[GMAN]

OOIDA has a spreadsheet on their website that you might check out. It isn't 100% but covers most of the costs. I am not sure that you can access it unless you are a member. You just plug in your numbers and it does the calculations for you. www.ooida.com.

One problem that all of us have who have had drivers is find those who are honest and will take care of your equipment. I am glad to see that you will also be driving. At least you can keep an eye on your equipment. One other thing that I didn't mention is that if this driver is considered an employee you need to add 7.5% for his social security taxes. That is your part. If you 1099 then he will be responsible for those taxes himself.

[chris1]

Simple question. At the end of the year do you issue a W2 or 1099?

You also submit form I-3 (in TN) to qualify for the 5 employee exemption. It is not granted because of an occupational policy.

You are still subject to FUT.

[GMAN]

I believe that he said that he was going to treat his driver as an employee. That means that he will issue a w-2. He needs to check his state for current laws as to whether he needs to have workers comp or an accident policy. Hopefully, it won't be necessary to pay the high cost of workers comp. The costs are outrageous for small carriers.

[chris1]

The question was for you.
Wisconsin requires comp on all employees.

[GMAN]

Unless there have been recent changes in my state they do not require workers comp unless you have a certain number of employees. I spoke with someone earlier today who works for one of the major carriers and she told me the same thing.

[rank]

Originally Posted by WOLF RIVER

Basically I came up with .94per mile on all miles is what it will cost me to do business. Does this sound correct?

On how many miles?

[WOLF RIVER]

Im using 5k per week. After adjusting my spread sheet the cats getting skinnier. I was a little low on tires and a little higher on a few things. But basically its right at a buck. The few local guys Ive talked too are paying 1.24 a mile w/ fsc. Something just doesnt sound right to me - seems either Im forgetting something or something.

[GMAN]

Originally Posted by WOLF RIVER

I'm using 5k per week. After adjusting my spread sheet the cats getting skinnier. I was a little low on tires and a little higher on a few things. But basically its right at a buck. The few local guys Ive talked too are paying 1.24 a mile w/ fsc. Something just doesn't sound right to me - seems either I'm forgetting something or something.

Unless I missed something, I didn't see anything for wages for either you or your driver. I would expect somewhere between $0.12-0.20/mile for each team driver. It is good to include wage costs even if you are the driver. There should be some profit left over after you pay yourself a driver wage. Most new owner operators over look wages when calculating their costs.

One other thing that I will mention. You can pretty much control how much you spend on fuel taxes by where you purchase your fuel. I have rarely spent more than $25/quarter. If you run New Mexico and Kentucky you may spend a little more due to their surcharge.

It is good that you are spending so much time planning and doing projections. Many come into this business without putting much thought into what it takes to operate their business on a daily basis. Once you have a solid year behind you it will be much easier to do projections since you will have actual costs or expenses to use.

[WOLF RIVER]

Hey GMAN

Wages were actually figured into the $1.00 per mile. The oodia spread sheet was basically the same one I had been using. I figured .19 per mile per person for wages. It just seems to me that I may be overlooking something since my number crunching costs are at a $1.00 and the loads are paying 1.24 per mile. I guess that I didnt really expect .24 per mile profit. Not that I would be complaining but I just dont want the big unexpected - now what do I do.

Thanks again - Todd

[mike3fan]

The problem is people in this industry think that $1.24 a mile including fsc is acceptable.

IMO it would be very difficult to operate a truck for a $1 a mile while paying .38cpm driver wages.

Fuel alone will be .40-.50 cpm.

Cost per mile is a huge part of this buisness and should be taken seriously, but I would concentrate more on finding a carrier that you can lease on to that pays above average and worrying more about what I take in than what I pay out.

ROI is also something that needs to be taken into consideration.