The key terms — sorted by relevance
Your own corporate credit card
A billing model in which you provide your own corporate credit card instead of using a vendor credit line. With DKV InstantFuel, every refuelling is paid directly with that company card (Mastercard, Visa or V-Pay, also as debit card): there is no DKV credit line, no prepaid balance and nothing to top up. For a credit card, your bank already checked creditworthiness when it issued it. Classic DKV fuel cards work the opposite way, with DKV as the credit provider and a consolidated invoice at month end.
DKV InstantFuel
A digital fuel service from DKV Mobility for mobile payments at the pump. Through the DKV InstantFuel app, drivers refuel at approx. 12,000 acceptance points across 10 European countries, without a physical fuel card. In the web dashboard, the office manages drivers, refuellings and receipts. The platform is built on the technology stack of PACE Mobility (Karlsruhe) and is designed for small fleets.
Acceptance Network Akzeptanznetz
The full set of fuel stations at which a given fuel-payment service is accepted. DKV InstantFuel uses the PACE Mobility acceptance network with approx. 12,000 stations in 10 countries: Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Italy, Poland and Denmark. Important: this network is not identical to the classic DKV fuel-card acceptance network, which is significantly larger.
PACE Mobility PACE Mobility GmbH
A Karlsruhe-based technology company that builds Connected Fueling solutions for oil companies, automotive OEMs and mobility service providers. PACE operates the technology platform behind DKV InstantFuel: the mobile-payment API, the app SDK, and the live acceptance-network data. Founded in 2015, headquartered at Haid-und-Neu-Str. 18, 76131 Karlsruhe.
Connected Fueling
An umbrella term for digital payment solutions at the fuel pump, in which the payment is triggered directly from a smartphone app or in-car infotainment system, with no card and no on-site hardware. DKV InstantFuel is a Connected Fueling product: at connected stations the app switches to fuelling mode, and payment runs via secure payment tokens and a direct integration with the station POS systems.
DPA Data Processing Agreement / Auftragsverarbeitungsvertrag
A written contract under Article 28 GDPR that governs the processing of personal data by a service provider on behalf of the controller. If you use a fuel-payment app for your fleet, you are the controller and the app provider is the processor — a DPA is mandatory. With DKV InstantFuel, the DPA is concluded as part of the contract signing.
DATEV
Accounting and tax software that is widely used by tax advisory firms in Germany. DATEV can read e-invoices in ZUGFeRD format: the invoice data sits inside the PDF in machine-readable form and does not have to be typed in. DKV InstantFuel provides fuel receipts as ZUGFeRD e-invoices and, in addition, as a monthly ZIP export with a PDF summary and every single receipt.
Mobile Payment Pay-at-Pump
A payment process completed via a mobile device (smartphone, smartwatch, in-car infotainment) instead of a card or cash. At the fuel pump this means: the driver selects the pump in the app, refuels, confirms the payment in the app, and the receipt is stored digitally. Mobile Payment replaces the walk to the cashier, paper receipts and physical card logistics.
Fleet Management Flottenmanagement
The administration of multiple company vehicles, including fueling and maintenance costs, driver assignments, tax export and reporting. Digital solutions such as DKV InstantFuel bundle the fuelling side of this in a web dashboard: invite and approve drivers via link, deactivate them with one click, see every refuelling with litres, price per litre and receipt assigned to the driver, export receipts monthly.
Fuel Card Tankkarte
A physical or digital card used for cashless fuel transactions in the cardholder’s name. Classic fuel cards (e.g. DKV card, Aral Card) are based on a credit line from the card provider. Digital solutions like DKV InstantFuel are pure software that uses your existing corporate credit card: no additional credit line, no physical card to manage.
GoBD German GoBD Principles
German Federal Ministry of Finance administrative directive on proper electronic bookkeeping, recordkeeping, and document retention. For fuel receipts this means: complete, tamper-proof, contemporaneous capture with all mandatory fields per §14 UStG and retention for the statutory period. DKV InstantFuel stores receipts with an audit-trail-protected retention layer.
§14 UStG (German VAT Act) Mandatory invoice fields
German VAT Act paragraph defining mandatory minimum fields for invoices: issuer, recipient, date, sequential number, quantity/type of service, VAT rate, VAT amount. Fuel receipts are invoices under §14 UStG. DKV InstantFuel receipts include all mandatory fields automatically — no manual bookkeeping rework needed.
