Accounting Essentials for Trucking Companies

Select the Right Fleet and Owner-Operator Accounting Approach With This Practical Guide

Operating a trucking company is more than just getting freight moved on time. Proper fiscal management ensures operational profitability and positive cash flow while providing piece of mind for drivers and managers to make intelligent decisions. This guide delves into the top accounting needs of a trucking company at each stage and what to consider when choosing an accounting solution or altering internal bookkeeping processes.

A few accounting requirements of trucking businesses

Transportation companies have particular financial pressures: volatile fuel prices, sudden maintenance needs, per-mile pricing models, driver wages and slower customer payments. At least, an efficient bookkeeping method should be able to deal with:

Recognition of revenue on haul bills and fuel surcharges.

Precise cost assignment to fuel, tolls, maintenance, insurance and permits.

Pay for the drivers and settle payroll, mileage driven and load split settlements, advances and repayments.

Monitor and assist with collecting accounts receivable to decrease DSO.

Bank reconciliation to identify the missing deposits, chargebacks or duplicate payments.

Features to look for in accounting software

Job and trip tracking:

The ability to assign income and expense information to a particular job, trip or customer ensures you can measure the true cost per mile and profitability by lane. Steer clear of systems that provide only company-level summaries if you require detailed trip reports.

Versatile invoicing and billing:

Search for systems that enable you to manage various invoice types (spot loads, contracts, fuel surcharge adjustments), and also seamlessly adjust orders with discounts or claims. Create invoice templates to your preference and batch invoicing saves you time on admin.

Stronger expense log:

Fewer headaches or simplified processes when recording fuel purchases, maintenance receipts and tolls and standing fees making it harder to make errors entering data manually. Support for photo receipts and mobile entry expedites a driver’s bookkeeping while on the road.

Driver settlement and pay modules:

The driver weekly settlement logic is VOLTHaus dependent. Make sure the accounting software can handle percentage splits, per-mile rates, stop pay, detention pay and even draws while generating concise settlement statements.

Cost allocation and reporting:

Detailed reports of direct and indirect cost allocation by lane, customer or truck help when pricing services and cutting unprofitable lanes.

Mobile accessibility:

The trucking accounting app or mobile-capable bookkeeping tool for your online dispatcher also makes it easy to snap photos of receipts, check settlements and approve expenses on the go.

Security and permissions:

Featuring role-based access controls to prevent unwanted financial changes, payroll, bills and bank reconciliations are processed by appropriate staff.

Trucking: Cash or Accrual Accounting?

For a lot of small trucking firms, cash accounting is the method to start with because it’s easy: You record money when you get it and record expenses when you hand it out. But cash accounting can mask excellent receivables and make it appear that profit was going up or down depending on the timing of payments.

Accrual accounting generally recognizes revenue earned and expenses incurred, resulting in a more accurate indication of profitability; vehicles are often invoiced before paid. Fleets of many vehicles and companies looking for financing or investors generally appreciate accrual accounting and professional bookkeeping.

Accessibility and efficiency: Time saving and error reduction through integration and automation

Automation eliminates the need for manual entry and increases precision. Key integrations to consider:

Dispatch/load boards:

syncing trip details prevents double entries and makes sure your revenue and trip costs are the same.

Fuel Card & Tolling systems:

You can automatically import fuel and toll charges making it easy to reconcile and keep up with the costs.

Bank and payment processors:

automatic bank feeds lead to more frequent reconciliation and faster error detection.

Recurring customers invoices as well should be supported for contract carriers, accompanied by overdue account automatic reminder processing and batch payment check printing for company’s suppliers and drivers.

Scalability and setup considerations

Opt for an accounting method that can grow with you. Local owner-operators may need little more than basic bookkeeping and payroll for a small team, while multi-entity fleets have to support complex consolidated reporting and advanced cost allocation. When evaluating options, consider:

Ease of migration:

Can you bring in old invoices, payroll records, and vendor contacts with a minimum of manual scrubbing?

Training and support:

Can dispatchers and office staff be trained on best practices?

Time to implement:

How long does it take until the system starts providing meaningful reports, or assisting with payroll and billing?

Reporting that drives decisions

Some of the impactful financial reports for trucking companies are:

• Profit/loss by truck, lane or customer.
• Trends of cost per mile and revenue per mile.
• Days sales outstanding (A/R aging) and collections effectiveness.
• Vehicle maintenance and repair cost histories.
• Forecast of cash flows envisioning current invoices, expected receipts and immediate payables.
• Regular reporting gives you the information you need to make proactive decisions to reroute, reprice lanes, delay non- essentially regular preventive maintenance and renegotiate payment terms with customers.

Common bookkeeping pitfalls to avoid

• Personal and business mixing accounts: Separate the owner’s money from the business, to make tax returns easier and the company’s finances clear.
• Receipts / Invoice scanning and recording: Don't ever again be caught with a surprise during reconciliations or tax times.
• Forgetting small, recurring expenses: Monthly subscriptions, permits, small fees for upkeep — they all add up.
• Ignoring the details in driver settlement: Transparent, on-time statements help reduce disputes and increase retention.

Cost considerations and ROI

Both accounting software and bookkeeping services have costs; some are front-end but many are ongoing. “Looking at the total cost of ownership including subscription or software fees, setup fee for migration along with training and time saved by automation.” Consider ROI in the form of decreased errors on bills, faster collections, better pricing decisions and time saved for administrative staff.

Decide which route your business will take

Start with your list of must have capabilities: trip-level tracking, driver settlement logic, mobile receipt capture or robust reporting. Assess whether those needs are best served with: A full-featured accounting system A trucking accounting app for mobile Device use A basic entry level trucking bookkeeping tool that is perfect for small operations. Pilot on a small subset of trucks or routes before going company-wide to find issues early.

Final checklist before committing

• Can it follow revenue and costs on a trip-by-trip or lane-by-lane basis?
• Does it accommodate your driver pay scales and provide clear settlements?
• Is there integration with fuel, tolling, dispatch and banking?
• Could there be mobile entries for receipts, payments?
• Can you graduate from owner-operator to a multi-truck fleet without losing any data?

With proper accounting methods and systems, trucking companies are able to see margins better, collect more quickly, and price with a competitive edge. Time spent finding a solution that suits the operational complexity will be compensated with improved cashflow and fewer surprises and more profits in the long run.