I have always been able to add different classifications to Trucknpro. With some of the previous versions, I separated tires, pm's and other expenses from the maintenance heading. I could separate cell phones from landlines, if that is what I wanted. I separated them so that I could see more easily what I was spending on tires, pm's and repairs. With the Elite version (the newest), I have not separated it. So far I have put everything under maintenance.

When I put in the load information for the first quarter, I only put in the basic load information so that I could do my fuel taxes. I still need to add other fixed costs, such as insurance, telephones, utilities, etc., It is simple to go in and add headings. At one time, I looked at Quickbooks pro. I have known a few people who use it and it works for them. With trucking specific software, such as Trucknpro, you can put in the load information and immediately see your profit and cost per mile. It will also give my mpg without having to do the math myself. Now the mpg will be a little lower than actual since it is based upon the miles driven and fuel purchased during the time you pull the report.

The first trucking software I purchased was Easy Trucking. The main reason that I bought it was for the invoicing. Trucknpro has had invoicing for the last couple of updates. Easy Trucking will do most of what Trucknpro will do, but you are limited on the number of trucks you can put into the software unless you purchase the more expensive fleet version. For instance, they limit you to 5 trucks. That might not be a problem, but if you have driver turnover, even with 2 or 3 trucks, you will need to delete previous drivers in order to put in a new driver, unless you want to buy the more expensive program. Another thing that I didn't care for with Easy Trucking was that it was not as simple to use as Trucknpro. There were some redundancies, as I recall. I have not used the program for 2 or 3 years. I stopped using it when my computer crashed.

Previous versions of Trucknpro did not have invoicing capability. I set up forms on my computer so that all I had to do was to change a few things, such as load number, pick up, delivery and linehaul amount and print. I have not used the invoicing feature on this software due to the way I put in my loads. If you put in the load information as you haul loads, you can easily print out an invoice.

You can use a spreadsheet to track expenses and revenue. In fact, you could set up your accounting using a database. That can take time. But, I still use my spreadsheet for some things. I have used it to do fuel taxes, but if you keep up your bookkeeping on Trucknpro or similar software, all you need to is go to reports, put in the dates you want to print and click IFTA. It will then print out your miles and gallons by each state with the total.

The best software is the simplest. About 20 years ago, I spent about $5,000 on accounting software. It was so complex to use that we scrapped it. We never really used it. Each module came with a thick ring binder of reading material. It took too long to even learn the basics of how to use it. The best accounting or bookkeeping programs are those that are simple and easy to use.

I don't know if Quickbooks has invoicing capability. It has been a while since I looked at it. You can put everything into Trucknpro and print out what you need for taxes or to give to your CPA or tax person.