Guides
Guides for gas and fuel delivery businesses
Practical guides for running a gas or fuel delivery business, from planning a round to getting paid for it. Useful whether or not you use Bottle.
Running the business
A gas delivery business without office staff
One owner doing all the admin, one or two drivers and no office: orders, rounds, getting paid, cash, stock, vans and the holiday diary.
More guides
Taking orders
How to take gas orders on WhatsApp with AI
Most orders now arrive on WhatsApp. What AI can read, what it should ask the customer, and where staff still step in.
Growing the business
How to scale a gas business without hiring more staff
Growing from 2 vans to 5 without the office growing with it: what breaks first, and how orders, rounds, invoicing and cash can keep up.
AI
How to use AI to run a gas delivery business
What AI assistants are good for in a gas or fuel business, where they get things confidently wrong, and how to keep customer data safe.
Rounds
How to plan multi-drop gas delivery rounds
Patches, load weight against the van's plate, fitting the working day, and what to do when a round will not fit.
Cylinders
Cylinder deposit vs cylinder rent: what to charge
How deposits and cylinder rent work, when each suits, and how to keep track of the cylinders your customers hold.
Deliveries
Proof of delivery for gas cylinders
What good proof of delivery records, when to take a signature or a photograph, and how it settles a dispute quickly.
Getting paid
How gas distributors can get paid faster
Invoicing on time, clear invoices, agreed terms, taking payment at the door and chasing what is overdue.
Switching
Moving a gas delivery business off spreadsheets
What to gather first, what to clean up, what to bring across and what to leave behind when you switch.
Cash
How to keep track of cash from delivery drivers
Recording cash at the door, handing it over properly, sorting out differences calmly and matching every payment to its invoice.
Choosing software
The best gas delivery software in the UK
Bottle, RBA, FuelStar and Maxoptra compared feature by feature for UK gas and fuel distributors, and which suits which business.
For help using Bottle itself, see the product help guides.