Where did November go? If you’re like a lot of truckers, November was more miles than October and December is looking pretty good too. All that holiday shipping makes a big difference. So maybe you haven’t thought about next year’s IFTA sticker yet. After all, you do have a bit of leeway into 2019. Why hurry?
Why Wait?
Getting your IFTA sticker is a pretty minor task. Many states don’t even charge for them. The hardest part may be the requirement to fax the application in.
No, we think you should apply for it as soon as possible. You never know when you’re going to need it for an over-efficient law officer who doesn’t know about the 2 month grace period. Or when you’re going to find a day that’s warm enough to be confident that it’s going to stick.
Looking toward next year, it’s not just about the IFTA sticker. It’s about making sure you’re growing your business and keeping healthy. It’s about looking at your goals and what you want to accomplish. December is all about the parties, the gifts, and the family, and we’ll think about new resolutions next year in January.
Since January is often the slowest month for many truckers, that seems to make sense. Do you have time to think about next year when you’ve got enough loads to max out your HOS on the road?
Maybe December is the time to build the foundation for January’s downtime. Maybe it’s time to turn off the radio and start listening to some podcasts or books that will help you build your business. A quick search of Amazon will pull up a few books about the trucking business. But if you’re already an owner-operator, may be a better choice would be about the things you need to grow your business. Entrepreneur.com published this list a few years ago, but it’s still a great list of books to help small business owners grow, regardless of their industry.
Your IFTA Sticker Promise
Get the new sticker and put it on your cab – and make yourself a promise for the new year.
What if you use that sticker that you see every day to remind yourself of how you want 2019 to go?
- Individual Health: eat better and exercise more
- Future Planning: making smart business decisions
- Trucking Industry: learning more about trucking through books, blogs, and podcasts
- Achievements: recognizing what’s working for you and doing it again and again.
How do you do that?
- Avoid the IFTA stress by doing your IFTA earlier
- Avoid the fast food traps and get more exercise than just up and down out of the cab
- Subscribe to reliable news services about trucking and its future
- Get your invoices out within hours of delivery
- Managing your money better to avoid paying a factoring fee
- Saving money toward an emergency fund
- Creating reports from your business history that show your profits and expenses from your current business.
There’s a lot you can do to make next year better. Start with getting your application for your IFTA stickers sent in now.
(If you want to manage your trucking business better, we’ve got another recommendation – TruckingOffice Trucking Management Solutions software. Want a free trial to see how great next year can be? We’ll give you a free trial of TruckingOffice software to discover how to
- create an invoice, routing, and build your customer list at one time
- track your maintenance records and schedule your future maintenance needs
- prepare your quarterly IFTA report in record time by using the data you already entered
- create trucking-specific financial reports to show where your money is coming from and where it’s going.
Sound like a good plan? Try it out now with no strings attached. No credit card, debit card or bank account number to get started!
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