5 Best Trucking Bookkeeping Services

Higher-tiered plans unlock more transactions and a more frequent service level. In addition, ignoring your accounting for more than a couple of months means you’ll likely miss one or more tax due dates. If you fail to make estimated tax payments, submit your IFTA reports, or file Form 2290 on time, you’ll face penalties and interest. If you’d like to see if Bench is the right fit for your trucking company, try us for free.

We also already know the common categories for your business and every account comes pre-installed with the following. Botkeeper is best for accounting firms that want to scale by automating bookkeeping tasks. If you owed taxes in the previous year but not the current one, you must file Form 2290 to report the change and suspend your responsibilities. To comply with IFTA, you must report your trips and fuel purchases quarterly.

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You can find services for as little as $20 per month while others run thousands per month. A small business can likely do all its own bookkeeping using accounting software. Many of the operations are automated in the software, making it easy to get accurate debits and credits entered.

Because it’s easy to implement, many small businesses favor this method. As a result, you probably shouldn’t try to manage your trucking business’s accounting function without help. It may be worth handling some lower-level aspects, but you’re better off outsourcing the more complex and time-consuming parts.

Best for Full-service Bookkeeping

Sure all businesses share some basic needs like keeping track of revenue and expenses, and QB can handle that well, but your trucking company has specific needs to make you successful. For example, if you utilize a bookkeeper who offers tax reconciliation services as well as industry benchmarking data, they can help you spot expense documentation you may have forgotten to send. If the average owner-operator is spending 30% of their revenue on fuel, and you only show 10% of revenue spent https://www.bookstime.com/ on fuel, your bookkeeper should be able to alert you to the discrepancy. 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. When you have a Small Business Plus plan or higher, you get unlimited online support. All plans come with onboarding, a dedicated bookkeeper and account manager, reconciliation at month-end, balance sheet, P&L, statement of cash flows and a portal with document storage.

• Bookkeeping and tax services specially designed for trucking companies also make it easy to access and complete all required tax forms for your business.
• We’ve analyzed the best bookkeeping services to help you find the right solution quickly and easily.
• An accounting solution is also essential for most small businesses, including trucking companies.
• For example, if you place your truck into service in July, the due date is August 31.
• Another thing you should look for when deciding on a trucker’s bookkeeping service is a company that has industry-specific benchmarking.

We’ve analyzed the best bookkeeping services to help you find the right solution quickly and easily. We selected these services based on their service options, pricing, customer service, reputation and more. Automated bookkeeping can help trucking companies save time and effort by connecting with your bank account to automatically track and classify financial transactions. When your accounting software automates much of your bookkeeping tasks, you can free up resources that would otherwise be used on manual processes.

QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise

Your logbook and/or electronic log records are your best proof of entitlement to per diem expenses (primarily composed of meal costs). If you rely solely on your electronic logging device (ELD) for bookkeeping for truck drivers, make sure you can save and access your history. The more truckers bookkeeping service organized and thorough you can be in your receipt gathering, the better – whether you hire a business services provider or not. You can simplify the bookkeeping for your trucking company by following these 11 simple practices that will translate into higher profit with less hassle.

When you log in to the portal to review your data, you should also look for a bookkeeper that will allow you to call and ask questions without charging extra fees. Remember, it can be surprisingly hard to catch up on trucking records once you’ve fallen behind. It becomes even worse if you also neglect to separate your business and personal transactions. 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. Because the IRS sees semi-trucks as qualified nonpersonal use vehicles, you must deduct your actual auto costs instead of using the standard mileage method.

Real-time reconciliation is an essential feature of any accounting solution. Bench is pleased to offer its customers access to real-time data so busy business owners can stay up-to-date on their balance sheet at all times. [Insert screenshot of this in action] This feature ensures your financial records are always up-to-date and accurate, eliminating the possibility of inaccurate records or incorrect data entry. You’ll always have an up-to-date view of your business’s financial health, ensuring you can make sound decisions based on reliable data. Also, having a bookkeeper who prepares taxes makes it easier to file your tax return.