Small trucking businesses are an essential part of the economy. Every day, people rely on their goods to be delivered on time like clockwork. A small trucking business is also an ideal opportunity for many people to start their own company. Setting up a small business is not rocket science but it is easier if you have proper small trucking business accounting software at your disposal.
Running a small trucking business can be difficult enough, but trying to balance all the business data and financial figures can be a nightmare. There are a number of options when it comes to small trucking businesses accounting software. Small Business Trucking Software is especially important for a small trucking business to track their finances and manage freight costs effectively. Luckily there are some great tools out there designed specifically for trucks, vans, trailers and drivers.
Q7 Trucking Business Software: Best Overall Trucking Management and Accounting Software Combined
Q7 is serious trucking software for companies that need help managing a fleet of trucks. The accounting software is deeply integrated with the trucking management software to make accounting entries automatically as you conduct your business.
- Choice of desktop or cloud-based program
- Free training and support
- Extensive list of trucking management features
- Integrated payroll
- No upfront pricing
- Desktop version is not compatible with Mac
- Complex system requires training and dedication
Plans & Pricing
Contact Q7 for a free demo and a customized price quote.Read our Q7 Trucking Review
Our Expert Opinion
Q7 is a complex system that will work best when there is a full-time person dedicated to utilizing the software’s extensive features. In addition to standard accounting features like accounts receivable (A/R), accounts payable (A/P), bank reconciliations, and payroll, Q7 has modules for dispatch, freight billing, and pay settlement. You can track fuel and miles by truck through integrations with trucking mileage programs like Rand McNally and ProMiles to generate fuel purchase, state mileage, and IFTA tax reports. Q7 also has a powerful fleet maintenance program that will track your fixed assets and help you schedule routine maintenance, whether based on months or miles driven. If you have a fleet of trucks and at least one person that will be dedicated to learning the software, then Q7 will be worth the investment.
Tailwind TMS: Best Trucking Software for Freight Brokers
Tailwind TMS has all the features needed by Freight Brokers at a reasonable price that is given upfront. While Q7 would also work well for Freight Brokers, it’s more expensive and packed with features that Freight Brokers don’t need.
- Dispatch and track shipments
- GPS confirmed event tracking
- A/R and A/P management
- Customer & Carrier Self-Service Portals
- Not a complete bookkeeping system
- No integrated payroll
- No bank reconciliation feature
Pricing
- Pro: $117 per user per month
- Enterprise: $176 per user per month
- Unlimited: $235 per user per month
Most freight brokers will be well served by choosing the Pro plan. The Pro and Enterprise plans have a free trial available with no credit card required.Read our Tailwind TMS review
Our Expert Opinion
Tailwind TMS offers a huge array of tools to help your freight brokerage company. While you can send invoices and pay bills, it’s not a complete bookkeeping system. Most importantly, there is not a bank reconciliation feature to ensure that your bank account balances are accurate. To fill this gap, Tailwind TMS will sync with QuickBooks Online Plus, which we highly recommend. QuickBooks Online Plus is $80 per month, so be sure to include this cost if you’re choosing between Tailwind TMS and Q7.
You might consider upgrading to the Enterprise plan to be able to offer customer and carrier self-service portals. Customers can log in to view their account information, shipments, and invoices. Carriers can access available loads, shipments you have dispatched with them, and amounts you owe them.
Rigbooks: Best for owner-operators, small fleets
Price: Rigbooks starts at $19 per month for one truck. The Basic Entry plan includes expense tracking as well as fuel mileage, expense, and profit and loss reporting. The Small Fleet plan ($149 per month) includes up to five trucks. You can add more trucks to each plan for an additional charge.
Pros
- Free trial for 30 days and satisfaction guarantee.
- Customized billing to invoice by mile, item and weight.
- Ability to log expenses from your smartphone or tablet.
- IFTA tracking and calculation included with basic package.
Cons
- No training resources or manuals.
Why we like it
Rigbooks is an affordable accounting software designed to help truckers understand the true cost of each run so they can choose the most profitable load each time. Users can get a quick view of cost and profit per mile, and can bill by mile, item, load, weight or as a lump sum. The software is cloud based, so you can access it via a laptop, smartphone or tablet.
Rigbooks does not provide training resources or a site manual but users can ask questions via phone or email. Phone support is available Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT.
Trucking Software Made for Trucking Companies
If there’s one thing we know about running a trucking company, it’s that the program that works for other businesses isn’t necessarily going to work for your trucking company. It’s like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. It’s just not going to work the way you want it to, no matter how many times you try. That’s the main reason we put our heads together and developed our Trucking Office software for owner-operators. We are truckers ourselves, and we know what kind of features owner-operators need to run their trucking company with convenience and ease. From routing to maintenance records to IFTA reporting and invoicing, our easy-to-use trucking software gives you everything you need, when you need it. And it’s all right at your fingertips.
Quickbooks has some great features, there is no doubt about that. And it’s a great accounting tool for certain types of businesses. But owner-operators have a unique set of needs that Quickbooks simply can’t fulfill. Maybe you’ve already tried using Quickbooks and found out the hard way that it doesn’t give you everything you need. Maybe you’ve tried to piece together several different types of software to create a usable system that works for you. What we are offering in our Trucking Office software is all of those features and more in one trucking-specific software solution.
QuickBooks is not specific enough.
If you’ve worked with an accountant, chances are you’ve gotten a Profit and Loss Statement. If you’ve ever gone for a business loan to buy equipment, the banker probably asked for it.
All businesses have a set of reports that show critical information about the state of the business. Most industries have specific reports that indicate growth, loss, profits, etc. Trucking is the same.
Here’s the problem with QuickBooks for trucking. It’s simply not specific enough. There’s no way for QuickBooks to report
- costs per mile
- expenses per mile
- revenue per mile
because QuickBooks doesn’t track miles. There is an app that’s called a Mileage Tracking App for QuickBooks, but it tracks trips. it doesn’t track deadhead miles, it doesn’t track bobtail miles, it doesn’t track miles per state.
Conclusion
If you’re a truck driver or want to be, you have to put accounting software for small trucking businesses on your list of things to do. Truck drivers are usually independent contractors which makes them responsible for their own taxes. If are just getting into the trucking profession, sorting out all the paperwork might seem overwhelming. You can streamline your accounting process by using invoicing software for business trucks that allows you to automatically submit your expenses and recoup your taxable income.