Road Ready Guide · Bookkeeping basics
Bookkeeping for truck drivers: the weekly and monthly checklist
Short answer: Good truck driver bookkeeping comes down to three habits: record each settlement at gross every week, reconcile every account to its statement every month, and keep business and personal spending apart. Do those and your books match your bank, your 1099 and what a lender will ask to see.
Before you start: three setup rules
- One business bank account for settlements and business spending, and ideally one business card. Mixing personal spending in creates most of the cleanup work later.
- Bookkeeping software with bank feeds, such as QuickBooks Online, so transactions download instead of being typed.
- A chart of accounts built for trucking, with accounts for settlements, tolls, insurance, escrow and your truck loan. Here's the one we use.
Every week
- Save the settlement sheet as a PDF.
- Check its math: gross plus reimbursements minus deductions equals net. (How to read a settlement sheet.)
- Record it at gross, with each deduction in its own account and escrow as an asset.
- When the deposit shows up in your bank feed, match it to the entry you recorded. Don't add it again; adding creates a duplicate that doubles your income.
- Snap receipts the day you get them.
Every month
- Categorize every bank and card transaction; personal spending goes to owner draw.
- Reconcile the bank account and every card to its statement. The difference should be $0.00.
- Watch for twin payments: when your bank and your card both feed your software, a card payment can appear twice. Before reclassifying an odd payment, look for its twin within a few days on the other account.
- Split loan payments into principal and interest using your lender's figures.
- Check your escrow balance against the latest settlement sheet.
- Look at the balance sheet: any negative bank or card balance means something's missing or doubled.
- Save that month's profit and loss and balance sheet as PDFs.
Every quarter
Print a year-to-date profit and loss and give it to whoever handles your estimated tax payments, so they can work from what you actually earned this year.
At year-end
- Compare your settlement income for the year with the carrier's year-to-date gross and, when it arrives, the 1099.
- Get loan interest totals from each lender.
- Make a list of questions for your tax preparer, for example how your truck is being depreciated, or which method applies to your road meals.
Too much to keep up with from the cab? That's the job of Monthly Books, $89 a month.
Common questions
What bookkeeping software do truck drivers use?
Common choices are QuickBooks Online, trucking-specific apps, or a bookkeeping service. Whatever you pick, bank feeds and an easy way to attach settlement sheets and receipts matter most.
How often should an owner-operator do bookkeeping?
Settlements weekly, reconciliation monthly, a year-to-date report quarterly, and a 1099 check at year-end.
Do I need a separate bank account for my truck?
It isn't legally required for a sole proprietor, but one business account makes your books, your taxes and any loan application far simpler.
What is owner draw?
It's money you take out of the business for personal use, including personal purchases made with a business card. It isn't an expense.
How do I know my books are right?
Every account reconciles to its statement, your settlement income matches the carrier's year-to-date gross, and there are no negative bank or card balances on your balance sheet.