Trucking & owner-operators
Bookkeeping for trucking companies and owner-operators
In trucking the only number that matters is cost per mile, and almost no set of books produces it by accident.
An owner-operator settlement is a net figure with a long list behind it: linehaul, fuel surcharge, advances, fuel purchases, insurance, escrow, trailer rent and deductions. Recording the deposit alone erases every one of those and leaves nothing to manage.
Once settlements are recorded in full, the per-mile picture becomes possible — and per-mile is how loads get priced, equipment gets replaced and lanes get chosen.
Where the books go wrong
What we look at first
Net settlement recorded as revenue
Gross pay, advances and every deduction disappear into one number, which makes a rate per mile impossible to verify.Truck purchase treated as an expense
Equipment financing has a principal portion, an interest portion and an asset behind it. All three need to be in the books correctly.Fuel and mileage records kept loosely
Fuel tax reporting depends on miles by jurisdiction and fuel purchased by jurisdiction. Reconstructing either from memory is not realistic.Owner-operators paid without paperwork
Drivers engaged as contractors need W-9s collected up front and payments tracked by vendor through the year.
What we do each month
- Settlements recorded in full: gross revenue, fuel surcharge, advances and each deduction
- Fuel purchases recorded with the detail your fuel tax reporting needs
- Miles recorded by truck, and by jurisdiction where reporting requires it
- Equipment loans and leases split between principal, interest and any escrow
- Maintenance and repair cost tracked per truck
- Contractor payments tracked against W-9s, with the year's 1099 figures ready in January
Setting up QuickBooks for it
Each truck is a class in QuickBooks Online, so revenue, fuel, maintenance and finance cost report per unit without separate files.
Settlement entries are set up as a repeatable template, because the same dozen lines recur every week and consistency is what makes the per-mile figures comparable.
Fuel and mileage detail is usually better kept in a dedicated fuel tax or ELD system, with summarized figures brought into the books; we set up the mapping rather than duplicating the log.
Carey is a QuickBooks Online Advanced ProAdvisor, so a file can be set up, cleaned up or migrated as part of the same engagement — see QuickBooks services.
Reporting
The numbers worth watching
Cost per mile
All operating cost against miles run. The number that decides whether a load is worth taking.Revenue per loaded mile
Rate performance separated from deadhead, which is where margin usually leaks.Maintenance cost per truck
Tracked long enough to show which unit is telling you it is time.
Questions we are asked
Do you prepare IFTA fuel tax returns?
No, the filing itself is tax work. We keep fuel purchase and mileage records organized in the form the return needs, so whoever prepares it is not starting from a shoebox.
I am a single owner-operator. Is monthly bookkeeping worth it?
It is if you want a cost per mile you can trust. A single-truck operation is a small engagement, and the value is mostly in one number that changes how loads are priced. If quarterly suits your situation better, we would say so.
Start with a conversation
Let's look at your books together
Tell us about your church or business and where your bookkeeping stands. Carey will follow up to arrange a consultation, and you'll receive a written scope before any work begins.