E-invoice ZUGFeRD
An invoice issued, transmitted and received in a structured, machine-readable format — a scanned document or an image-only PDF does not qualify. In Germany, ZUGFeRD is the most widely used format: a PDF/A-3 with the invoice data additionally embedded as XML, so that humans and accounting software read the same file. The underlying data model is the European standard EN 16931; the French Factur-X is technically identical. Since 1 January 2025 businesses in Germany must be able to receive e-invoices in B2B transactions; the obligation to issue them is phased in from 2027. With DKV InstantFuel, both the fuel receipts and the monthly service-fee invoice are ZUGFeRD e-invoices.
List Price (BLP) Bruttolistenpreis
Manufacturer’s suggested retail price including options and VAT — rounded down to the nearest €100. The basis for the German 1% rule on company-car taxation (§6(1) No. 4 EStG). The list price also decides the BEV benefit: up to €70,000 the 0.25% rule applies, above that 0.5%.
1% Rule German company-car flat tax
Flat-rate method to tax private use of a company car: 1% of the rounded gross list price per month as imputed income, plus 0.03% per km of commute distance. Pro: no logbook required. Con: flat-rate regardless of actual private use. Reduced rates for BEV (0.25% up to €70k list) and PHEV (0.5%).
Logbook Method Fahrtenbuch
Alternative to the 1% rule: actual private share of kilometres × actual total vehicle cost. Requires a complete, contemporaneous, tamper-proof logbook (BFH ruling VI R 19/05). Pays off with low private share — modern electronic logbooks are mandatory; paper logbooks are increasingly questioned by tax authorities.
Imputed Income Sachbezug
Non-monetary benefit from the employer (German §8 EStG). Private use of a company fuel card creates an imputed-income perk that is generally subject to wage tax and social security. Two valuation routes: individual taxation at the personal marginal rate or flat-rate taxation under §40(2) EStG (30%, SV-exempt).
Flat-rate Taxation §40 EStG 30% flat tax
Procedure under German §40(2) EStG where the employer pays a 30% flat wage tax for certain non-cash benefits (e.g. private fuel-card use) — plus solidarity surcharge and possibly church tax. In return, the perk is exempt from social security (SvEV §1(1) No. 3). Useful as a benefit component or when the employee is above the contribution ceiling.
CSRD Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive
EU Directive 2022/2464 on sustainability reporting, mandatory from fiscal year 2026 for companies with > 250 employees, > €50m revenue or > €25m total assets. Required data point: Scope 1 emissions from owned vehicles. Fuel card receipts with fuel type, litres and date are the clean source for CSRD-compliant balances.
ESG Environmental, Social, Governance
Three criteria pillars for sustainability evaluation of companies — environment, social, governance. ESG reporting becomes mandatory via CSRD from 2026 and influences financing terms (ESG-linked loans). In fleet context: Scope 1 CO₂ balance, driver working conditions, audit-trail-protected receipts.
Scope 1, 2, 3 GHG Protocol categories
Three emission categories per the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. Scope 1 = direct emissions from owned sources (fleet combustion, on-site heating). Scope 2 = indirect emissions from purchased energy (electricity for BEVs). Scope 3 = upstream and downstream value chain (suppliers, fuel well-to-tank chain, employee commuting). CSRD requires at minimum Scope 1 and 2.
DIN EN 16258 Transport CO₂ standard
European standard for calculating and declaring the energy consumption and greenhouse-gas emissions of transport services. Defines standard emission factors for fuels: diesel 2.67 kg CO₂/L (TTW), gasoline 2.32 kg/L. Basis for CSRD-compliant Scope 1 fleet reporting.
HVO 100 Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil
Paraffinic diesel fuel from hydrogenated vegetable oil or residues that replaces conventional diesel 100% — no engine modification required in modern vehicles (DIN EN 15940). GHG reduction up to 89% vs. fossil diesel (ISCC-certified residues). Fastest lever for Scope 1 reduction without vehicle investment, provided HVO stations are available.
Commute distance (0.03%) Commute surcharge
One-way distance in km between home and primary workplace. Under the German 1% rule, an additional 0.03% of list price × km/month is added as imputed income for commute trips. With permanent remote work, this surcharge does not apply. For BEVs: 0.0075% instead of 0.03%.
Contribution Ceiling (BBG) Beitragsbemessungsgrenze
Income threshold up to which social security contributions are levied (Germany). 2026: €87,600/year (health/long-term care, West), €96,600/year (pension/unemployment, West). Imputed income above the BBG is exempt from social security — relevant for company-car / fuel-card perks at higher salaries: individual taxation often pays off because no additional SV burden arises.
TCO Total Cost of Ownership
Total cost of an asset over its lifecycle — not just acquisition cost, but all ongoing cost (maintenance, fuel, insurance, depreciation, labour for administration). For fuel cards, TCO includes card fee, transaction surcharge, receipt-processing labour cost. DKV InstantFuel reduces TCO by eliminating receipt-processing labour.
