Will-call, COD fuel company, and cash heating oil order are all equivalent terms meaning that you, the homeowner, occasionally check your oil gauge and place heating oil delivery orders when you’re running low
Automatic heating oil delivery means that your heating oil company uses special software to estimate your oil usage, and the company delivers oil when the software says that you are probably running low on oil. Typically, homeowners order automatic delivery in conjunction with a 1-year oil delivery contract, but many companies offer automatic delivery without a contract. The benefit of automatic delivery is the convenience of never needing to check your oil gauge. The drawback of automatic delivery is that you can’t always get the best heating oil prices because you can’t price-shop for each delivery.
An oil "ticket" is the receipt that the oil company uses to record the oil quantity dispensed at each delivery. An oil truck’s oil pump has a meter that measures how much oil is being dispensed. It’s the same type of meter that gas pumps have at gas stations. When your oil truck driver finishes pumping your oil, the meter prints the oil quantity directly on the ticket. The driver leaves one copy of the ticket in your mailbox, and keeps one copy for the company’s records.
Example heating oil ticket
Many states require that oil companies provide paper oil tickets. Some states enable homeowners to opt in to electronic tickets instead of paper tickets.
Many full service heating oil delivery companies offer both pricing plans and payment plans, so it’s important to distinguish between the two.