A quarter of small and medium-sized businesses are missing out on VAT reclaims due to sloppy expense practices, according to data released by fuelGenie.

The calculations by fuelGenie show that on average, a VAT-registered company with five vehicles could reclaim around £1,000 for petrol per year, meaning that they are losing out on at least £250.

"During times of economic difficulty, one of the main reasons why SMEs go under is because they run out of cash. However sound a business is in other ways, successful cash flow management should be a key priority as it is crucial to success," said Stephen Roper, Professor of Enterprise at Warwick Business School.