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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. All businesses need to keep track of their expenses, but it’s more challenging in some industries than others. Unfortunately, trucking is a business that requires you to be particularly diligent in your record keeping. It’s often even more difficult for truck drivers, whose gas and food expenses could easily be personal costs if they occurred outside of a trucking trip. In broad terms, bookkeeping involves maintaining financial records of your trucking business’s day-to-day transactions in a general ledger.
Use the folders for your monthly profit-and-loss statements and accurate quarterly tax estimates. This is essential to having an accurate picture of where your business is going money-wise. Once you’ve set up your system, keeping the books by making sure you’ve entered your daily expenses should only take a few minutes a day. Then, if you lose that receipt, at least you’ve got the record in your files.
You must keep all truckers bookkeeping serviceused to prepare your tax return for three years from the date you filed the return. Trucking accounting software has unique features, such as the ability to dispatch drivers, plan trucking routes, and generate and file quarterly IFTA reports. Meanwhile, general-purpose bookkeeping software lets you perform common accounting tasks, such as invoicing, billing, and expense tracking. Regardless of the size of your fleet or how long you’ve been in business, understanding trucking accounting best practices can help you stay in compliance with industry-specific requirements.
Start with a notebook, an app, a pen and some envelopes to begin keeping your books clean and tidy. Not all businesses or self-serve operations provide receipts upon you making a purchase. For this reason, a notebook or specialized app is another way to stay on top of accounting as a trucker.
It equals $100 plus $22 for every 1,000 pounds over 55,000 pounds up to $550 and 75,000 pounds. To comply with IFTA, you must report your trips and fuel purchases quarterly. The IFTA office in your home state will allocate your payments to the proper jurisdictions and determine whether you owe more or deserve a refund. Accounting is more sophisticated and analytical than bookkeeping, and there’s often more at stake. For example, accounting errors could cause you to miss out on valuable financing or get you in trouble with the Internal Revenue Service . Accounting is one of the least exciting aspects of small business ownership for many owner-operators.
Of course, the vast majority of employees and business partners are completely trustworthy. The Avantax family of companies exclusively provide investment products and services through its representatives. And if you don’t consult with a professional, you may miss out on many tax deductions available for trucking companies. Bookkeeping for truckers ensures that you can get an update concerning payments at any time, ensuring that you always have accurate information available to help you make smart business decisions. Truck drivers should retain a full set of records for each trip that they have completed.
That’s why ATBS service packages help you to keep your business on track, without sifting through mountains of paperwork. Read here to see ATBS’ answers to the most common tax questions asked by owner-operators. Trucking accounting software is engineered to aid in decision-making and account needs for your business. This software for trucking will help you track your income and expenses, capture and organize receipts and maximize tax deductions.
