An Introductory Guide to Trucking Accounting in 2022
If you do not already track everything, it is important to start doing so. This can help to ensure that your books are audit-proof, ultimately making your life easier and improving the operations within your business. At the Trucker CFO, we specialize in helping owner-operators, independent contractors, fleet owners and trucking entrepreneurs with their accounting duties so they can stay on the road. Our experience and expertise in the trucking industry gives us an edge, and more importantly, we won’t surprise you with hidden fees or other add-ons.
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By utilizing a trucking software solution, you can simplify financial management processes, save time, and gain greater insights into all financial aspects of your business. The best trucking accounting software can be a standalone trucking-specific program or a customizable accounting solution that seamlessly integrates with specialized trucking tools. A separate trucking module is available at an additional cost, including tools for owner-operators and carriers.
How Does Trucking Accounting Software Work?
- Its full integration eliminates administrative headaches by removing the need to enter data multiple times across platforms.
- Trucking businesses want accounting software that’s web-based, accommodates multiple users, tracks project financials effortlessly and creates easy-to-read reports.
- Provide a monthly record and any other receipts to your business services provider or tax accountant if applicable.
- It missed a few points for ease of use because it’s difficult to customize the dashboard.
Trucking companies may take very different approaches to bookkeeping depending on their size, time in business, and plans to expand. At its most basic, bookkeeping can be tracked manually with ledger books or spreadsheets. Some owner operators take this approach, but it is easy to make mistakes.
Trucking Accounting Software vs General Accounting Software
Whether you are using trucking accounting software or not, leaving it all to the last minute is a common mistake made by many small businesses. Leaving logging transactions, even for a small fleet, to complete right before key truckers bookkeeping deadlines will create more havoc. One of the main benefits of working with a trucking accountant is that they can help you save time. By taking care of complex financial tasks, you can focus on other areas of your business.
- Most industries have specific reports that indicate growth, loss, profits, etc. Trucking is the same.
- You can use accounting software like QuickBooks, FreshBooks, or Xero to track your income and expenses.
- It’s often even more difficult for truck drivers, whose gas and food expenses could easily be personal costs if they occurred outside of a trucking trip.
- The program provides advanced features, such as real-time tracking, which allows trucking businesses to track their vehicle locations and driver activities efficiently.
The IFTA is a way to redistribute the fuel taxes truck drivers pay in the lower 48 states and the 10 Canadian provinces. It ensures your funds go to the areas where you used your fuel instead of the ones where you purchased it. As a result, you probably shouldn’t try to manage your trucking business’s accounting function without help. It may be worth handling some lower-level aspects, but you’re better off outsourcing the more complex and time-consuming parts.
- With a complete picture of the financial status of your business you are better able to make informed decisions about your business finances.
- Meet Eric, a software expert who has helped 1,534 companies select the right product for their needs.
- Apart from core accounting software integrations, trucking businesses can also benefit from various third-party add-ons that provide additional functionality to their software suite.
- Join over 1 million businesses scanning receipts, creating expense reports, and reclaiming multiple hours every week—with Shoeboxed.
- Zoho Books facilitates online payment acceptance through integration with over ten third-party payment gateways, such as Stripe and PayPal.
With an accrual-based system, you record revenue when it’s earned (before you receive payment) and expenses when they’re incurred (before you pay them). We ranked each truck accounting software based on its affordability, considering the number of users included in each plan and the costs to add an extra seat. Get started right away by inviting employees, importing expenses from your bank account and credit card and adding clients to make generating invoices a snap. FreshBooks makes invoicing painless for trucking and transportation companies.
Owners of trucking companies have a lot to consider when doing their accounting. If you have a small accounting team or don’t have an in-house accounting team, you can hire Transpo CFO to take care of accounting and tax preparation. They’ll monitor your accounts, process your expenses, pay your bills and give you reports to track your profits and business growth. The program earned a perfect mark for trucking-specific features and did a great job at general accounting features.
Adopting accounting software can give your business a huge boost by automating processes, reducing errors, and integrating data across systems. Don’t just go with the first option presented to you—it’s worth your time to consider multiple options and invest in the software that best suits your needs. This straightforward system ensures your income, expenses, profit and loss reports, and taxes are well-organized and ready for quarterly or annual reporting. https://www.bookstime.com/articles/enrolled-agent-salary Whether you choose paper-based or electronic recordkeeping, consistency and accuracy are key to managing your business effectively. Being organized and thorough in tracking and retaining receipts is crucial for maintaining accurate business and financial records—whether you hire trucking bookkeeping services or not. If you need specialized tools like load and dispatch management, then consider integrating QuickBooks Online with RAMA Logistics Software.
How is trucking bookkeeping software different from general bookkeeping software?
Trucking companies need to be very vigilant when it comes to correct record keeping. Accrual basis accounting, on the other hand, means writing down transactions whether income or expenses when they take place, rather than when money changes hands. Though accrual basis accounting is more work, it records profitability more accurately.
How to Collaborate Effectively with Your Accountant
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 calculations. This focus is intended to make it easier to calculate load values and stay on top of receipts for tax filing.