Trucking Books: Tracking Fuel, Tolls and Maintenance by Truck

What trucking books need to track

A trucking business is not one number. It is the loads you hauled, the fuel you burned, the tolls you paid, the repairs you made, and the drivers you paid. Each part needs its own line so your monthly income stays true.

When you track all of it by truck, you can see which rigs earn their keep and which ones cost more in fuel or repairs than the loads brought in. When you do not, you get one big pile of fuel receipts and repair bills and no way to tell whether the Freightliner paid better than the Peterbilt.

Trucking runs on the truck. Each rig has a fuel card. Each rig crosses tolls. Each rig needs oil changes, tires and repairs. The loads pay the bills. When the books hold the fuel, the tolls and the repairs on the truck line, the business makes sense. You can read more about how we keep these lines tied on our bookkeeping page.

Here is what a clean truck looks like.

When the fuel and the tolls sit on the truck line, your per truck profit is real. When they sit in one pile, a big fuel run looks like a bad month and the real load earnings hide.

How fuel shows up by truck

Fuel is the biggest cost in a trucking business. It moves with every load. It needs to tie to the truck that burned it.

The clean way is to give each truck its own fuel card and book each fuel charge to a fuel cost line tagged to that truck. When the card statement clears, the charges land on the right rigs. When you run the profit and loss by class or by truck, each rig shows its own fuel total. You can see which truck burns more fuel per mile and which one runs lean. You can read more about how we reconcile fuel cards in our reconciling fuel cards and factoring payments guide. The same idea works for fuel by truck.

The messy way is to book every fuel charge to one general fuel line with no truck tag. Now you can not sort by rig. You can not tell which truck burns the most diesel or which one needs a tune up. The fuel sits in one pile and the per truck story hides.

Here is how to keep fuel clean.

• **Give each truck its own fuel card: ** so the charges sort by rig.
• - **Book each fuel charge to a fuel cost line: ** tagged to that truck.
• - **Match the card statement to the bank: ** the day it clears.
• - **Watch fuel as a share of revenue per truck: ** a rig that burns more than it earns needs a look.
• - **Check the fuel card statement against the receipts: ** so no bad charge slips through.

When the fuel ties to the truck, your per truck fuel cost is real. When it floats in one pile, the diesel story is a guess.

How tolls show up by truck

Tolls are a cost of the route. Each toll ties to a rig and a load. The toll needs its own line so you can see which routes cost more in tolls.

The clean way is to book each toll charge to a toll cost line tagged to the truck that paid it. When a toll pass charges your account, the charge lands on the rig that crossed it. When you run the profit and loss by class, each truck shows its own toll total. You can see which routes run through the most tolls and whether the load paid enough to cover them.

The messy way is to book every toll to one general toll line with no truck tag. Now you can not sort by rig. You can not tell which truck runs the toll heavy routes or whether those loads paid enough to cover the tolls. The tolls sit in one pile and the route story hides.

Here is how to keep tolls clean.

• **Book each toll to a toll cost line: ** tagged to the truck.
• - **Match the toll pass charge to the bank: ** the day it clears.
• - **Watch tolls per route: ** a route that costs more in tolls than it earns needs a closer look.
• - **Tag the toll to the load when you can: ** so the route profit is real.
• - **Check the toll pass statement against the route log: ** so no wrong charge stays.

When the tolls tie to the truck, your per route toll cost is real. When they float in one pile, the route story is a guess.

How maintenance and repairs show up by truck

Maintenance is the upkeep that keeps a truck on the road. Oil changes, tires, brakes, filters. Repairs are the fix it bills when a truck breaks down. Both tie to the rig.

The clean way is to book each maintenance bill to a maintenance cost line tagged to the truck. Book each repair bill to a repair cost line tagged to the truck. When you run the profit and loss by class, each rig shows its own upkeep total. You can see which truck costs the most to keep on the road and whether the loads it hauls cover the upkeep. You can read more about how we track equipment costs in our tree service equipment guide. The same idea works for a trucking fleet.

The messy way is to book every repair and maintenance bill to one general repairs line with no truck tag. Now you can not sort by rig. You can not tell which truck is eating the budget in the shop or whether the loads it hauls pay for the upkeep. The shop bills sit in one pile and the per truck story hides.

Here is how to keep maintenance and repairs clean.

• **Book oil changes and tires to a maintenance cost line: ** tagged to the truck.
• - **Book breakdown fixes to a repair cost line: ** tagged to the truck.
• - **Watch maintenance and repairs per truck: ** a rig in the shop every month needs a look.
• - **Compare the upkeep to the loads the truck hauled: ** so you can see if the rig pays for itself.
• - **Match each shop bill to the bank: ** so no cost floats untied.

