A Guide to Bookkeeping for Trucking Owner Operators

The company’s founders began their careers in the family trucking business, eventually converting all 350 drivers of their team to owner-operators. Today, they are the largest tax and accounting firm for owner-operators, offering a variety of service packages to simplify the business side of driving. Just like QuickBooks Online, Zoho Books isn’t custom-tailored for trucking businesses. However, it has a powerful mobile accounting app that can help independent truckers in many ways. For instance, you can capture receipts, record expenses related to fuel, tolls, maintenance, and other business costs, and then categorize them for reporting and tax purposes.

• 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.
• Trucking management software (TMS) can help you keep track of everything easily.
• It may be tedious to record all of your transactions, but come tax season, you’ll thank yourself!
• Once we’ve completed your IFTA and IRP registrations, and filed Form 2290 allow us to match you with the perfect bookkeeper.
• Running a trucking company alone is enough work to keep you busy, and trying to do both is a lot to handle at once.
• Multiple business owners have tagged bookkeeping as a complex process.

When compiling this list, we focused on what 5 different services would be most important to truckers when managing their books. From P&L statements to emergency bookkeeping services, one of these truck bookkeeping services will perfectly fit your needs. The best trucking accounting software should be able to manage and track dispatches, orders, fuel and mileage, driver settlements, and IFTA reporting. Use this notebook (in addition to your receipt envelope) or a document on your computer or smartphone to record any expenses you cannot obtain a receipt for.

Key Trucking Company Bookkeeping Tips and Best Practices

Use the folders for your monthly profit-and-loss statements and accurate quarterly tax estimates. You’ll also have an easier time tracking and documenting your spending, as most accounting software can integrate with your bank account. As a trucking owner-operator, however, bookkeeping is an important part of running your trucking business. Understanding bookkeeping helps to give you a clear picture of your business’ performance and be prepared for when tax time rolls around.

You can learn the ropes of the industry, get insider information, and get started on a business roadmap that will gear you for success. Turn your receipts into data and deductibles with our expense reports that include IRS-accepted receipt images. Avoid missed payments and stay on top of the money going out of your bank account by switching to electronic billing. That way, all of your bills can be accessed through any computer or mobile device, no matter where you are in the world. If you prefer to manage your financial records on your own, there are several ways to go about it.

Quicklook: Best Trucking Bookkeeping Services

The cash basis involves recognizing revenues when you receive payments and deducting expenses when you pay them. Because it’s easy to implement, many small businesses favor this method. Because working in the trucking industry involves taking on significant risk, you’re often better off taking the time to form a limited liability company (LLC) or a corporation. However, that’s a decision you should get a CPA firm’s advice on first. SuiteTax calculates taxes on every transaction, and provides flexible reporting. Not all businesses or self-serve operations provide receipts upon you making a purchase.

Setting up your business as a sole proprietorship is extremely simple and will help you avoid having to process payroll yourself but it’ll subject all of your net income to self-employment tax. For example, if you utilize a bookkeeper who offers tax reconciliation services as well as industry benchmarking data, they can help you spot expense documentation you may have forgotten to send. If the average owner-operator is spending 30% of their revenue on fuel, and you only show 10% of revenue spent on fuel, your truckers bookkeeping bookkeeper should be able to alert you to the discrepancy. From there they can figure out if you have not sent all fuel expense documentation that needs to be submitted, or if you simply spent less on fuel. 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.

Use a separate credit card for business expenses.

The ideal accounting solution will provide all of this information and offer trucking management tools, such as fleet maintenance tracking. See our top-recommended fuel cards and find the one best suited for your trucking business. Otherwise, check our guide to the best business credit cards for small businesses to find additional options. Looking for a bookkeeper that does tax reconciliation will also be beneficial for your trucking business. A bookkeeper that includes this service will analyze and categorize your revenue and expenses rather than just blindly inputting the data.