[mndriver]

How is a drivers file related to financial planning and management? Same with maintenance management. Scheduling a pm service is totally separate from quarterly profit and loss statements.

I like the features you are talking about, but fundamentally, they are the software bloat mentioned several posts ago.


Even if one were to have 100 trucks, many things could be stream lined rather easily by separating revenue from miles driven and paid for salary. Granted these are my opinions only. It's just the management practices I am lining up should I ever decide to go that route.

In my mind, drivers would be paid a salary. Just as dispatch would be. The expectations for all is minimal miles and maximum revenue. The expectations for dispatch is >$225,000 gross income. The driver would do what is needed to ensure the truck is ready to move those loads. If that means he drives 50 miles four times in a day and makes $900 gross revenue in a day, that's a good day. But the driver still would have earned a living wage.

I guess that's why I struggle with the software bloat I see in so many packages.

[Malaki86]

Since I'm a sole proprieter, leasing a truck with a carrier, I went "simple" and use Quicken Home & Business. It has the premium side of Quicken, along with limited business tracking. I don't track my loads mileage (paid percentage), but at the end of each month, quarter & year, I simply export my profit & loss report into Excel and add a new column for the miles. That breaks it down to income per mile per category, as well as cost per mile.

I track the income for each load with a customer invoice and any expenses paid to the carrier via a bill.

It's working out pretty good and, since it does my personal finances as well, it's easy to see everything all in one place, plus, my bank accounts are all at the same bank, so i can very easily transfer money between accounts from directly inside of Quicken.

[mndriver]

I don't think my thoughts are making it out.


I see the truck no different as an injection molding machine. The one thing that really needs to be managed is miles driven for IFTA. Since that's really a tax collected based on miles driven just as other industries collect retail sales tax. But that's easier since that tax is based on retail sales income.

[Malaki86]

Glad I don't have to track IFTA miles (Schneider files those). I only need to track physical miles per month.

[mndriver]

Originally Posted by Malaki86

Glad I don't have to track IFTA miles (Schneider files those). I only need to track physical miles per month.

Even leased on to a carrier, you are still responsible for ensure that your IFTA is correct. At the least, you should have quarterly reports sent to you.

[GMAN]

We are required to keep a driver qualifications file by the fmcsa. The drivers file includes that information, but also has his wage information, gross and net revenue by driver. That helps me in financial planning to see what is profitable for the driver and for the company. I can generate a profit and loss, cost and revenue by mile and see where the most profitable lanes that any driver runs. It gives me current and historical data. The driver file also tells me how a particular driver is paid. I can set him up to pay mileage, percentage or hourly or a combination if it includes detention. That helps in planning and ultimately revenue enhancement.

Maintenance files are important to check to see if a particular piece of equipment or driver has unusually high maintenance costs. It also can show whether pm's could be extended to be more efficient. I break down my maintenance a little more than others, such as having a separate thing for tires. I can look at maintenance records and check tires. If a particular driver has a higher number of tire issues, it may be something that needs to be addressed. In any business it is just as critical, if not more so, to keep tight controls on costs. You could have a million dollars in revenue, but if you don't know your costs of operations, you could be going broke. Maintenance is on of the primary costs associated with running a truck. Poor maintenance has put many owner operators out of business. From a financial standpoint, it should be of great concern to any owner and something that is given priority in financial planning.

Making sure your equipment is well serviced and maintained is a good way to make sure the truck is ready to go when it is time to load. There are some drivers who also feel like drivers should be paid hourly. That is much easier to deal with locally than over the road. I still prefer performance pay for otr drivers. It is just not practical from an owners point of view to pay hourly for all time in the truck. Without an incentive, such as mileage or percentage, there would be little reason for a driver to exceed expectations. Drivers can and do earn a good living with performance pay rather than hourly pay. I don't know where you came up with an expectation of $225,000 for dispatch, but that would be a reasonable goal.

I don't see the software I am using as having a lot of bloat since I use pretty much everything that is in the program. I do agree that some software programs fail to meet expectations, especially for the cost. I think in your situation, if I understand you correctly, you are only interested in basic information on running your truck. Quicken seems to work for you. I do like the interaction with the bank you have with the program. If software has features you don't use or need it could be considered as being bloated.

[mndriver]

Revenue is determined by the load hauled. Not by the driver. Just as a driver is nothing more than an equipment operator like an injection molding plant worker. One produces miles, the other widgets. But its still the sales staff that generates the loads. If the factory worker paid by piece count? They are paid hourly.

I agree with you on maintenance. Next to fuel, I track this religiously.


Its interesting seeing different points of how people mook at things. I've been going through quicken this weekend ensuring things again are ready for tax man. Again, I set up my chart of accounts and categories based off the schedule c. The smaller and closer I can keep the two, the easier it makes accounting and tax season. The only thing I want out of the finance software related to IFTA is writing the check. Home&Business will let a guy do paychecks etc, but QuickBooks do it better.

[Malaki86]

I set up my business categories up in Quicken to match the Schedule C, as well. Makes it really nice to pull the tax info quickly. I don't have to worry about writing a paycheck being a sole proprietor - just transfer my 'pay' from the business account to the personal account once a week, along with transferring money for quarterly taxes to a completely seperate savings account.