When the upkeep ties to the truck, your per truck shop cost is real. When it floats in one pile, the rig that eats the budget is invisible.

How to match each cost to the bank

Every fuel charge, toll and shop bill has to match the bank. The cash leaves your account. The books need to tie the two together.

The clean way is to match each fuel card charge, each toll pass charge and each shop bill to the bank the day it clears. The amount in the books agrees with the amount that left the bank. When a fuel card charge clears late, it lands in the right week. When a toll charge is wrong, it does not stay on the books. The bank and the books always agree.

The messy way is to book the cost and never match it. Now the books show a payment that may or may not have cleared. A fuel card charge that is still pending sits as a cost. A toll charge that bounced sits as a cost. You can read more about how we match payouts to the bank in our courier and delivery guide.

Here is how to keep the match clean.

• **Match each fuel card charge to the bank: ** the day it clears.
• - **Match each toll pass charge to the bank: ** so the toll is true.
• - **Match each shop bill to the bank: ** so the repair is true.
• - **Reconcile the bank each month: ** so the cash total agrees with the bank.
• - **Check the fuel card and toll statements against the route log: ** so no wrong charge stays.

When each cost matches the bank, your cash is true. When they float untied, the costs drift and the real profit hides.

How the month end close works

At month end, every truck needs its costs added up. The fuel, the tolls, the maintenance, the repairs and the loads all pull together into one truck total. When the rigs roll up by class, you see each truck side by side.

We start with the bank. We match each fuel card charge, each toll charge and each shop bill to the cleared payment. We book the fuel to the fuel cost line tagged to the truck. We book the tolls to the toll cost line tagged to the truck. We book the maintenance and repairs to their own lines tagged to the truck. We check the fuel card and toll statements against the route log. We send you the profit and loss by class, a balance sheet, and a cash summary. Each truck sits inside the report in its own column.

Here is a simple month end check.

• **Match each fuel, toll and shop bill to the bank: ** every payment cleared.
• - **Book fuel to the fuel cost line: ** tagged to the truck.
• - **Book tolls to the toll cost line: ** tagged to the truck.
• - **Book maintenance and repairs to their own lines: ** tagged to the truck.
• - **Check the card and toll statements against the route log: ** so no wrong charge stays.
• - **Run the profit and loss by class: ** so each truck shows in its own column.

When the close runs every month, the truck story stays clear. When it skips a month, the fuel and tolls stack up and the next month is harder to close.

A situation we clean up

The fuel that all sat in one pile

A trucking company runs five trucks. Every fuel card charge lands in one general fuel line with no truck tag. Every toll charge lands in one general toll line. Every shop bill lands in general repairs. At month end, the owner can not tell which truck burned the most fuel, which one runs the toll heavy routes, or which rig is in the shop every month. The bank and the books do not agree because the card charges float untied.

Here is how we handle it. We turn on class tracking in QuickBooks Online and set up one class for each truck. We go back through the open month and move each fuel charge from the general fuel line to the fuel cost line tagged to the truck. We move each toll charge to the toll cost line tagged to the truck. We move each shop bill to the repair cost line tagged to the truck. We match each fuel card charge, toll charge and shop bill to the bank. When we are done, the owner can run the profit and loss by class and see each truck in its own column, with the fuel, the tolls and the repairs on separate lines. We set up a rule so the next fuel charge carries the right class from the start.

Mistakes we fix

• Every fuel charge in one general fuel line with no truck tag
• Every toll in one general toll line with no truck tag
• Every shop bill in general repairs instead of a repair cost line tagged to the truck
• No class tracking turned on so no way to sort by truck
• A fuel card charge never matched to the bank
• A toll pass charge never matched to the bank
• A shop bill never matched to the bank
• Fuel, tolls and repairs in one pile so the per truck story hides
• No profit and loss by class run at month end
• The fuel card statement never checked against the receipts

Common questions

How do I track fuel by truck? Give each truck its own fuel card and book each fuel charge to a fuel cost line tagged to that truck. Match the card statement to the bank the day it clears. Run the profit and loss by class so each truck shows its own fuel total.

How do I track tolls by truck? Book each toll charge to a toll cost line tagged to the truck that paid it. Match the toll pass charge to the bank. Watch tolls per route so a route that costs more in tolls than it earns gets a closer look.

How do I track maintenance and repairs by truck? Book oil changes and tires to a maintenance cost line tagged to the truck. Book breakdown fixes to a repair cost line tagged to the truck. Watch the upkeep per truck so a rig in the shop every month shows up.

How do I match trucking costs to the bank? Match each fuel card charge, each toll pass charge and each shop bill to the bank the day it clears. Reconcile the bank each month so the cash total agrees with the bank. Check the fuel card and toll statements against the route log so no wrong charge stays.