled inefficiency and fraud head-on. Hosted by Kate Coomber from Car IQ and Stefano Daneri from Fleetio, the session featured David Bernier, Fleet Manager at Creative MultiCare, a 24/7 commercial services company with more than 560 vehicles operating across the Southeast.

Bernier shared how outdated paper logs, manual reconciliation, and physical fuel cards were slowing growth and bleeding profit. By adopting Fleetio for maintenance management and Car IQ for secure, cardless payments, Creative MultiCare turned its analog system into a connected, digital fleet platform. This recap highlights the key takeaways from the discussion — from identifying the breaking point to realizing measurable savings through real-time visibility and automation.

Key Highlights

Car IQ replaced physical fuel cards with vehicle-based payments, using vehicle telematics data to connect directly to fuel merchants and secure every transaction.

1. The Breaking Point: When Manual Fleet Processes Stop Working

   When David took over as Fleet Manager, he inherited what he called “a system buried in paper.” Maintenance requests came in handwritten. Work orders lived on clipboards. Fuel cards were issued to individual drivers and often lost or forgotten.

   
   

   “Every day, receipts were lost. We’d wait for paper from field offices, and sometimes it just never showed up,” David said. “We had no accurate way to track spend or detect fraud until it was too late.”

   
   

   The lack of real-time visibility meant Creative MultiCare couldn’t accurately track maintenance costs or detect fraud. In one case, a former employee used a fuel card for nearly 60 days after termination, costing the company thousands.

   
   

   Even the basics — such as reconciling maintenance costs — were slow and error-prone. Every job required manual data entry, printed work orders, and multiple handoffs between mechanics and accounting.

   
   

   “Everything revolved around paper,” David explained. “From my desk to accounting, it was laborious for everyone.”

2. Building a Culture of Efficiency

   Despite these challenges, David emphasized that efficiency wasn’t just about systems, it was about culture.

   
   

   “Our technicians’ vehicles are their moneymakers,” he said. “If they’re waiting on repairs, they’re not earning. So we had to build a culture where everyone understood that faster maintenance helps everyone make money.”

   
   

   This cultural shift laid the foundation for the company’s transition to digital tools that could connect technicians, supervisors, and accounting around a single source of truth.

   

3. Going Digital: Fleetio Brings Real-Time Maintenance Visibility

   When Creative MultiCare implemented Fleetio, the change was immediate. What once required days of manual entry now happened instantly. Technicians began using tablets to clock in, scan parts, and update work orders digitally. The system automatically synced those updates with accounting and leadership.

   
   

   “Fleetio gave us clarity,” David said. “Everyone from the tech to the accountant sees the same data in real time.”

   
   

   Key benefits included:

   • Real-time visibility into every vehicle’s health and maintenance cost
   • Accurate inventory tracking for over $250,000 worth of parts
   • Automated reporting for total cost of ownership and per-vehicle expense
   
   

   For a company with multiple locations, this was transformative. Remote shops no longer needed to mail receipts or manually input data — everything flowed directly through Fleetio’s cloud-based platform.

4. Eliminating the Fuel Card: How Car IQ Prevents Fraud Before It Happens

   Fuel cards had long been one of David’s biggest pain points. Cards were often lost, shared, or used by former employees long after termination.

   
   

   “Managing fuel cards was chaos,” he said. “We caught one person still using a card 60 days after termination — costing us thousands.”

   
   

   “Car IQ prevents fraud before it happens,” said Kate Coomber. “We verify the driver, vehicle location, and fuel need in real time — and validate that fuel is going into the right car, not somewhere else.”

   
   

   For Bernier, that shift meant instant reconciliation and total visibility:

   • No cards, PINs, or receipts
   • Fraud prevention before and the transaction and validation after the fact
   • Instant visibility into transactions across the entire fleet

5. Seamless Integration and Fleet Support

   The transition from manual to digital wasn’t just about software — it was about support. Bernier praised both Fleetio and Car IQ for their onboarding processes.

   
   

   “It was a big change for us — going from analog to digital,” he said. “But both teams made it simple. We had dedicated reps walking us through setup, planning, and integration.”

   
   

   Through the integration, Car IQ fuel data automatically flows into Fleetio’s total cost reports, giving Bernier a unified view of every dollar spent — from maintenance parts to fuel transactions.

   
   

   “Now, that cost of gas goes directly to the vehicle,” Bernier explained. “It’s automatic. No more manual tracking or guesswork.”

6. Real Results and Early Fuel Savings

   When asked about the return on investment, David said the savings from leveraging the Car IQ and Fleetio integration have been significant.

   
   

   “Comparing July 2024 to July 2025, we’re already seeing significant savings,” Bernier said. “We’re not just cutting fraud, we’re saving time and gaining confidence in our data.”

   
   

   David also reported:

   • Thousands saved from reduced fuel fraud
   • Hours reclaimed weekly in accounting and fleet management
   • Accurate cost-per-mile reporting and data-driven decision-making
   Simplified, scalable systems that grow with the company
   
   

   “This system grows as we grow,” Bernier said. “Even our least tech-savvy drivers adapted without issue.”

   

Q&A Highlights

The webinar wrapped with questions from attendees on reporting, data export, and ROI tracking.

• Data and Reporting: Bernier confirmed Fleetio offers extensive built-in reports and supports CSV and Excel exports. “Their team even built us custom reports that weren’t stock options,” he said.
• Customization: Minimal setup was required — just internet access and a tablet rollout to drivers. “It’s plug and play,” Bernier said.
• Integration Benefits: Fleetio’s TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) and Car IQ’s fuel validation now work hand in hand. “Fuel data flows directly into Fleetio — no double entry, no confusion.”

The Bottom Line

Both Fleetio and Car IQ emphasized that digital transformation doesn’t have to be disruptive — it simply has to be intentional. The webinar made one message clear: modern fleets can’t afford to rely on paper, cards, or guesswork.

Bernier’s advice to other fleet managers was clear: start small, focus on data visibility, and choose tools that integrate seamlessly.

“You don’t need to reinvent your operation overnight,” he said. “Just get the data right — everything else follows.”

By using Car IQ and Fleetio together, David gained a fully unified view of his fleet. Their integration brings every fuel transaction directly into the Fleetio dashboard, allowing him to track fuel and maintenance side by side — all in one place. Automating maintenance tracking, eliminating fuel cards, and enabling real-time fraud prevention, Creative MultiCare now operates with transparency, speed, and confidence.

“We finally have control,” David said. “I can’t imagine running this fleet any other way.”