IFTA ELD and TMS: What They Mean

How many random letters can you throw into a trucking discussion?  IFTA ELD TMS IRP 

If you’re already crying uncle, imagine being a new trucker and trying to understand our lingo.  

IFTA ELD

IFTA is the International Fuel Tax Agreement.  57 different jurisdictions agreed to make filing fuel taxes simpler by banding together across the US and Canada.  Compared to the old style of filing, it was a huge leap forward.  

ELD is the electronic logging device that is now mandated across the US and Canada to track truck status and hours of service. 

We predicted a while back that the IFTA will be based on the ELD numbers.  That looks like it’s going to happen. That makes sense to us.  Instead of relying on a driver tracking numbers more or less accurately, using the actual GPS and ELD technology will produce precise numbers and make the fuel taxes filings easier for everyone.  

While that might yet be a ways off, it does show the power of having a system that works together to create the IFTA filing report.  A stand alone IFTA software without integration to and ELD is a dead end. An ELD without an IFTA reporting option is useless.  

You need a system with both.

IRP TMS

IRP is the International Registration Plan – the alternative to a wall of license plates on the back of our trailers.  An alternative to purchasing a license plate for every state or jurisdiction that a trucker might drive through, the IRP is paid twice a year based on an apportionment of taxes due based on the number of miles driven per state.

TMS is trucking management software – a software program that manages a trucking business.  It may include invoice management, dispatches, routings, driver management, maintenance, and tax reports.  Different products offer different options.

If paying fuel taxes at the pump isn’t enough and paying IFTA every quarter still isn’t enough, there’s another tax we pay twice a year.  IRP plates allow us to drive through every state and makes the payments to each based on the number of miles driven in each one.

Tracking these miles is exactly the same as tracking the miles per state for the IFTA.  But the stand-alone IFTA programs might not produce a report that you’ll need for the 6 months IRP.  

Since it’s the same data for both, why use a program that doesn’t help you do both?  

That’s the benefit of a full TMS program.  You’ll manage your trucking business faster and better with a TMS that will take a load from dispatch through routing, load tracking and right up to delivery, then handle the billing.  Then it will report all the taxes due using the same data.

IRP and IFTA are based on the same numbers.  Shouldn’t your computer program do both?

Not if you’re using QuickBooks.  Quickbooks can’t compute your IFTA or your IRP.  It doesn’t track your miles per state. You still have to track them manually.

Using a TMS with a government-standard routing program like PC*Miler not only produces the ideal routings, but it will protect you if you’re ever audited.

Where are you going to find this unicorn of a program that will manage all of your abbreviations?

TruckingOffice Trucking Management TMS

What are the benefits to you to use a TMS?

1. Manages IFTA and IRP in seconds.  You can move on to your next task in minutes instead of hours or worse, days.
2. Tracks your billing process from dispatch to payment – including late pays.  An accurate and efficient billing process will speed up your customers’ payments to you.
3. Controls your maintenance scheduling and tasks – especially if you’ve got trouble on the road – you’ll be able to find out who to call right away.

Trucking Management Software Can Benefit You

We’ve already covered a few of the ways our TMS can benefit you.  But believe it or not, there’s more.  For instance, we know you need to improve operations, build your business, and maintain excellent customer service. With those things in mind, here are a few more ways our trucking management software can make your job easier and make your operation more profitable.  

1. Increase productivity and supply chain efficiency by helping track drivers and inventory.
2. Tracking deliveries in real-time helps you know exactly where drivers and shipments are. 
3. Reduces freight costs by recording expenses and using that information to offer suggestions on how to reduce expenditures.
4. Improves customer service by providing data to customers about the shipment’s location.
5. Makes routing easier by providing location of drivers, the amount of time a route takes, and which drivers are the most efficient.  

Whether you’re an owner/operator or fleet owner, you will find our TMS incomparable. Why?  Because our TMS does the math, generates reports, automatically generates invoices, keeps you IFTA compliant, and more.  Also, our system is easily integrated with your ELD for even more efficiency.  If you’re looking for easy-to-use, reliable, and secure products, you’ll be glad you found TruckingOffice.  We’ll help you get organized, reduce stress, and have more time to build your operation.  

This isn’t a unicorn – it’s a program that’s available now to manage your trucking business – IFTA TMS and ELD.  Want to know more? How about a free trial to discover how easy it is to manage your trucking business?  No problem. We got you covered.