TruckingOffice or QuickBooks?
Which program serves the independent owner-operator trucker better? We’ve created a little test called TruckingOffice PRO vs. QuickBooks to see.
Question 1: Who handles trucking taxes better?
Truckers face specific tax filings that no one else does.
IFTA taxes remain one of the biggest headaches truckers face. Independent long-distance truck drivers had to record their miles per state and then, using that data, file a report based on the tax rates for every jurisdiction they had driven through. As recently as 15 years ago, many truckers were still using pencil, paper, and calculators to compute their quarterly taxes. On top of that, the same data is necessary for IRP, but instead of a quarterly report, it’s filed twice a year.
Why this matters
TruckingOffice PRO collects miles per state data to produce an IFTA report in seconds without reentering any data. When combined with the TruckingOffice ELD, it produces the most accurate IFTA and IRP reports.
While QuickBooks remains a favorite for accountants, it fails spectacularly at the most critical trucking taxes.
QuickBooks cannot track miles per state. It doesn’t have access to a database with current tax rates per state or jurisdiction. This means that four times a year, the independent trucker must
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- purchase another program to compute IFTA (or do it old school, by hand)
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- enter all of the miles per state by hand
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- find the various tax rates and compute the tax due.
The Winner Is
✅ TruckingOffice PRO beats QuickBooks.
TruckingOffice handles IFTA and IRP in seconds. The preprogrammed reports reduce the tax-prep time by reusing the data already entered into the TMS and reduce the workload of support staff (or trucker) to get the taxes filed quickly and correctly, eliminating the anxiety of missing the deadline or paying the wrong amount.
Question 2: Which program produces the best invoice and billing service?
Independent truckers manage all parts of their trucking company, not just the time on the road. That can complicate the invoicing and billing portion of the job, particularly when trucking invoices aren’t the simplest document to create.
Starting from the rate con through the final version of the invoice, trucking invoices aren’t like the average business invoice. Trucking invoices include
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- load numbers
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- trip-based billing per mile
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- lumper fees
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- tolls
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- detention fees
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- fuel surcharges
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- remit to options.
QuickBooks is designed to manage business finances – including billing. But expenses might extend over multiple trips, particularly if a trucker is driving hot-shot or LTL deliveries. QuickBooks may not be able to manage these unique trucking billing problems.
Why this matters
Because QuickBooks isn’t designed with trucking companies in mind, these features aren’t programmed into QuickBooks. So the trucker may need to use another dispatch program to track all these details and export or retype it into the accounting program to send the invoice. In that process, the possibility of mistakes grows.
TruckingOffice PRO goes from rate con (with its auto-upload feature) to billing, without adding steps to the process. Every step of the billing process is handled by TruckingOffice PRO, including sending the invoice and tracking payments.
The Winner Is
✅TruckingOffice PRO beats QuickBooks.
By automating uploads of fuel purchases, rate cons, and bills of lading (BOL), the risks of an incorrect invoice drop significantly.
Question 3: Which program provides the best trucking-specific business analysis tools?
Accounting software like QuickBooks comes with statistical analysis and business reports that help the owners know how the business is faring. The classic cash flow reports and profit and loss statements are vital for businesses looking for financing for growth. Trucking companies that look for expansion or equipment replacement often need to approach banks for loans – and the financial statements are required.
However, many statistics that indicate a company’s health are industry-specific. A retail business isn’t going to use the same statistics as a manufacturer, for example. In the logistics and transportation industry, there are some numbers that nobody else uses:
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- Cost per mile
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- Revenue per load
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- Revenue per mile
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- Expenses per trip.
Why this matters
Failure to understand the numbers behind the profits and losses leads to a failed business. This rule doesn’t apply only to trucking companies. In this industry right now, the line between profit and collapse is thin.
According to CDLLife.com, most truckers don’t know how much it costs them to run their trucks. As a result, truckers accept loads below cost and incur a loss on the freight. No business can afford that as a regular practice.
QuickBooks was designed for standard accounting.
Trucking needs more than standard accounting.
There are spreadsheets that can be programmed to handle the business analysis. However, the data entry and variety of complicated formulas make it difficult to program.
The Winner Is
✅TruckingOffice PRO beats QuickBooks.
TruckingOffice’s trucking management software is designed for truckers with their businesses’ needs in mind. It collects the data from rate cons, invoices, expenses, and maintenance records without requiring repeated data entry. It can produce not only the cash flows and profit and loss statements, but also the exact numbers needed to build a successful trucking business.
TruckingOffice PRO FTW
We’re not here to bash QuickBooks. Knowing that many truckers use accountants who want QuickBooks-compatible data, we even offer an export option for data transfer to QuickBooks.
