Goodsell Earthmoving

For almost 35 years, Goodsell Earthmoving has been hauling dirt to a range of construction companies across the Northern Queensland area. With a fleet of four trucks and 10 contractors working across multiple construction sites and private properties, its drivers spend a significant portion of time travelling off the public road network.

When it came to calculating fuel tax credit (FTC) rebates, Director Russell Goodsell found the business was not only underclaiming for fuel use, but also only claiming for fuel used on-road. He turned to Teletrac Navman to better understand the claims process, get a more accurate return and and cut down on both paperwork and admin time.

A natural fit

Goodsell Earthmoving already had a long working relationship with Teletrac Navman. Since 2011, GPS tracking had been installed in its fleet of trucks to ensure drivers were getting to and from work sites efficiently, and to provide accurate estimated arrival times to clients.

When it became apparent that Goodsell Earthmoving needed a better solution for its FTC process, Teletrac Navman was the obvious choice.

“When I spoke with Teletrac Navman about what the FTC Manager solution could do, it was a bit of a lightbulb moment for me. Since then it’s become a really important part of the business”, Goodsell says.

Not only was the business relying on rough estimates to calculate FTC, and spending a lot of time doing so, the team wasn’t aware they could claim for off-road use at all. Realising the potential to claim more accurately, Goodsell Earthmoving promptly set up Teletrac Navman’s FTC Manager solution.

“When I spoke with Teletrac Navman about what the FTC Manager solution could do, it was a bit of a lightbulb moment for me. Since then it’s become a really important part of the business”

Accurate rebates every time

After a thorough re-assessment of its internal operations, Goodsell Earthmoving began the process to have FTC Manager working across the entire business. After providing the necessary data to Teletrac Navman’s FTC consulting partner, PPM Tax & Legal, a retrospective refund review was completed, resulting in a significant refund of the excise paid on fuel by the business over the last four years. Once this review was completed, the solution was ready for use and completely operational. With vehicle tracking already installed throughout the fleet, the process was quick and seamless. Within a few weeks, the business was already noticing the difference.

“The results have been quite substantial. We didn’t realise just how much off-road work we were doing and what we could claim back as FTC,” Goodsell says. With FTC Manager automatically and accurately tracking on and off-road use at the correct rates, Goodsell Earthmoving saw an immediate increase in claim value.

“Teletrac Navman and its FTC Manager solution work hand in hand as our proof that we’re doing everything properly and can claim at the higher rate when needed”, says Joelene Gallagher, Administration Manager for Goodsell Earthmoving.

With the solution in place, the organisation can claim the correct FTC return every time and not lose any spend on fuel used for off-road work. It’s money that’s better spent going back into improving other aspects of the business, such as new equipment.

“In our industry, it’s common to be hesitant about getting started with new technologies, but Teletrac Navman gives you all the help you need, so it’s an easy, stress-free process.”