Every owner-operator needs to understand bookkeeping for truck drivers.  Sounds intimidating, right?  If you’re like most people, bookkeeping sounds complicated.

Is it better to hire a bookkeeper or accountant, rather than risk doing your accounts wrong?

Some people say yes.  It’s smarter to hire people who know what they’re doing.  But those people can be expensive.  What’s the alternative?  Taking an online class to learn the skills?  Or finding a softtware package that can do most of those tasks for you quickly and easily.

What if – the software program does them based on the data you add the first time?

That’s what TruckingOffice PRO does.  We manage the accounting for owner-operator and small fleet trucking businesses.

1. Use the right accounting system. Most businesses use either a cash-based or accrual-based system. With the cash-based system, you count income when you receive money and expenses when you pay them.  If you’re using an online payment program like Paypal or Venmo, this may be the system you use.  Regardless of the system you use, make sure it’s secure and check it often.
2. Maintain your books daily. This is essential to having an accurate picture of where your business is going money-wise. Once you’ve set up your system, keeping the books by making sure you’ve entered your daily expenses should only take a few minutes a day.  Then, if you lose that receipt, at least you’ve got the record in your files.  The smartest way is to use a system you can access from your cab, wherever you are.
3. Track your money frequently. In these days with electronic payments, it’s nice to get paid quicker than back in the days of physical invoices and mailed checks.  But that also means that someone can steal your funds without going into a bank.  Or a shipper could put a hold on a payment and you might not know it.   And, when you review your financial statements, make sure they’re for authorized expenses. Of course, the vast majority of employees and business partners are completely trustworthy. But, as the old saying goes, it always pays to check twice.
4. Use a banking account with a month-end cutoff. This is one of the most overlooked rules of bookkeeping for truck drivers. Yet it’s also one of the most important, since coordinating your monthly records will prevent mistakes and misunderstandings.
5. Keep your books audit-proof. This applies to both IRS and state fuel tax matters. Maintain separate checking accounts for your personal and business expenses. Save receipts for every business-related purchase. Many truckers use only credit and debit cards to track their expenses, but
   TruckingOffice PRO will let you enter your receipts with just a picture taken by your smartphone.  If the tax collector does come a-calling, you’ll be prepared.
6. Use the right bookkeeping for truck drivers. Of all the tips in this article, this one is the most vital. It’s also why we highly recommend TruckingOffice PRO. Our product was built by truckers for truckers. It offers important features that general-purpose programs just can’t match, ones that can make all the difference when it comes to your trucking business.

Find out for yourself how good TruckingOffice PRO is by taking it for a free  test drive starting today. For further information, please contact us.

How Trucking Management Software Helps with Bookkeeping

Bookkeeping is an essential part of operating a trucking company. Although many of these tasks can be performed manually, you can save yourself a lot of time and avoid stress by using trucking management software to help with your bookkeeping needs.

There are plenty of truckers who put off these critical tasks until the end of the month.  Why wait?  With TruckingOffice PRO, you can take care of most of your bookkeeping needs in the cab of your truck on your smartphone.  

Store All Data for IFTA Needs

Keeping up with your IFTA data is one of the most important parts of running a trucking business. With the right trucking software program in place, you can organize your fleet’s miles or fuel gallons by state. The miles are automatically calculated using the tools incorporated in the system. Therefore, all you need to do is input the data.

Dispatching, ELD, IFTA, IRP

Using a trucking management software that is linked to your ELD streamlines your IFTA and IRP prep.  When a trip is entered as a dispatch, the route computes the miles per state, which is confirmed by your ELD.  You don’t have to worry about overpaying or underpaying your taxes.  

Keep Track of Upcoming Invoices

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. This helps you improve your trucking company’s cash flow so that you will always be able to pay your drivers and other employees on time.