[OriginalBigFoot]

Originally Posted by merrick4

We've always used QuickBooks and that's all I would ever use...

Great! It does IFTA fuel taxes too? How about fuel card downloads? And what about freight weight tables? Or the two dozen other trucking specific time saving functions?? Keywords there are in bold. I have tried Quickbooks and I have Neat receipts (for scanning). Neither even come close to Axon! If you compared the two, you would never use Quickbooks again!

. I haven't used it myself (I have a full time bookkeeper) in a while but you can track maintenance. I remember there was a section where you could separate things by class (each class could be a unit number).

I wonder how much that book keeper costs per year!

[mndriver]

Trucking specific?

What is so special about trucking than any other service industry? IFTA?

A work center is a work center. Employees are employees. Like trucking is really special.

[OriginalBigFoot]

Whatever... One thing I've found about the trucking business is everyone has an opinion with zero experience. I have said my peace, I'm not going to defend it for the sake of an argument. Quickbooks is like a bottom of the line Garmin, compared to Axon, the Rand Mcnally TND... use whatever you want!

[mndriver]

There are also the issues of working g with your accountant. A program does you little good if you have to pay data entry wages to your accountant because of edi issues. And since most accountants are familiar with quicken (intuit) or Peachtree products, it would lend itself to be more beneficial.

A premium price tag does not a premium product make.

[OriginalBigFoot]

It exports to Quickbooks, like most other accounting programs...

[GMAN]

I have looked at a number of different trucking specific software programs. Some of them are rather complex to use and expensive. The more expensive programs are designed for larger carriers rather than the small operator. I can also see a longer learning curve. I still like my Trucknpro program for the trucking industry, especially for the cost. You can begin using it immediately after downloading. It would be good if I could download my banking data into the program. The downside to using the program would be in being able to electronically download date for your CPA. However, you could give your accountant a copy of the program or print out various reports. I can print out reports on most everything related to my business.

I think the primary advantage to using any trucking software rather than a standard accounting program is the compliance issues. Depending on the program, most will help you track maintenance, drivers, etc., files to remain compliant with the fmcsa. Were it not for the compliance issues, I think Quickbooks would work well and many accountants already have Quickbooks or Quicken on their computers. I would like to check out Quickbooks, but I don't know that I would want to buy it without seeing more of what it will do. I think there are pros and cons to using any program. I would not want to spend thousands of dollars on software to run my business. I did that before and was not happy with the results. The best programs are the simplest and easiest to use. If a program gets too complicated, people won't use them.

I like a program that is complete rather than having to purchase different modules to get what I want. I would not want to go back to using a spreadsheet. I did that for a number of years. It worked, but was not as efficient as the program I currently use. Whether you use a trucking specific program or standard accounting program, you will still need to find a way to track certain things in the business in order to stay compliant. From some of your posts, those using Quickbooks can set up a maintenance catagory in the chart of accounts or use a spreadsheet to track maintenance? I suppose that technically, all that is needed is to show the equipment and anything that has been done. For instance, if my truck number is 100 and I buy tires and have a breakdown, I could show the expense under Quickbooks. But, is there a way to show exactly what repairs were made for a maintenance report?

[mndriver]

I was told by our dot auditor when I had my new carrier audit that he wants to see a hardcopy of the work completed. Simple comments, date, mileage and work done. Even when next service is planned. Having electronic copies of it all, he wouldn't look at it. Just old school that way. Either process is dot compliant. Just one is more complicated. So I stuck with paper notebook.

One thing I've come to appreciate since getting my own authority, K.I.S.S. and the simpler, the better. Quicken home&business let's me manage both the business side and the home side as a one-truck operation. I am hard pressed to find something easier in that case.

Should I ever expand and have employees and multiple trucks, I would look into something more powerful and task-minded.

[GMAN]

I keep a hard copy, too. With my current software, I can scan a copy of the invoice and/or work order into the program, assign it to a specific piece of equipment and then print it out any time it is needed. I have had this feature for a while on a previous version of Trucknpro, but have not used it. I plan on doing it this year, mainly as a backup. If I lose a receipt, I can just print out a hard copy, if needed. I could print out a copy for the fmcsa or IRS. In my case, it is also easy to do my IFTA. Having a program where everything is together makes it much easier for me rather than to have to do it with a spreadsheet. Before I started using this program, I used a spreadsheet to do my IFTA. Every quarter I had to check tax tables to make sure it was current. It took time to go through the process. My state has gone to online filing, so I no longer need to do all the state calculations. I just print out a copy of my IFTA state miles and key in the miles and gallons into the state filing program. It does the calculations automatically. I then print out a copy that I can sign and mail to the state. Without having a program specifically to do IFTA, I think you would need to use a spreadsheet or do it manually.

Some DOT people are becoming more accepting of electronic files. I had to have a over size permit redone a couple of years ago. I had a problem with my internet signal, so I was unable to print out a hard copy. I was stopped and inspected in Texas. Of course, he wanted to see my permit. I explained the situation and was finally able to pull up my electronic copy from the internet. He was happy with the emailed permit. I did not have to print a hard copy. I am personally not as comfortable with only having an electronic record. It is too easy for something to happen to destroy the data. But, it seems to be the way we are heading. As long as I can still have a hard copy, I can live with it. There is an advantage to being able to scan fuel receipts. Several years ago, some of the major truck stops went to thermal printers for fuel receipts. Those tend to fade if you lay them in the window where they can be exposed to sunlight. They will also fade within a short time unless you make a photocopy. If you scan them, you will be able to print out a hard copy any time. I wish these truck stops would go back to the larger fuel receipts.

[mndriver]

I can scan any receipt I want I to quicken and attach it to the transaction. For the bigger repairs I do. The washes, oil changes etc, I don't. Mainly because all of that information is data bits and requires lots of storage space. Even as a PDF image.

[GMAN]

It is good you can scan receipts into Quickbooks. I think we will see most accounting programs moving into that direction. I would not consider truck washes as part of maintenance. But, pm's are part of maintenance. I know most maintenance reports that I have seen do track pm's. I track grease jobs, pm's, etc., When I go to my expenses, I can attach it to a specific load or as a free standing expense. If I attach it to a specific piece of equipment and check the maintenance box, it will keep those records with that equipment so I can print it out as needed. I don't know how much disk space it will use, since I have not been scanning in my receipts until this year. But, I have a lot of unused disk space and the software is only limited by the amount of disk space. I could scan in the receipts and save it or back it up on a zip drive. I had not thought about the amount of disk space until now.