trucking software

trucklogger man, trucklogger.

cleaner looking and easier to use.

although i can figure out why bill couldn't make it work. LOL.

 

I like Trucknpro software (www.trucknpro.com). They currently have several versions available. It will do everything that you mentioned other than calculate your taxes. I don't know any of the trucking software that calculates your income and social security taxes. Trucknpro will do your state miles, profit and loss statements, etc., Another is Easy Trucking (www.easytrucking.com). I used this one until I found Trucknpro. It will do your IFTA calculations, but you must manually update your IFTA state rates. That isn't so much of a factor these days with so many states going to online filings where they automatically do the calculations for you. The other software that I am familiar is The Truckers Helper (www.thetruckershelper.com). They also have several versions available. It will do payroll, etc., I don't recall if it will actually do the tax calculations for payroll.

All three of these software packages can be either downloaded for a trial period or have an online demo. I like some of the features of The Truckers Helper program, but some find it more difficult to use. Easy Trucking has some limitations if you have drivers, but would give you what you want. I believe all three offer invoicing and logs in their program. I also use PC Miler to quickly check miles when talking to brokers about loads. Some brokers are more accurate than others when it comes to calculating mileages. Others can be off as much as 15%. I don't know of any trucking software that has any sort of PC Miler type of program built in. You can also use mapquest to check miles for free.

I looked a a number of software programs before buying my first program. They all do basically the same thing. I initially purchased the Easy Trucking software for the invoicing and IFTA calculations capability. The Truckers Helper was more expensive for what I wanted at the time. I found that Trucknpro offered more of what I wanted. Software should be simple to use. I once paid about $5,000 for accounting software that was so complicated to use that we scrapped it. Each module had a book you had to read in order to understand how it worked. It was just to complicated. The Trucknpro is very easy to use and they have videos that you can download or view online that will explain how the program works. They recently came out with a package for the single owner operator that they call their "ELITE" version. It works well for those who do LTL's, but you can use it for truckloads, as well. The downside to this version is that it is limited to a single truck operation. They are working on a similar version for fleets or those with multiple trucks. I liked their PE version. There were no limitations on the number of trucks. The Trucknpro people are constantly working on improving their software and actively solicit drivers and owners input. You can go paperless with Trucknpro by scanning documents into the program. They also have logging available in their programs due to requests by drivers. I don't think that Easy Trucking or The Truckers Helper have changed their programs in several years.

My advice is to look at each and then decide which one works best for you. There are more expensive programs on the market. I would think about what you will need a few years from now.

 

unless there's a trucker setting. you can't use mapquest.

plot your course from billings montana to reno nevada and you'll see why.

150 miles difference between car route and truck route. mapquest takes you through yellowstone natl park. trucks aren't allowed in there.

truckmiles is the way to go.

 

I use google maps to tell me the mileage. You can enter the cities (or exact addresses), then adjust the route, if needed, to match the exact route you would take.

Plus you can get an overhead satellite or street level view of a place you haven't been before.

And the price can't be beat.

 

You can look up the IFTA tax rates directly from the IFTA web site at http://www.iftach.org/ , click on Tax Rates near the bottom of the list on the left hand side. You can select the current or past charts. The tables can be downloaded.

Another website that list jurisdictional tax rates along with current fuel prices is http://www.truckmiles.com/FuelPrices.asp , in the second column jurisdictional tax rates are listed for the current quarter.

 

When looking at fuel tax rates, some states, such as North Carolina, have been known to change rates in the middle of a quarter. Most are consistent in their published rates. If you want to find the actual cost of the fuel, deduct the fuel tax rate from the gallon price. Sometimes it is cheaper to pay the higher gallon price than the cheaper, due to the taxes. However, I have found that I sometimes come out better buying in the cheaper fuel states. If you do cross country, you may want to check current fuel prices and schedule your fuel stops accordingly. You don't need to purchase fuel in each state, but some do. I would not worry about whether you have to pay at the end of the quarter. Sometimes it is less expensive to just pay the tax at the end of the quarter than have a credit. I look at what I am actually paying, not just what I pay at the end of a quarter. You could be getting your quarterly bill down, but spend more money than you should in fuel to keep from having to pay the extra tax. I rarely pay more than $25/truck in any given quarter due to my trip planning.