12 Key Trucking Company Bookkeeping Tips and Best Practices

It’s important to claim your per diems correctly to reduce your gross income, resulting in less money owed to the IRS. To qualify for a per diem deduction, you must be away from home for the night. Keeping your fleet well-maintained is also essential, and this includes getting regular oil changes and other standard maintenance on time. The best way to save on gas prices is to download an app like GasBuddy, which will help you identify the best-priced gas in your vicinity. Your variable costs per mile, such as fuel, should stay pretty constant regardless of the number of miles driven. Your fixed costs per mile, such as insurance, should drastically fall as the number of miles driven increases.

During the 14-day protest period, TBS will establish your BOC-3 while you file for insurance. Whether it’s a boss breathing down your neck or watching your hard work fill someone else’s wallet, leaving the typical grind and paving your own way in the world is tempting. More and more company drivers are realizing going independent can solve a lot of their truckers bookkeeping service challenges. There’s more money to be made and the transportation industry isn’t at risk during a recession. Join over 1 million businesses scanning receipts, creating expense reports, and reclaiming multiple hours every week—with Shoeboxed. Join over 1 million businesses scanning & organizing receipts, creating expense reports and more—with Shoeboxed.

Accounting Features

Per diem pay is a type of non-taxable IRS reimbursement that covers meal and other expenses that you have as a truck driver when you’re away from home. Taking your per diems correctly is important because doing so can increase your take-home pay and reduce your gross income, which means you owe the IRS less money. In order to qualify for a per diem, you must be away from home for the night. You have two options for deducting the cost of meals and lodging—either by how many days and nights you were on the road or with your receipts. You can deduct the greater of 80% of the per diem rate for each day or deduct 80% of the total expenses for the receipts you have collected throughout your trip. It’s also essential to keep proper documentation on hand in case you’re ever audited by the IRS.

• It does not include payroll or bank reconciliation but can integrate with Quickbooks to give a complete accounting service.
• It also manages employee and contractor paperwork like W-2 and 1099 forms.
• Small businesses can also start with Quickbooks and then later pair it with a trucking management system that integrates with Quickbooks.
• Remember, it can be surprisingly hard to catch up on trucking records once you’ve fallen behind.
• Use the folders for your monthly profit-and-loss statements and accurate quarterly tax estimates.
• If there is a discrepancy, you want to catch it quickly before it becomes a bigger problem for your trucking business.

And trucking companies are a prime target since criminals may assume their security measures are more relaxed than other companies. It’s a chance to be your own boss on your terms and still make a living while traveling the country. And while there are many perks to this job, running a successful trucking company takes a wide range of different skills.

Open a separate checking account for your business.

You can email us or you can upload your business receipts to a secure portal. We’ll enter them into your specific account so you see the current financial status of your business in real time. Processing payroll for a trucking company can be different than most other industries. Since drivers can be compensated by the truckload or miles driven instead of receiving a monthly or weekly paycheck, it can be confusing and time-consuming without a proper system. Working with the right payroll provider can be the key to saving time and avoiding unnecessary paperwork. With the trucking software program from TruckingOffice.com you can keep up with invoices that are coming due and receive alerts if any payments are past due.

Trucking companies often have a unique chart of accounts because revenue and expenses are quite different from other businesses. For example, trucking companies will likely include a gas surcharge income account and a gross trucking income account. Bookkeeping refers broadly to maintaining a business’s financial records. These include day-to-day records like fuel receipts and payment transactions.

Automate the Trucking Accounting Processes

There are several potential pitfalls that new businesses of trucking can face, from regulations and compliance to managing a fleet of vehicles. Bookkeeping is essential for keeping track of all these expenses and ensuring that the company is making a profit. Quite frankly, not everyone speaks accounting but it will serve you to acquaint with certain industry terms such as a driver vs carrier. Drivers operate a variety of units like dually’s, dump trucks, box trucks, or semi-trailers. In all cases, the motor carrier is responsible for safety as it holds the authority often referred to as an MC.

By using the trucking company’s bookkeeping services, owner-operators can save time and money, and focus on what they do best – driving trucks. 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. This is one of the most well-known accounting apps for trucking management software for a reason.

How Much Does Trucking Accounting Software Cost?

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. Axon is a trucking management system that handles everything from invoicing to dispatching and tax reporting.

If you choose to outsource your accounting to a CPA that offers bookkeeping services, you won’t have the stress of making sure your monthly accounts are up-to-date. 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.

Leverage software

These companies can help you streamline your financial processes and secure a better future for your company. Whichever program you choose, make sure that it offers the features that are most important to you so that you can get the most out of it. An experienced consultant can help you to navigate the complex world of trucking, and they can also offer advice on how to run your business in the most efficient way possible. Any business comes with a certain amount of risk, and the trucking industry is no different.

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. By saving every https://www.bookstime.com/ receipt, you will create a saving grace for yourself when it comes time to do your taxes. In the unfortunate case that you end up being audited by the IRS, you’ll also have a paper trail to fall back on, too.

Truck maintenance is categorized into several expense accounts as well. It is important to have different account categories for truck purchases, repairs, and truck loading and unloading tools. These include focused tools for freight haulers, freight brokers, and oilfield trucking. As mentioned previously, it’s helpful to keep a notebook or logbook in your truck so you can easily jot down your incurred expenses. If you find it easier, you may paper clip receipts on each page of your notebook and even highlight the total expense for easy reference. Remember, this is a system designed to help you remember expenses, so whatever method works best for you is what you should utilize.

With business credit cards readily available, it can be easy to make payments or purchase necessities without thinking about your budget . But then, at the end of the month, you may be surprised by a high statement. Not all businesses or self-serve operations provide receipts upon you making a purchase. For this reason, a notebook or specialized app is another way to stay on top of accounting as a trucker. Building credit for your business is important, but it is equally as important to make sure that your liquid cash flow is available when you need it.

Trucking Management Features

It is also advisable to store physical copies of your records somewhere safe. You never know when you might experience a hard drive crash, lose your phone, or delete your data by accident. Now that you know what bookkeeping is, let’s explore how bookkeeping works when it is put into action. To choose the best program for your needs, it is important to compare the features of each program and decide which one is right for you. However, not all of these programs offer the same features and benefits.

• Having a separate account will also give you easy access to necessary information if you are audited.
• When you set up your owner-operator or carrier business, you have several options for structuring the business that will impact bookkeeping and tax filing.
• Let our experts help with permitting, compliance, insurance down payments, and more so you don’t have to tackle it all alone.
• Keep reading to learn more about the fundamentals of bookkeeping for truckers, starting with what bookkeeping is in general.
• If not, you will be happy you took the time to keep your records in order.
• With the trucking software program from TruckingOffice.com you can keep up with invoices that are coming due and receive alerts if any payments are past due.