If you’re going to use trucking software to track your truck maintenance, you might as well get the full picture of what’s going on in your trucking business.
What is TMS?
TMS means trucking management software. The programs use technology to help truckers organize their business and save time and money. Think of it as a virtual secretary or accountant. The only thing it won’t do is make your coffee.
Many people in the trucking industry rely on spreadsheets to keep track of their daily operations. But, a spreadsheet is limited. It can’t generate or print a specific report or graph. It won’t alert you when it’s time to pay IFTA quarterly taxes. And it can’t help you keep track of where your drivers are at any given point in time.
Trucking software goes one step beyond simply listing information in columns. With just a few clicks, it provides overviews, comparisons, profit and loss reports, and more. Also, with a reliable TMS program, you always know where your money is going and how you can cut back on expenses. Plus, it’ll help you avoid costly fines that come from late IFTA reporting or payments.
So, if numbers and spreadsheets aren’t your strong point, check out our TruckingOffice TMS program today. We’re so sure you’ll like it that we’re letting you try it for 30 days with no cost or obligation. Just sign up today and get rid of those spreadsheet nightmares for good.
Maintenance Tracking: Spreadsheets or TMS?
The power of a great trucking management software program isn’t just that it handles the routine tasks – dispatches, routes, invoices. A great trucking software will also help you with your expenses directly related to every load as well as those expenses that impact your trucking business bottom line.
You can build a trucking maintenance spreadsheet in Excel or Google Sheets. After all, this isn’t rocket science, this is simply a list of what you’ve had done to your rig: repairs, regular maintenance, upgrades. Here’s the deal: how does that spreadsheet transfer that data to your trucking business software?
- How do you know if what you’re spending on maintenance is paying off?
- How do you know that you’re getting enough money from your loads to cover your living expenses and maintain your equipment?
- Do you know when to spend the money or when to walk away from equipment that’s costing you more than it earns?
As a small fleet manager or as an owner-operator, you need solid numbers to tell you these things.
But solid rows of numbers are not the best way to understand your data. You need to get a full picture of your business. When we say Picture, we mean pictures – like graphs.
Graphic Warning
A spreadsheet is an invaluable tool to manage numbers and statistics. But columns and rows of numbers are hard to interpret – which is why we all like to look at graphs instead. But how do you look at graphs about maintenance? Look at the prices of how much you paid for oil changes? Tires?
That’s not very valuable, is it?
What is valuable is what you’re spending on maintenance and how you’re spending it. It’s part of your expenses for your business, so you need to look at the overview report first to see if you’re making a profit.
All that data now becomes understandable. And it’s even easier to look at critical data such as your profit per mile overview.
Can your spreadsheet show you this? Not unless you’ve uploaded every single bit of data about your trucking business, organized it and created all the formulas you need.
TMS to the Maintenance Tracking Rescue
Maintenance tracking is always one of the top concerns when we talk to owner-operators or fleet managers. DOT regs aside, it’s the difference between having a safe rig that can make you money or bankruptcy. Trucking Management Software (TMS) is the golden key to success in maintenance tracking. Investing in the TMS that will combine maintenance and business management is the smartest thing you can do.
The CVSA Roadcheck is next month. You can stay at home. Or you can get your rig ready and have confidence that this coming year, you have the big picture in mind and the keys to build it up and make it better.
TMS Free Trial
We want to give you the chance to discover the benefits to having a full trucking management software. TruckingOffice TMS free trial gives you access to the full program including the maintenance module. Use it and discover the power to
- make the right decisions about loads
- schedule your maintenance tasks in advance (by miles or by time)
- keep track of what’s working for you
- plan for a successful future in trucking.
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