The notice has arrived. The IFTA audit is scheduled. And what do you have? Missing IFTA records. Or worse, you’ve been using a software program to compute your IFTA filing that doesn’t do the job. So how do you handle that IFTA audit?
IFTA Audit Snafus
- Some IFTA prep software is expected only to be used at the end of the quarter. So if there’s a problem, you won’t know for maybe months. Have you ever had to go back and find a numerical error weeks later? A speeding ticket feels better. So a trucker has to run an IFTA report on a daily basis. Or they can use a trucking management software that tracks all the miles, all the time.
- Maybe it was a mistake. Missing IFTA records might result when the driver forgot to write down the miles in a state. A fuel purchase receipt is lost. Mistakes happen, and data and records get lost.
- Route changes or detours will change the miles a truck covers. Those details can slip by, leading to a cascade of wrong numbers.
- What’s that state’s rate? Tax rate changes in states might not be updated at the proper time, leading to a short payment (because taxes never go down.)
Start at the Dispatch, End at the Delivery?
The best way to manage IFTA isn’t by rushing around at the end of the quarter, trying to figure out how much is owed. The best way is to use trucking management software that has IFTA available and computed at the touch of a button at any time.
So it’s not about the week before it’s due – it’s about every day.
IFTA reporting software that doesn’t track deadhead miles is going to give you the wrong miles per state, which leads to the wrong tax amount paid.
The thing is, too many IFTA programs depend on the reentry of the data. They don’t capture the whole story of a trucking business, just the load. That’s a bad way to try to manage something that can cost thousands of dollars in fines and penalties for misfiling numbers. Tracking the miles for a delivery is expected.
Tracking all the miles is absolutely necessary. Not just the miles from dispatch to delivery.
From Dispatch to Dispatch – No more missing IFTA records
TruckingOffice PRO handles that – no problem. Once a dispatch is entered into the system, the system tracks the miles, and fuel purchases are entered. So, it also can track how many miles were driven in each state with PC*Miler. So those miles per state records will be perfect. (Use the TruckingOffice ELD system that’s integrated with our TMS and get a perfect report every time. Stop worrying about missing IFTA data because it won’t go missing.)
Then when the IFTA auditor asks, you can run an IFTA report with confidence that you’re not missing IFTA records because they’re all there. The IFTA report can be customized for the information that the auditor needs. Instead of worrying for weeks on end before the audit, you can relax, knowing that your data isn’t missing at all. It’s all click and go. Everything you need was entered at the time of the dispatch to pick up to delivery and on to the next pick up.
TruckingOffice PRO and TruckingOffice ELD eliminate the problems of missing IFTA records because TruckingOffice keeps them all for you.
TruckingOffice PRO Manages IFTA Records
If your trucking software system doesn’t manage your IFTA records, then you need a new system.
Using a single TMS trucking software package gives the independent owner operator the same benefits that big trucking companies have in expensive software solutions. TruckingOffice PRO offers the best options for the solo trucker or the fleet builder. We’ve got affordable trucking management software that handles everything. TruckingOffice PRO makes your life easier and managing your business smoother by helping you handle your tasks better and faster:
- dispatches
- routing
- invoice generation and tracking
- expense management
- IFTA and IRP
- maintenance
- Trucker Stats™– reports to show the state of your trucking business.
Combined with the TruckingOffice ELD, you’ve got everything you need to build a successful trucking business – even from the cab of your truck.
Contact us today to learn how TruckingOffice PRO can help you avoid loads that cost you money to deliver and to discover what equipment is the most profitable for you.
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