The need to keep financial transactions in order and fully control them is one of the main goals of any business, not only in the transport industry. However, when it comes to this particular type of business activity, it becomes clear that ordinary Google Spreadsheets cannot cope with all the tasks assigned to them. Actually, for these reasons, these companies implement specialized accounting software. Below, we will check the benefits of such implementation, and also analyze five software solutions that have won the favor of trucking companies around the world.
What Is Trucking Accounting Software?
So, let's start with a definition: trucking company accounting software is an application or system equipped with the functionality necessary to monitor and maintain the company's financial flows. Using such software solutions, you make these flows controllable, transparent, and understandable for you and your employees.
Why You Need Accounting Software for Your Trucking Business
Now, let's find out what benefits trucking companies receive after introducing accounting software into their business processes:
- More efficient management of financial flows provided by automation, from payroll calculation to expense tracking and financial reporting;
- Increased accuracy of calculations, including all possible expense items and sources of income, achieved through automatic invoice generation;
- Compliance with regulations ranging from Hours of Service Regulations (FMCSA) to the International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA).
Taken together, all these advantages make trucking accounting software a truly invaluable attribute of the companies’ daily activities.
How to Choose the Right Trucking Accounting Software
Considering the wide variety of ready-made accounting solutions aimed at meeting the needs of the transportation business, choosing the best among them is not so easy. However, there is a kind of checklist that will help you quickly make your choice:
- Pricing. For many companies, this aspect is decisive, so it should be taken into account first when considering the most suitable options. In particular, there are comprehensive solutions with functionality that go far beyond traditional accounting systems – often, they cover the tasks of several departments at once, including logistics, HR, planning, etc. Thus, you should first analyze such solutions as their deployment is likely to be as cost-effective as possible.
- Features and available integrations. While the basic accounting functionality in the vast majority of ready-made software products is identical to each other, the customization capabilities in each such product will be different. You should also check whether the solution you choose has the ability to integrate with the rest of the software fleet that you use in your daily business processes – thanks to this, you can ensure seamless data transfer from one system to another.
- Usability. As practice shows, some accounting tools have a high entry threshold, so if your accounting team is used to working with Excel spreadsheets or the like, you'll probably need to look for a solution that has a very simple user interface without unnecessary features and settings.
- Scalability. If your business is going to scale later, your accounting software for trucking companies should be able to scale with it in sync. Otherwise, you will need to perform a migration, which carries the risk of data loss and business downtime.
Top 5 Accounting Software Solutions for Trucking Companies
Below, we have prepared a list of five off-the-shelf accounting solutions that definitely deserve your attention.
QuickBooks Online
QuickBooks Online is a popular, scalable web solution for accounting departments, ideally tailored to the needs of transportation companies and more. With quick and easy access from any web browser, your employees can do everything they need to do on any device.
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Please note that while its functionality for managing financial transactions is extensive (and, at the same time, quite complex for beginners), it is still not tailored to the needs of transport companies specifically, so if you are looking for additional customization, you may have to consider its integration with a number of niche software solutions as well.
Q7
This is comprehensive software (available on desktop (Windows-only), and cloud versions) that is characterized by seamless integration with many other software solutions for the transportation industry. Here, you will find both basic accounting functions (dynamic salary calculator, accounts payable and receivable calculator, etc.), and those aimed at solving narrowly focused tasks of transport companies (assessment of truck loads, communication with brokers, freight invoicing, tracking fuel costs, etc.).
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Please note that Q7 developers do not share their pricing policies – moreover, the final cost of the license often depends on the set of features you choose.
Rigbooks
This IFTA-compliant software tool will allow your account team to track and manage orders, trips, expenses, and fuel consumption in real time. Moreover, thanks to its widespread availability, Rigbooks has no any user number restrictions and allows financial data to be transferred directly from the driver's cab.
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Overall, this is a great choice for small and mid-size shipping companies looking for a one-stop solution to cover basic financial management needs.
Axon
Axon is another flexible and fully integrated software solution for accounting departments in the trucking business. In terms of key features, there is a salary calculator, a set of tools for fleet management, a dispatch panel, a truckload calculator, and an IFTA tax calculator.
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In general, thanks to Axon’s advanced customizability, you will definitely not experience any problems associated with excessive manual data entry because it will be transferred from system to system automatically.
Zoho Books
Despite not being initially intended for transportation companies and lacking useful integrations, Zoho Books is customizable enough to meet the vast majority of the needs of the average trucking company. In particular, thanks to extensive automation capabilities, such as calculating accounts payable and receivable, calculating salaries for drivers, managing fuel and maintenance bills, etc., this mobile tool can become your indispensable assistant in financial management.
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Please note that the pricing policy of Zoho Books implies charging an additional fee for each new connected user.
Efficient Car Hauling with Haulk
Considering all the limitations of the above software solutions, the most reasonable choice would be to implement a comprehensive system that has functionality tailored to the needs of transportation companies.
In particular, you can check out the capabilities of Haulk, which has a specialized Salary section where you can automatically calculate salaries for your drivers depending on its format (for each new mile, for each new hour of driving, or a fixed percentage of the order). Soon, we will also implement integration with QuickBooks Online to enrich this system with essential accounting tools.
