TIPS FOR TRUCK DRIVERS ON RECORD KEEPING

Only a small percentage of people enjoy doing paperwork. It is, however, a necessary evil in many professions.

Truck drivers, after all, are required to keep trip logs to be compensated for their labor. They may also require this information to file their taxes correctly.

There’s also the reality that being organized saves you a lot of time. It enables you to obtain all of the information you require in a matter of minutes.

Truck drivers must keep records for truckers solutions, but it does not have to be difficult.

RECORD KEEPING FOR TRUCK DRIVERS: 5 BASIC TIPS

1. On a regular basis, sort and organize your receipts. Don’t put it off till the end of the month because this is one duty that will inevitably pile up over time, and by then, you may have forgotten what the receipts were for.
2. When you get your receipts, label them, so they’re easier to file.
3. Create and use a simple trucker bookkeeping system that meets your needs.
4. Unless documents are over ten years old, keep them because the authorities may want to see them at a later date. Anything older than that, on the other hand, can and should be thrown out once a year.
5. Listen to some fantastic music while enjoying a good snack.

TIPS FOR KEEPING RECORDS AND MANAGING TRIP REPORTS

Send trip reports to your employer. For each voyage, most companies ask their drivers to complete and submit a trip report. This enables them to verify the trips of their personnel and pay them appropriately. Different firms have different procedures for this, so you should educate yourself with the ones in the place where you work.

Keep a copy of all documents. Truck drivers should keep a complete set of records for each trip they take. Keeping track of these documents in digital format is a good approach to do so. To produce a digital copy of each trip-related document and then store it on your phone or computer for future reference.

Make a summary of your journey. Keeping a journal with a summary of each trip you take is a smart idea. You should include the date the journey began and concluded, your trailer number, the number of miles you traveled, and any drops or pickups you made. You should also put any pertinent receipts in the book, either by stapling or paper clipping them in. When it comes to storing supporting documents, notebooks with pockets are also useful. Just remember to write down any particular instructions you received from the dispatcher/company, as well as anything unexpected that occurred throughout the trip. All of this information will come in helpful if you need it in the future for reference.

Make Envelopes for Your Trip. You just keep all trip-related documents (logs, receipts, B.O.L., and so on) in a huge envelope using this manner. A trip summary should also be written or attached to the outside for easy reference. These envelopes can then be housed in a huge box with the relevant year labeled on it as well as some brief content notes. (Banker’s boxes, available at big merchants like Walmart, Target, and Staples, are ideal for this.) This technique of record-keeping is very useful for owner-operators and independent truck drivers.

Read More: Things You Should Know About Freight Mover Company

EXPENSE RECEIPTS MANAGEMENT

1. Gather your receipts and file them in an accordion-style binder.
2. Sort these documents into suitable categories on a regular basis, such as fuel, tolls, parking, and maintenance.
3. Place the receipts in the folder by bundling or clipping them together by category.
4. Tally the receipts in each category at the end of each month.
5. The category name and the aggregate sum should be written on the bundle of receipts.

Because you’ve previously calculated the various spending totals, organizing your receipts this way will save you time in the long run. This information is now easily accessible to your trucking bookkeeping and accounting services.

Calculating these figures can even save you money because you won’t have to hire a trucking tax accountant else to comb through your stacks of receipts and add them up.

MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR RECORDS MANAGEMENT

Extra sets of maintenance records should be kept for personal files by truck owners and operators.

Any pertinent documents should be copied, hole punched, and filed in three-ring binders. Putting the documents in chronological sequence is a smart idea.

When it’s time to sell or trade in your truck, these binders will come in useful. And you can choose a financial advisory consultant for the same.

With this documentation on hand, potential purchasers can examine the vehicle’s history for themselves. It should also show that the truck was well-maintained during its time on the road.

A FINAL COMMENT

Although keeping records is rarely a pleasurable experience, it is an important obligation for truck drivers.

Bookkeeping for Trucking company, Tax audits, incorrect pay statements, and warranty difficulties are all common job-related issues that require written proof to verify the situation’s rights and wrongs.

You can access the information you need when you need it the most if your files are nicely structured for trucking bookkeeping services. It’s moments like this when you’ll be glad you put in the effort to keep track of everything, as frustrating as it may be.