The Ultimate Guide to Truckers Bookkeeping for Your Trucking Company

Looking for the best trucking accounting software for your business or trucking company? Whether you’re a team of owner operators or drivers working for trucking companies, managing finances can be challenging. Trucking accounting software combines back-office bookkeeping functionality with industry-specific features necessary for fleet management. In particular, the accounting services cover invoice processing, receipt generation, and general expense management. With software, trucking companies can also balance accounts, payables, and receivables in a general ledger to ensure their financial statements add up. Accurate bookkeeping helps you avoid penalties and ensures you’re prepared for an audit if necessary.

The first, will help manage the fleet in many aspects such as freight billing, manage customers, receive payments or partial payments, and more. Software designed for accounting will have accounting features to provide detailed reports, earnings, loss statements, and more. Saving more money during tax time is something every individual and company strives to achieve. Some CPAs even find themselves floundering when it comes to the unique deductions presented by the trucking industry. Trucking involves a variety of expenses, including fuel, maintenance, insurance, permits, and more.

Quickbooks

FreightWaves Ratings reference a list of approved sources for use of research to support editorial research and drafting. On the last day of the month, schedule time for yourself to do a month-end close. As the name suggests, a month-end close is the final moment to close out all of your accounts. Deferring your expenses to a business credit card and paying them off in full before interest accrues can be a helpful way to purchase what you need right away. Our systems support DOT requirements, IFTA filings, and IRS audits—so you’re never caught off guard. Whether you’re leased onto a company or run your own authority, we build a bookkeeping system that works for your unique situation.

We also recommend jotting down a few notes on each to remember what their purpose was. You may also use this to log per diem expenses such as meals, hotel rooms, and others. Many employers require that you use a mileage app whenever making a run for them. With this app, you may show both your employer and the IRS where you went, when you went there, and how many miles it took you. With a secure portal, you can log in to your personal account at any time and know that your information is safely password-protected.

Hire a professional accountant

FlatWorld can help your trucking company achieve seamless back-end operations, specializing in accounting services for trucking and logistics clients. With around-the-clock service, they’re available to help meet your bookkeeping needs as they arise. Their services are also scalable due to their partnerships with leading Fortune 1000 companies. We highly recommend using bookkeeping apps and trucker accounting software to simplify your accounting process.

• Avoid missed payments and stay on top of the money going out of your bank account by switching to electronic billing.
• The bookkeeper should be able to archive all of your important paperwork in their secure database.
• It allows you to keep your financial statements organized and gives you an idea of how your business is performing.
• For example, if you traveled 10,000 miles and spent $4,000, then the miles per dollar value is 2.5.

“INSTANT 2290’s customer service personnel—and the recorded messages—are the very best!!”

Most truckers use trucking bookkeeping services to handle their bookkeeping needs. No matter your fleet size or business needs, there is a trucking bookkeeping service to help you manage your transportation company. It also integrates seamlessly with TruckingOffice, a trucking management system that helps you manage your dispatches and business expenses, as well as prepare your IFTA reports. The practice of recording each financial transaction a company entity does from its inception to its closure is known as bookkeeping. Each financial transaction is documented based on supporting paperwork, depending on the type of accounting system the company uses. That’s right—all those little slips of paper you keep in your glovebox are important to your trucking business!

Per Diem and Travel Deductions

If you do not already have a plan like this, we highly recommend creating one. There is nothing like word-of-mouth and real reviews to let you know if someone’s services are worth your time. Trucking companies are often a part of many transactions and deals every day, and it is hard to accurately invoice and record them all. Remember that you need more than just planning a specific route and hoping your driver arrives by the anticipated arrival time. The driver must adhere to a crucial schedule and delivery period for delivery vehicles, especially those hauling time-sensitive materials.

“Shoeboxed makes it stupid simple to scan receipts…”

Truckers report liking the user-friendly system and find the software has all the basic tools to run their business. The driver settlements function lets you calculate driver pay by the mile, load percent, or a flat rate per trip. IFTA reporting is also easy thanks to Rigbooks importing the latest fuel tax rates for all jurisdictions automatically. General accounting software is typically the cheapest, followed by trucking-specific accounting software.

Rigbooks can be billed on a per-mile basis, and this kind of mileage tracking is exactly what’s lacking from systems like Quickbooks. Be sure to keep each receipt, a log of all your trips, and any other paper that is relevant to your career. We recommend an expandable filing case where you can easily place each transaction where it belongs.

• These documents are also essential for creating profit and loss statements for your trucking company.
• A bookkeeper can completely minimize the chance of mistakes in your accounting.
• AXON’s payroll system handles various compensation models, including mileage-based pay for drivers, hourly wages for office staff, and salary-based compensation for management.
• Investing in the right software program with different important features will greatly ease burdens and helps avoid waisting precious resources.

Owner-operator truck drivers face unique financial challenges while managing their business on the road. Below, we highlight the top five mistakes truck drivers tend to make and provide practical solutions. Whether you’re confident in your bookkeeping skills or just learning the ropes, there’s always room to refine your approach—this list has something for everyone. We hope you’ve found the perfect driver or owner operator trucking accounting software. Another thing you should look for when deciding on a trucker’s bookkeeping service is a company that has industry-specific benchmarking.

A profit and loss statement is an accounting tool used to calculate net income. It lists all revenue and expenses for a set period of time (usually quarterly or annually). A profit and loss statement can also be used to calculate cost-per-mile, helping you choose loads that will maximize your business income. ProTransport modules cover all of the major accounting needs, as well as dispatching and maintenance management. Fleet management offerings are also robust with features like live GPS tracking, two-way messaging, and maintenance reminder alerts. TruckingOffice offers standard bookkeeping features and allows for invoicing on variable fees, such as flat, per ton, per mile, or by weight.

Bookkeeping is essential for keeping track of all these expenses and ensuring that the company is making a profit. The IRS can ask you to provide supporting documentation anywhere from three to seven years after you file your taxes. That’s why it’s imperative that you keep a record of your expenses for years to come. There are definitely worse things than sorting through your personal and business transactions because they’re on the same account.

Proper bookkeeping allows you to track these expenses and identify areas where you can cut costs. There is no one-size-fits-all way to select the right bookkeeping software for your trucking company. Owner operators may find Q7 overpowered for their needs but a motor carrier with a large fleet might find Q7’s robust tools simplify their business accounting and general management. Our guide below covers everything you need to know about accounting software for trucking but first, here is a quick list of our top choices. Putting off truck driver bookkeeping tasks leads to disorganization, bookkeeping for truck drivers missed deadlines, and the stress of last-minute record-keeping.