Record Keeping: Why you must organize your owner-operator business

Happy New Year!  Did you make any resolutions – especially about organizing your trucking business?

Welcome to the club.  Resolutions are one of those traditions that we recognize.  Not keeping those resolutions is also part of the tradition.

How well do you keep your records?  Do you know where to find them – four years later?  Do you know why that’s important?  Two words:

IFTA audit.

It’s pretty easy to let numbers slide and let the record keeping go.  Some people don’t fill out the monthly reports, don’t keep the old decals (did you know you need to keep those for 4 years?) and say “Close enough.” Then they’re shocked when the audit notice comes.

Maybe they don’t have their old records in order.  Who doesn’t have the urge just to throw the old material in a box in the back of the closet when you’re done every quarter?

Who are you going to pay to help you get through an IFTA audit?  I don’t know who I would call – maybe an attorney or an accountant.  Paying them by the hour?  I know you can search Google and find someone who’ll be willing to help you for a price.  A hefty price.

Fail that audit and kiss your IFTA license good-bye.  You’ll pay fines, interest, and penalties,  and set a bond before you’ll be reinstated.  We’re not talking a little bit of money here.  The word “catastrophic” comes to mind.

Do you struggle with record keeping?

When I talk to non-truckers, they don’t get it.  “Just keep a notebook.”  Or my favorite, “That’s not so hard,” from people who probably organize their magazine subscriptions on a spreadsheet.  Most of us are not naturally organized.  It takes a particular mindset and ability to see things in groups and structures.  I’m glad there are people in the world who can pay close attention to the detail work – but it’s hard for those of us who don’t.

How many ways have you tried?

When it comes to the IFTA, things can get really hairy very fast.  The IFTA penalties are too high to mess with.  And if you don’t check carefully, the check you’re writing to the government could be too high – who wants to pay more tax than they have to?

Smart Record Keeping Makes the IFTA Faster

There are other ways to get your IFTA done that might seem painless – unless you look at their billing.  The cheapest I saw only did the calculations – you still had to input all your numbers and do the actual filing.  If you didn’t have your data perfect on the first day of the month to file, can you imagine what a delay might cost you if they can’t figure out your numbers?

Wouldn’t it be nice to get those numbers right when you create the invoice and not have to figure out what you did wrong three months later?

That’s the specialty of TruckingOffice TMS.   With our tools, when you enter the invoice, right away, you can use the PC*Miler program to automatically calculate all the miles from the pickup to the delivery.  TruckingOffice  keeps track of the miles when a truck is deadheading.  So when it’s time to do the IFTA, you’re not doing any calculations.  You’re looking at a complete report with accurate numbers.  You can be confident that the taxes you pay are the taxes that are due.

We guarantee you’ll love this software.  We’re so confident that we’ll give you a free trial – no payment method is needed..  You can sign up – no credit card needed – and use the software to enter all of the last quarter’s loads.  Use the premium PC*Miler routing program to compute your miles and prepare your IFTA report.  If you’re not convinced by the One Minute Dispatch Entry and the variety of reports to show you the real financial status of your business, then it’s no money out of your pocket.  You’ll be free to leave, no charge.  But I’m betting that you’ll find that a trucking management software that was designed with a team that included a trucker (that’s me) and uses our language (not the terms only an accountant knows) is worth it to you.

New Years Resolutions?  Or making a change that will stick?

One of the reasons that New Years Resolutions don’t stick is we don’t do the one thing that will make it work:  change the system.  You can do that right now with TruckingOffice TMS.

Do you want another year’s worth of quarterly reports finished with too much coffee and stress?  Or do you want the confidence that the numbers and the taxes are right?  The choice is up to you. Instead of keeping records, your records can keep you up-to-date and on the road.

Sign up today by clicking this link:   Free TruckingOffice Trial