A balance sheet is a snapshot of your company’s financial standing at any given point in time. Danielle Bauter is a writer for the Accounting division of Fit Small Business. She has owned Check Yourself, a bookkeeping and payroll service that specializes in small business, for over twenty years. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from UCLA and has served on the Board of the National Association of Women Business Owners. Keeping your fleet well-maintained is also essential, and this includes getting regular oil changes and other standard maintenance on time.

1. Outsourcing your tax accounting processes allows you to share that risk with a partner accounting company.
2. Add payroll expenses thanks to Gusto, accept online payments with Stripe and PayPal and track mileage with Everlance.
3. The transportation industry has unique quirks and challenges, and it’s much better to work with a CPA who’s an expert in the applicable tax regulations than a generalist, even if it costs a little more.
4. A bookkeeper that includes this service will analyze and categorize your revenue and expenses rather than just blindly inputting the data.

Accounting services in Ukraine

Or use connector apps like Zapier to integrate hundreds of other apps and add information like your IFTA fuel tax reporting. There are plenty of truckers who put off these critical tasks until the end of the month. With TruckingOffice PRO, you can take care of most of your bookkeeping needs in the cab of your truck on your smartphone. One of the best ways to streamline your IFTA reporting is by using a dedicated fuel card. These work much like any other credit card, except they’re tied to a unique driver number and provide fuel discounts.

Plan for Necessary Expenses

You can also use the FreshBooks app to create professional invoices and estimates from the road, snap photos home equity loans and equity lines of credit heloc of receipts and check the status of payments. You can even get notified of client comments and feedback and respond to them directly via the app. FreshBooks makes invoicing painless for trucking and transportation companies.

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. 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.

Calculate Taxes

From there they can figure out if you have not sent all fuel expense documentation that needs to be submitted, or if you simply spent less on fuel. Don’t miss a single expense by adding one of 70 popular apps that integrate with FreshBooks. Add payroll expenses thanks to Gusto, accept online payments with Stripe and PayPal and track mileage with Everlance. FreshBooks frees you from the hassle of paperwork with powerful features prepare and file 1040 like professional invoicing with user-friendly customization options. Set automatic payment reminders, get notified when customers open invoices, accept payments online and more. The all-new Accounting Software from FreshBooks helps you take control of your trucking business accounting with ease, without the stress.

At the end of each quarter, you must submit an IFTA report that lists the miles driven and the gallons purchased. These reports will determine either the amount of tax still owed or the refund you are due. The IFTA office in your trucking company’s home state will notify you of your refund or debt. Also, having a bookkeeper who prepares taxes makes it easier to file your tax return. If your bookkeeper and tax preparer work together, they can find all the legal deductions you are entitled to, so you don’t pay more in taxes than you have to.

Why is trucking bookkeeping important?

Therefore, you should follow these trucking bookkeeping tips to increase profitability and save valuable time. Trucking accounting differs from regular business accounting in several ways. In addition to common bookkeeping practices, such as accounts payable (A/P) and A/R, companies should manage operations with mileage tracking, fleet management, dispatching services, and IFTA reporting. If you have employees, you must also be able to manage payroll for different types of pay and have flexible payment options. Keeping up with your IFTA data is one of the basic accounting principles most important parts of running a trucking business and one of our top trucking bookkeeping tips.

This option is a lot more efficient and more accurate than giving your documents to a tax preparer who doesn’t know your business. Bookkeeping is an important part of running your business as an owner-operator truck driver. It allows you to keep your financial statements organized and gives you an idea of how your business is performing. As a truck driver, you may have a hard time keeping good records while on the road. That’s why it may be best to look into using a bookkeeping service for your business that works specifically with owner-operator truck drivers.

To comply with IFTA, you must report your trips and fuel purchases quarterly. The IFTA office in your home state will allocate your payments to the proper jurisdictions and determine whether you owe more or deserve a refund. Accounting is more sophisticated and analytical than bookkeeping, and there’s often more at stake. For example, accounting errors could cause you to miss out on valuable financing or get you in trouble with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Accounting is one of the least exciting aspects of small business ownership for many owner-operators.