Accounting For Single Owner Operator?
Topic 32180 | Page 1
What do y'all recommend for a accounting program for a single owner operator , LLC? This is our first business and want to make sure we do it right. I've heard quick books and trucking together. Is that the best? Or do you use something else? Do you recommend a regular accountant also? Wondering if we shouldn't meet with someone locally to again, make sure we're doing everything correctly. We usually just do the standard deduction on our personal taxes so all the business stuff seems wayyy more complicated. Oh and the truck is pre-eLog so it's gonna be hand written log books. But will have a computer or tablet in the truck as well as home.
Howdy, Willa !
We have a 'few' O/O's on here... PJ, Steve, Sid ... and I'm missing some of the quiet(er) ones, but I'm highly doubting that they'd be willing to share on this platform; as we are geared toward placing aspiring CDLA holders into company schooling and subsequent employment/driving.
If any of the aforementioned reply, I'd be surprised, but happy for ya! I (personally) would definitely meet with an Attorney/CPA, and you can often find one in the same, in the trucking world.
Your question would be better served on another forum, preferably within OOIDA , or even perhaps a Facebook group.
I'm sorry; hope you find what you are looking for, and best of luck with your business!! If it doesn't work out, please stop back; I'm sure we can get y'all going with some great company driving jobs within!!
~ Anne ~
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
Elog:
Electronic Onboard Recorder
Electronic Logbook
A device which records the amount of time a vehicle has been driven. If the vehicle is not being driven, the operator will manually input whether or not he/she is on duty or not.
Owner Operator:
An owner-operator is a driver who either owns or leases the truck they are driving. A self-employed driver.
OOIDA:
Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association
Who They Are
OOIDA is an international trade association representing the interests of independent owner-operators and professional drivers on all issues that affect truckers. The over 150,000 members of OOIDA are men and women in all 50 states and Canada who collectively own and/or operate more than 240,000 individual heavy-duty trucks and small truck fleets.
Their Mission
The mission of OOIDA is to serve owner-operators, small fleets and professional truckers; to work for a business climate where truckers are treated equally and fairly; to promote highway safety and responsibility among all highway users; and to promote a better business climate and efficiency for all truck operators.
Check out John Turner of Able Tax Relief. You need an accountant that knows and understands trucking and the taxes that the profession encounters.
I'm guessing you are new truck owners, leased onto a carrier?
I use Lets truck accounting software. I pay 20.00 a month for it. It was developed by Kevin Rutherford. We do our own taxes with tax act. Both are pretty simple user friendly, and have great customer support if you need questions answered.
Thanks, I totally understand and do appreciate your responses. I was feeling overwhelmed there for a bit. It was nice just to essentially say it out loud,so to to speak. We are new to being a LLC and on our own but not new to trucking itself. Well he's not 😂 I am new to all the other side of trucking stuff. Started the process in Feb, bought the truck in April and just bought the trailer yesterday. We have had no income from it yet only start up expenses. (We both have other full time jobs). I did start with QuickBooks yesterday and I've been googling the deductible things and whatnot. I didn't even know about OOIDA 🤦 We've never needed an accountant or anything so I didn't even know where to start. Again, My thanks for your hospitality here 😘
OOIDA:
Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association
Who They Are
OOIDA is an international trade association representing the interests of independent owner-operators and professional drivers on all issues that affect truckers. The over 150,000 members of OOIDA are men and women in all 50 states and Canada who collectively own and/or operate more than 240,000 individual heavy-duty trucks and small truck fleets.
Their Mission
The mission of OOIDA is to serve owner-operators, small fleets and professional truckers; to work for a business climate where truckers are treated equally and fairly; to promote highway safety and responsibility among all highway users; and to promote a better business climate and efficiency for all truck operators.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Hi Willa.
From your post I can already tell you your accounting software is the least of your problems.
You need to sit down with a cpa and make sure your buisness is structured correctly. I hope someone is walking you through the process because you don't want to have a taxable income in six figures at the end of the year.
As far as your accounting question, it is a complicated as you want to make it. I do everything with paper and pen and I give my cpa a very detailed spreadsheet at tax time. My buisness is very simple, I only use 3 brokers and everything is has a paper trail.
