Cost of operation (Spreadsheets, ideas)? Need help.

Check the forum for a few posts by MNDriver - he has a great spreadsheet set up.

If I get a second I can email you mine which is on a different computer.

 

Although I did cheat a little, this spread sheet has been working very well for me. Automatically calculates by values entered. When you first open, it will not let you edit but will be prompted for editing. You will need Microsoft Excel. Might be from another company but it works without having to pay for an expensive program. http://www.sammonstrucking.com/spreadsheet.aspx

 

It's pretty simple to do, but you will have to know how a spreadsheet works. It's not just enough to copy someone else's sheet... if the thing breaks, you're going to have to fix it. Knowing how the internal calculations work helps you understand whether the results it spits out are accurate or total garbage.

Search the web for profit/loss sheet... that's the generic form of document you want. There are plenty of examples out there.

Revenue-Costs=Net Profit Before Taxes. This is the generic form of what you'll be doing. You can use the totals from each section to do a quick and dirty calculation, or expand each of the sections (Revenue, Costs) into more detail. In trucking we usually use Gross Revenue, Variable Costs, Fixed Costs. You don't have to copy every line from a settlement, in fact the less detail you put into it, the easier it is to do and more likely you'll keep up with it. Extract any detail in terms of those three sections that you really need to look at, and put them in the spreadsheet in the same order they're listed in your settlement.

If you don't want to pay Bill Gates for a copy of MS Office, the Open Software Foundation provides a freeware product that is good and updated regularly. Anyone familiar with MS Office will recognize how to use it, and adapt to it easily. It will open and work with MS Office format documents, and can save the files it generates in MS Office format as well. And the best part is OSF's cost... it's FREE.

 

and to add to ironpony.

there are 2 of them. and both worth having being as one of them can't handle some MS word documents. and the other one can handle it all.

the reason i say both, as i've encountered doing something where one worked but the other didn't.

i use a spread sheet sold off of dieselboss's websight. and the free programs.

 

Go to the OOIDA website. www.ooida.com. There is a spreadsheet you can download that is already set up for trucking. You just plug in your own figures and it does the calculations for you. The spreadsheet is set up for class 8 trucks, but should work with hotshot. If you start up operations, you may want to purchase one of the trucking specific software programs, such s Truckpro or Truckers Helper. If you prefer you can buy a standard bookkeeping program such as Quickbooks Pro. The spreadsheet is good for doing projections. The OOIDA spreadsheet is free. I don't recall whether you need to be a member to be able to access the spreadsheet. Membership is $45/year, but you can usually join this time of year for $25/year.

 

Hi, I was hoping that you can send me the spreadsheet set up. I would really appreciate it. I am trying to get this business plan done and I really need it. Thanks Email jbjbuchanan71@gmail.com

 

I used the spreadsheet from the OOIDA website as part of my business plan submission to the Small Business Administration Office, had to make a few tweaks but obtained the results they requested.

 

Hi there....

I am an owner operator and I am getting my authority soon and will be doing my own dispatch (right now my dispatch is doing all the paperwork for me) so I will need as much help as possible so I am looking for people like you that could help me out with spreadsheets to keep my costs and my earnings in order. So it would be greatly appreciated if you could send me whatever spreadsheets you have and it would help me out a lot. You all be safe on the road and god bless

ludxzaxtobom@gmail.com

Thank you in advance

Slavko

 

Get an accountant who can setup a system that works for you and teach you how to track costs and profits.