Bookkeeping for Truckers: Tips, Apps, Free Software Shoeboxed

This e-book will tell you how to stay DOT-compliant and will help you decide whether you have time to handle the process yourself or need to hire a service provider for that part of your business. If you decide to hire a compliance service, this e-book will guide you through some of the regulatory and safety questions to help you get the most for your money. At Status Transportation, we assign each owner-operator a dedicated freight coordinator to help them develop a business strategy to ensure their profitability. Owner-operator loads are carefully chosen to align with your strategy. We strive to build profitable partnerships by delivering the highest quality services through continuous education of employees, development of systems, and best practices.

The Giersch Group offers a 100% virtual bookkeeping service nationwide for truck drivers and independent trucking companies. They are a certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor able to train your staff on the software and integrate cloud-based bookkeeping with their consulting services. Based in Milwaukee and Madison, Giersch also offers in-person consultations for Wisconsin-based trucking companies. As a trucking business owner, you should keep records of all your expenses and the documents that support them, such as receipts and account statements. You should have proof of each expense’s amount, date, location, and business purpose.In addition, hold onto all documents you need to comply with Department of Transportation and IRS requirements. For example, that includes data from your ELD, invoices, bills of lading, payroll statements, and tax payment receipts.

What is a chart of accounts?

These benefits make a compelling argument for working with trucking bookkeeping services. And in many instances, it is cost-effective to do so since you can spend more time driving, which brings in revenue for your company. Having a trucking bookkeeping service consistently updating your records can help you avoid issues with your clients. A failure to implement a system can result in serious financial problems down the road. Most trucking businesses use either a cash basis accounting system or accrual accounting.

You don’t want to leave money on the table or risk triggering an audit. Even some CPAs are unaware of the specifics of the industry, where unique rules and changing regulations can cause you to misreport your tax-deductible expenses. One of the primary problems with managing your small business accounting is the sheer amount of time and energy it takes. Running bookkeeping for truck drivers a trucking company alone is enough work to keep you busy, and trying to do both is a lot to handle at once. The accrual basis of accounting requires that you recognize revenues when you earn them and expenses when you incur them, regardless of when funds enter or leave your accounts. It takes more work, but it also documents your profitability more accurately.

The Transportation Industry is EXPLODING!

It serves as a digital hub and tax center from which you can manage all of your paperwork and filing responsibilities. All businesses need to keep track of their expenses, but it’s more challenging in some industries than others. Unfortunately, trucking is a business that requires you to be particularly diligent in your record keeping. The bookkeeper will then be able to use the receipts to prepare accurate monthly profit and loss statements for your business. If you ever need any of these files back, a good bookkeeper will be able to easily find and send back electronic copies of the receipts or files that you need at any time.

This helps you improve your trucking company’s cash flow so that you will always be able to pay your drivers and other employees on time. The data your software collects from your bills, invoices, and receipts can all be used to help find and prove eligibility for your deductibles. This cloud-based truck management software allows you to track fuel mileage, expenses, trips, and orders.

Paradigm Transportation Suite (PTS)

Technically not a software solution but an alternative, TruckBytes provides free pre-made spreadsheets to streamline invoicing, trip reports, and IFTA filing. Rigbooks is a straightforward bookkeeping application that was designed specifically for trucking businesses. The software places a top focus on translating costs into per-mile https://www.bookstime.com/ calculations. This focus is intended to make it easier to calculate load values and stay on top of receipts for tax filing. While available for businesses of all sizes, Rigbooks is designed for owner operators and small fleets. According to Barry, the biggest bookkeeping mistake that truckers and fleets often make is not doing any!

• Turn your receipts into data and deductibles with our expense reports that include IRS-accepted receipt images.
• Bookkeeping services often provide professional business advice that will put you in a better financial position.
• This option is a lot more efficient and more accurate than giving your documents to a tax preparer who doesn’t know your business.
• If you decide to hire a compliance service, this e-book will guide you through some of the regulatory and safety questions to help you get the most for your money.
• If your bookkeeper also calculates your tax estimates, they are able to use your P&L statements throughout the year to let you accurately know how much your estimated tax payments should be.

Q7 is capable of managing every corner of your trucking business but may require an experienced bookkeeper to make full use of its accounting features. Because it offers so many different tools, the learning curve can be steep compared to other options. However, Q7 does offer training and technical support to help you get going.

Trucking Management Features

It is important to have different account categories for truck purchases, repairs, and truck loading and unloading tools. Invoices can be auto-generated, fuel card data can be imported directly from any major provider, and taxes (including IFTA) can be calculated. Tailwind TMS provides tools to ensure records are uploaded as quickly as possible. For example, the mobile app lets drivers capture signed bills of lading with their mobile phones on delivery. One of the most useful features of TruckLogic is its integration with other trucking industry tools. These include Motive, DAT, ProMiles, Quickbooks, ExpressTruckTax, and ExpressIFTA.

However, some companies use other solutions for those tasks and find Quickbooks meets their accounting needs. 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. 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.

Company Information

As the name implies, bookkeeping services can maintain your financial ledgers, which are usually tracked with trucking management software or accounting software now. These tools can manage various financial documents, including profit and loss statements, tax estimates, profit plans, budget resources, and expense ledgers. Keeping these financial records updated is critical in telling you how your business is doing at any given time. Since bookkeeping and filing taxes for the trucking industry can be so complex, it’s no surprise that audits are a significant risk. That way, if there are any questions about your company’s finances, you can quickly provide the supporting documentation. Trucking accounting software combines back-office bookkeeping functionality with industry-specific features necessary for fleet management.