Willa I know how overwhelming it can get. I leased onto a carrier for years. It was pretty simple. Then the end of April we got our own authority and it was a PITA for sure. Also as soon as FMCSA issues your DOT number you will be bombarded with calls and emails from people offering their services.
Buying the trailer, in Ga was the easiest part of the entire process.
Some states require exra weight accounts individually. KY, NY are the only ones I needed. AZ and OR have extra’s also. I didn’t research them dince I don’t run out there. Also depends on what your hauling. I’m only hauling granite directly for the manufactuer so I have a few less headaches.
I got my fuel card through OOIDA. It makes a difference of about 300-400 a week in my fuel bill. I only run about 1500-2000 miles a week these days.
I wish ya’ll great success.
CSA:
Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA)
The CSA is a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) initiative to improve large truck and bus safety and ultimately reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities that are related to commercial motor vehicle
FMCSA:
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
The FMCSA was established within the Department of Transportation on January 1, 2000. Their primary mission is to prevent commercial motor vehicle-related fatalities and injuries.
What Does The FMCSA Do?
- Commercial Drivers' Licenses
- Data and Analysis
- Regulatory Compliance and Enforcement
- Research and Technology
- Safety Assistance
- Support and Information Sharing
DOT:
Department Of Transportation
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.
Fm:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.OOIDA:
Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association
Who They Are
OOIDA is an international trade association representing the interests of independent owner-operators and professional drivers on all issues that affect truckers. The over 150,000 members of OOIDA are men and women in all 50 states and Canada who collectively own and/or operate more than 240,000 individual heavy-duty trucks and small truck fleets.
Their Mission
The mission of OOIDA is to serve owner-operators, small fleets and professional truckers; to work for a business climate where truckers are treated equally and fairly; to promote highway safety and responsibility among all highway users; and to promote a better business climate and efficiency for all truck operators.
DAC:
Drive-A-Check Report
A truck drivers DAC report will contain detailed information about their job history of the last 10 years as a CDL driver (as required by the DOT).
It may also contain your criminal history, drug test results, DOT infractions and accident history. The program is strictly voluntary from a company standpoint, but most of the medium-to-large carriers will participate.
Most trucking companies use DAC reports as part of their hiring and background check process. It is extremely important that drivers verify that the information contained in it is correct, and have it fixed if it's not.
Thank you! Honestly I've mostly just been a passenger on this ride so far. Supportive but "If you want to do this, YOU need to do this" Admitting that I CAN NOT and WILL NOT be responsible for your business. (😆 This is highly unusual for me) I made him do all the research and lay out a step by step plan before anything got done. I've just been the finder of parts, and helping with repairs and okaying things and general making sure he stays on track. There's been a lot of hurry up and wait kinda stuff. He's done all the other stuff, the LLC and all the Authority/Driver things so I think we're in good shape. Finally finding the trailer (step deck) went quickly and now the reality of putting in his notice in at work soon... we (I) had a little heart stopping panicking moment were "it just got real 😳" Its not a -"when we're ready we'll do such and such"- , now it's -"now we need to do such and such".- We do have all the business things -accounts, credit card with fuel rebates, brokers signed up. Tho I do also want to get a secondary fuel card. We've steadily checking things off the list. I just wanted to reach out to other real people and how they did things for a second opinion I guess. Yesterday we did actually find a CPA that does specific transportation work about an hour away so this weekend we're going to get everything into QuickBooks and then take everything to the CPA just to make sure we're doing everything correctly. After that I think we'll be okay on our own. I just need someone to double check everything before I feel confident enough to actually roll out on his own.
Dm:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.New Reply:
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What do y'all recommend for a accounting program for a single owner operator , LLC? This is our first business and want to make sure we do it right. I've heard quick books and trucking together. Is that the best? Or do you use something else? Do you recommend a regular accountant also? Wondering if we shouldn't meet with someone locally to again, make sure we're doing everything correctly. We usually just do the standard deduction on our personal taxes so all the business stuff seems wayyy more complicated. Oh and the truck is pre-eLog so it's gonna be hand written log books. But will have a computer or tablet in the truck as well as home.
Elog:
Electronic Onboard Recorder
Electronic Logbook
A device which records the amount of time a vehicle has been driven. If the vehicle is not being driven, the operator will manually input whether or not he/she is on duty or not.
Owner Operator:
An owner-operator is a driver who either owns or leases the truck they are driving. A self-employed driver.