3-Step Process to Record Keeping for Truckers

Issue invoices, generate expense reports, collaborate with drivers and get reports on your financials whether you’re in the office or working remotely. Access your accounting trucking software from anywhere in the world with FreshBooks’ fast and secure cloud-based platform. The all-new Accounting Software from FreshBooks helps you take control of your trucking business accounting with ease, without the stress. Keeping compliant is as important as finding loads to haul and keeping a well-maintained vehicle. If you decide to hire a compliance service, retained earnings this e-book will guide you through some of the regulatory and safety questions to help you get the most for your money. To start your trucking business, you need a Motor Carrier Authority from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).

What are the top bookkeeping apps for truckers?

• If you do not already track everything, it is important to start doing so.
• The all-new Accounting Software from FreshBooks helps you take control of your trucking business accounting with ease, without the stress.
• However, there’s nothing more time-consuming than having to perform unnecessary work simply because you are overlooking a critical process.
• With the Hub, you’ll be able to scan or import receipts, settlements, and other documents with just a few taps.
• Invoicing can be daunting, but trucking companies must receive payment from their clients.
• With around-the-clock service, they’re available to help meet your bookkeeping needs as they arise.

Trucking bookkeeping and accounting are full-time jobs all by themselves, making it next to impossible to do both trucking and accounting together. A step-by-step approach to accounting in the trucking industry will make the process go off without a hitch. Learn more about trucking bookkeeping and accounting, how to set up a proper accounting system, and avoid many pitfalls. Outside of your company’s stellar reputation, a stable roster of customers and a fleet that doesn’t need to be micromanaged, trucker bookkeeping keeps businesses afloat.

Hit the road with Shoeboxed ⛟

These obligations include the International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) and the Heavy Use Vehicle Tax (HVUT). IFTA applies to those who drive across state lines or weigh more than 26,000 pounds or has at least three axels. It’s important to note, that though it is possible to change the accounting method later, it’s troublesome and requires permission from the IRS by filing Form 3115—so choose wisely. Together these statements disclose the financial health of the company and allow the company to make decisions about its future.

• Most truckers use trucking bookkeeping services to handle their bookkeeping needs.
• You’ll also have an easier time tracking and documenting your spending, as most accounting software can integrate with your bank account.
• Also, having a bookkeeper who prepares taxes makes it easier to file your tax return.
• Although a lot of records are digital now, it’s still smart to have a physical file folder for any hard copies or original documents you receive.
• Just like saving your receipts, keeping records of your log books is important, too.

Use a Separate Credit Card for Business Purchases

You’ll also have an easier time tracking truckers bookkeeping and documenting your spending, as most accounting software can integrate with your bank account. 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. Spreadsheets are convenient, but they still take quite a bit of time to build and maintain. They also don’t come with any of the fancy bells and whistles that bookkeeping apps and software do. Many bookkeeping apps and software will generate reports and draw valuable insights based on your data.

• Though accrual basis accounting is more work, it records profitability more accurately.
• In an LLC, the business is not the person the way it is with a sole proprietorship or partnership.
• Bookkeeping is a process that you can start without much planning, but accounting requires you to prepare both legally and financially before you can actively begin the process.
• See all of your paid and outstanding invoices at a glance so you know exactly who owes you what.
• Track all of your debits using an accounting system that you regularly monitor.
• Put simply, cash basis accounting means writing down a transaction when money changes hands.

That way you can choose the most profitable loads and avoid wasting time and money. You can stuff your receipts into one of our Magic Envelopes (prepaid postage within the US). Use our receipt tracker + receipt scanner app (iPhone, iPad and Android) to snap a picture while on the go. At the end of the month, send in your Magic Envelope, and get all your receipts scanned, verified, and sorted into 15 common tax categories. Supplement this system by noting your odometer reading on the first of every month. This allows you to track total monthly miles and then calculate your true income per mile and costs per mile.

Or finding a softtware package that can do most of those Accounting For Architects tasks for you quickly and easily. As such, the same rules apply, and pass-through taxation is still fully available to you. In the United States, LLCs combine elements of other entity types, but LLCs drastically reduce personal liability.

They can be digitized in the same way that receipts can, whether that be in a TMS or a digital logbook that declutters your office. Or use connector apps like Zapier to integrate hundreds of other apps and add information like your IFTA fuel tax reporting. Even better, all your data is securely stored in the cloud so you can manage your project from any device, anywhere.

Accounting Software by Industry

Owner operators, as sole proprietors, bear the risk should someone decide to sue the trucking company. Along these same lines, don’t be afraid to adjust your organizational methods. If you start by sorting records by month but realize it makes more sense for you to sort them by category, make the change. Each business is different; what works well for one may not work well for another. Organizing by month is a great place to start if you are unsure how to organize your folders.

Integrate FreshBooks with Your Other Apps

For each truck or trailer know exactly where your money is going, your payables, receivables, net income, input taxes & more. When choosing an accounting basis, it is important to know what your options are. In a cash-based accounting basis, revenue is shown when cash comes in, and expenses are registered when bills are paid. An accounting basis is a definition of how your fiscal activity will be tracked and reported. This entails how revenue, expenses, assets and liabilities will be displayed in your financial statements.