File keeping on the road and at home or office.

I do my IFTA returns at home as well as year end filings. This is made easier by keeping good records while you're on the road. I use Truckn Pro 7 and Quickbooks. The first handles all the truck issues and expenses while the latter handles invoicing and receivables. Laptop on the truck with internet access along with a printer/scanner/copier all in one machine.

 

I use a trip envelope for every load. In the envelope I have all receipts, bill of lading, fuel receipts and miles by state for IFTA. It helps to keep things organized. I also use Trucknpro 7. I also have several friends who also use Trucknpro. It is one of the easiest ways in which to keep your records straight. You can put in all of your maintenance, expenses, IFTA miles, etc., All you need to do is print out a report. One friend puts his load information in when he gets in each week. It doesn't take long if you stay on top of it. I know of some who will put the load information after each load. The main thing is to keep things organized.

I would suggest that you get some trip envelopes. You can buy them at most truck stops. They cost about $0.50/each. You could print your own or use a blank envelope. The main reason to use envelopes is that it makes it much easier to keep all of the load information together.

There are other trucking specific software or accounting programs on the market. Trucknpro is simple and inexpensive. www.trucknpro.com.

I would also suggest that you get some file folders and keep in the truck. You may want to get a collapsible folder and keep everything separate for the week. You could get a briefcase with a file folder compartment. A ringed composition book would be good to keep track of miles and expenses. I have pre printed sheets that I designed for my business several years ago. It doesn't need to be fancy, but it does need to be accurate.

 

Can trucknpro be used for more than one truck? I'll be checking out that link for certain!

 

Yep, I'm pretty sure it can.

 

I actually just saw that on their website . . . unlimited trucks, etc! I bookmarked that page for future reference.

 

I also use truckn pro.. Very easy to use .

 

With Trucknpro there is not a limit on the number of trucks. I think one of the best aspects of the program is that it is simple to use. They have a section for brokers. I have over 300 contacts in my system. It has a place for comments about brokers and shippers. The publisher is always making upgrades to improve the software. I have used it for several years. I have no problem recommending it. Most of the other trucking specific accounting programs will limit the number of trucks you can put into the system. I used another software program for a while before finding Trucknpro. They limited you to 5 trucks. If you had several trucks or had any driver turnover, you could not put in the new drivers because of the limitations. Trucknpro is perfect for the owner operator or small fleet owner. A company driver could also keep records on this program. I think that they still have a trial version you can try. Check it out and see if it works for you.

 

Quickbooks can be a fully integrated accounting program where you can write checks, etc., That is not what Trucknpro does. Trucknpro is a basic bookkeeping or accounting program which will track expenses, revenue and maintenance on your trucks. Although it is not designed to do payroll, there is a way to handle that in the program if you have drivers. Trucknpro will let you know exactly how your business is doing or whether you made a profit or lost money on a load as you put the information into the program. Other than a few things that I personally use, it does everything most owner operators or small fleet owners will need. By the way, I have the new version of Trucknpro 2011. It has a few new features that the older versions do not. It is the lastest version of the software. The best accounting or bookkeeping program is one that is simple and easy to use. I looked at most of the programs on the market for this industry. Personally, I think this is the most simple to use. You can download it or wait for the CD, install it on the computer and start using it. Some programs are so complex that it takes days or weeks to get through all the documentation to be able to use it.

I have known some who use Quickbooks Pro to run their trucking business. They seem to like the program. I did consider buying Quickbooks Pro. I don't need to write checks with the computer. I can do that manually. There are two things that I would like to eventually see in Trucknpro. I would like to see invoicing and a way for the program to calculate my IFTA. The IFTA really isn't a problem since I can now do my fuel taxes online with my state. And I have something set up to do invoicing, so that is also not a problem for me using the program. Payroll would also be a nice feature for anyone who has drivers, but I also have that set up in a spreadsheet. And as I stated, there is a way to work around that using the program.

The idea of having a computer program to do your accounting or bookkeeping is to know how you are doing in your business. It should track expenses and revenue. Trucknpro will do that for you. At the end of the year all you need to do is print the various reports and give them to your tax preparer. As you input your load information you will know how well or poorly you did on each load and year to date.

One other feature of the new version is that you can convert from liters to gallons and miles to kilometers so it can be used by Canadians and
U.S. drivers. It makes it easier to calculate your numbers if you frequently cross the border.