Looking for a gift for an independent trucker?
It’s often hard to know what to get for someone who lives in their truck cab. The amount of room in a cab is extremely limited, so anything that isn’t valuable to the job is hard to justify. Of course, kid’s drawings and pictures of family are important, but there are limits. So what can you give an independent trucker?
Useful vs. Fun Gifts
Let’s talk about gift-giving.
Some people want to give surprises. Others want to give something intensely personal. Still others want to give a useful gift. Nobody is wrong! Giving any gift expresses love and appreciation!
So if you’re looking for a fun gift, consider a streaming service or a Kindle subscription.
If you want to give a personal gift – we suggest a subtle conversation about dreams and hopes.
But if you want to give a useful gift, take a look at what can help them run their trucking business.
What Does an Owner Operator Trucking Business Need?
What a truck rig needs is too specific for us to make a suggestion. What a trucking business needs – that we can help with.
Every business needs business software. The problem is that trucking companies have several specific taxes and reports. Those are not usually available from common and popular accounting software packages like QuickBooks. (No shade at QuickBooks – we have a way to export data to QuickBooks for the accountants to use.)
- IFTA reportsIFTA quarterly reports are based on miles per state. In a standard accounting software package, a mileage report doesn’t show miles per state, nor will it have the current tax rates, which can be changed in one jurisdiction but not another.
- IRP reports Another report required to get apportioned truck license plates. If you’re old enough, you may remember the wall of state license plates on the back of trailers – meaning the trucker had paid for a plate to drive through that state. These days, theIRP (International Registration Plan) allows the trucker to submit a report showing miles per state per half-year (not quarterly like IFTA) and make a single payment with the report to show how the funds should be distributed.
- Revenue Per Loaded Mile report Not all miles are attached to a load. “Deadhead miles” aren’t related to the Grateful Dead – it’s travel between loads when the trailer is empty. Those miles are part of the job, but they’re a factor that some truckers try to control when looking at load boards. They don’t want to drive too far to get a load because that reduces profit. Having a report that shows profits per loaded mile.
These are just three of many more reports that standard accounting programs do not prepare but independent truckers need.
Trucking Management Software
So how does an independent trucker get those reports? A complete trucking management software – TMS – is what they need.
There are specialized software packages for trucking. TMS is a generic term, but the keyword is complete. Unless a TMS provides all of those reports listed above and more – including invoicing, dispatching, routing, and maintenance records – then it’s not a complete TMS. Some software packages don’t provide all the services necessary to run a trucking business. Many don’t provide IFTA reports. Others don’t meet the accounting standards needed for business taxes. It’s important to examine what the TMS offers and what they don’t.
TruckingOffice PRO
TruckingOffice offers the best options for the independent owner operator. We’ve got affordable trucking management software that handles everything, including automatic rate con load entry and expense receipts. TruckingOffice PRO handles
- dispatches
- routing
- invoice generation and tracking
- expense management
- IFTA and IRP
- maintenance
- Trucker Stats™– reports to show the state of your trucking business.
Designed by a trucker for truckers, this complete TMS will streamline all the facets of running an independent trucking company.
That means the trucker may have more time at home with the family and friends and less time stuck in front of a desktop computer.
More business organization means less time spent searching when the DOT or FMCSA requests records. Instead of spending hours on tax filings, your trucker will be free to spend time doing the important things in life.
TruckingOffice PRO for Free Trial
We don’t expect you to take our word for it. If you’re buying a TMS, you want to know how the system works.
We agree. That’s why we give a free trial of the complete program. Nothing hidden, no limits on what can be entered or what reports can be run. You can sign up without a credit card, bank card, or checking account number forthis free trial right away.
Give your trucker the gift of TruckingOffice PRO.
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