But for day-to-day trucking business management, QuickBooks can’t provide independent truckers with the tools they need. TruckingOffice PRO provides the accounting and analysis support that a small trucking company needs. Accessible, secure, and ready to integrate with TruckingOffice ELD, TruckingOffice PRO is the best TMS option for owner-operators who want a low-cost system to manage their small businesses.
Give TruckingOffice PRO a test drive today with their free trial. With the entire program available during the free trial, a trucker can discover how to win with TruckingOffice TMS.
I am a single owner operator I’m looking for a program to keep my books together wanna know if you have that and what would be the cost thank you
Hello!
We are an invoicing system that helps you stay organized. Once you enter your trips into the system, there are 15 reports on the right side of the dashboard page that you can automatically generate from that. For instance, you can generate profit and loss reports, unit revenue, IFTA, driver settlements, create invoices, expenses and maintenance reports, etc.
Here is a link to our pricing page:
https://www.truckingoffice.com/tms/transportation-management-system-pricing/
Feel free to start a 30 day free trial at truckingoffice.com. There’s no obligation!
hello, are you able to email your profit and loss statements as well as expense reports to a accountant? Or give your accountant access to jus them 2 sections of your trucking office so I can do quarterly and yearly tax returns?
Hello!
All of the reports on the right side of the dashboard page can be exported to a spreadsheet or printed, including the profit and loss reports. The only information that can be emailed are the invoices, trip reports, and driver settlements (pro version).
You can also assign users by clicking Profile, then scroll down to the users section and click Add User. Each user can have their own username and password and you can control what they will have access to.
Please feel free to give us a call at 1(800)253-9647 for any other questions! We are available Monday-Friday from 9AM-5PM Eastern time and are happy to help!
is trucking office designed to work in Australia? with GST BAS and allt he taxation rules?
Hello!
Currently, we are only designed to work in the US, Canada, and Mexico. I will submit your request to the developers for review-hopefully in the future, we will expand to Australia!
That’s great for tracking IFTA… But what about the rest of us that are leased to a carrier that handles IFTA for us? Some of us would like to enter payments received for completed loads & specific load information, from that information and manually entered expense information, complete P&L statements! It shouldn’t be a complicated or expensive program!
TruckingOffice software is great for leased on owner operators. You can track when loads are paid and track all expenses. Your reports will help you understand if you are profitable or need to make changes to be more successful. Get the FREE TRIAL!Get the FREE TRIAL!Get the FREE TRIAL!
I’m looking for a program that I can put on my computer, that I can use, enter data into, and access data from, offline. That will create a spreadsheet for me, is easy to understand and that I can backup online. Make sense? That’s what I’m looking for. Will this do that for me?
Hello!
We are an invoicing system that helps you stay organized. Once you enter your trips into the system, there are 15 reports on the right side of the dashboard page that you can automatically generate from that. For instance, you can generate profit and loss reports, unit revenue, IFTA, driver settlements, create invoices, expenses and maintenance reports, etc.
Feel free to start a 30 day free trial at truckingoffice.com. There’s no obligation! If you have any questions or need assistance, please feel free to give us a call at 1(800)253-9647. We are available Monday-Friday from 9AM-5PM Eastern time. We are happy to assist!
Can you import receipts via your phone or via software like neat receipts that extract your receipt data. Can you import csv files to match expenses during certain trips. Can you download your business statements directly into trucking office? Sorry for so many questions, just trying to make the best informed decision when compared to quickbooks and the ease of match receipts with your bank statement.
Hello!
On our Pro version, you do have the ability to attach receipts to the expense or maintenance log as well as the load. You can upload the documents using a phone or anywhere that you have internet access. The only things that can be imported currently are the address book and fuel expense.
We are an invoicing system that helps you stay organized. Once you enter your trips into the system, there are 15 reports on the right side of the dashboard page that you can automatically generate from that. For instance, you can generate profit and loss reports, unit revenue, IFTA, driver settlements, create invoices, expenses and maintenance reports, etc.
Feel free to start a 30 day free trial at truckingoffice.com. There’s no obligation! If you have any questions or need assistance, please feel free to give us a call at 1(800)253-9647. We are available Monday-Friday from 9AM-5PM Eastern time. We are happy to assist!
i’m looking for a program to figure out how much i need to hold back for taxes each week
Our trucking software will help track all of the numbers, however we cannot give out any tax filing advice.
Hello I have tried your program before and I am really leaning towards it again because the accounting firm that I use is just not cutting it and missing some of my key profits and what not. But the reason I stopped using this was because of your maintenance side it kept telling me one of my trucks needed a service but it wouldn’t tell me which one and in reality they didn’t because I just had them done when I started using it. So have you all improved that portion?
Maintenance alerts are set up through the maintenance plans. If you have any issues with the alerts please contact support@truckingoffice.com and we can help.