Freight & Logistics
Your revenue per mile means nothing without knowing your cost per mile. We track fuel, maintenance, and driver pay by truck so you see what's actually profitable.
The Industry
A fleet owner in Phoenix runs five trucks. Monthly revenue across all of them is around $65,000. After fuel, driver pay, insurance, and truck payments, he figures he’s clearing about $12,000 a month. Good enough. Except when the numbers actually get broken down by truck, two of them are losing money. One has an aging engine eating through maintenance costs every other month. The other runs a dedicated lane at a flat rate that hasn’t kept up with fuel prices since 2022. The three profitable trucks have been quietly subsidizing the two losers for over a year and he had no idea.
Freight and logistics businesses deal with cash flow timing that never matches the work being done. You deliver a load today and wait 30 to 60 days for the broker or shipper to pay. Fuel, tolls, and driver pay can’t wait that long. Factoring fills the gap but takes 2 to 5 percent off every invoice. The math on whether a load was actually profitable only works if you account for all of it. Fuel, insurance, depreciation, maintenance, deadhead miles, and the factoring fee that quietly shaves off the top.
Who This Covers
Who This Covers
Trucking companies from owner-operators to small and mid-size fleets. Freight brokers operating on the spread between shipper rates and carrier costs. Courier and delivery services running high-volume routes. Warehousing operations managing fixed overhead against variable throughput. Any logistics business in the Phoenix area dealing with per-load economics and fleet costs.
What Makes It Complex
What Makes It Complex
Fuel costs that shift weekly. Revenue that arrives weeks or months after the work is done. Factoring company fees and reserves that need reconciling. IFTA fuel tax reporting across multiple states. Equipment loans and depreciation on trucks and trailers. Driver pay calculated per mile, per load percentage, or hourly. Insurance premiums running $8,000 to $15,000 per truck annually. Deadhead miles that cost real money and generate zero revenue.
What We Handle
The foundation of freight accounting is knowing what each truck and each load actually costs to run. We track revenue and expenses by truck, by driver, by route, or by customer depending on what matters most to your operation. Fuel receipts, maintenance invoices, insurance premiums, loan payments, and tolls all get allocated properly so you see real profitability rather than just a total at the bottom of a P&L that hides everything.
If you use a factoring company, we reconcile their statements against your invoices to verify fees and catch discrepancies. Payroll gets handled however your drivers are paid, whether that’s per-mile, percentage of load, or hourly. QuickBooks gets configured to reflect how a trucking or logistics business actually operates instead of using a generic chart of accounts that doesn’t tell you anything useful. We’ve seen the difference between books that were set up right from the start and books that need months of cleanup because nobody thought about the structure.
Per-Truck and Per-Load Profitability
Per-Truck and Per-Load Profitability
Every expense allocated to the right truck and the right load. Fuel, maintenance, tires, insurance, loan payments, permits. Revenue matched to specific loads and customers. Monthly reports showing which trucks are generating profit and which ones cost more than they bring in. Historical data that helps you decide when to repair, when to replace, and which lanes to pursue.
Payroll and Factoring Reconciliation
Payroll and Factoring Reconciliation
Driver payroll processed accurately whether you pay per mile, a percentage of the load, or hourly wages. Factoring statements reconciled against your invoiced amounts so you know exactly what you paid in fees and reserves. Tax deposits and quarterly filings handled on schedule. Year-end 1099s prepared for owner-operators and independent contractors who haul for you.
Common Problems
Most trucking companies don’t know their true cost per mile. They know what a load pays. They have a rough idea of fuel cost. But once you add insurance, maintenance reserves, tires, truck payments, permits, tolls, and the miles driven empty to pick up the next load, the actual cost to move freight is almost always higher than expected. Without that number, you’re accepting loads based on gut feel and either leaving money on the table or losing it entirely without realizing it until the bank account tells you.
Factoring makes the cash flow problem easier to manage but creates an accounting problem that many operators ignore. You invoice $5,000 for a load. The factoring company sends you $4,750 and holds $250 in reserve. That $250 isn’t gone, but it’s not in your account either. The 3 to 5 percent fee over a full year of revenue adds up fast. Operators who treat factored payments as full revenue end up overstating their income and paying more in taxes than they owe.
No Cost-Per-Mile Visibility
No Cost-Per-Mile Visibility
Total revenue and total expenses show up on the monthly P&L. Maybe you know aggregate fuel costs. But insurance allocated per truck, maintenance per truck, depreciation per truck, and deadhead costs never get calculated. A truck grossing $14,000 a month might only net $1,200 after all allocated costs. Or it might be losing money quietly while the profitable trucks in your fleet cover the gap.
Factoring and Tax Surprises
Factoring and Tax Surprises
Factoring fees not separated from revenue inflate your reported income. You show higher earnings than you actually received and pay taxes on money the factor kept. Equipment depreciation doesn’t get handled or gets handled wrong. Per diem deductions for long-haul drivers get missed entirely. Quarterly estimates never get filed and April shows up with a tax bill you didn’t plan for and can’t easily cover.
What Changes
You see profitability by truck, by driver, by lane, by customer. That dedicated route you’ve been running for two years actually pays less per mile than spot market loads when all costs are included. The oldest truck in your fleet costs twice as much in maintenance as the newer ones and should probably be replaced or reassigned. These stop being open questions and start being answers on a report you can read every month.
Cash flow becomes something you plan around instead of react to. You know when payments are hitting, when insurance renewals come due, when the next truck payment pulls from the account. Tax prep captures everything you’re entitled to, from equipment depreciation to fuel tax credits to per diem deductions for drivers on the road. Quarterly estimates keep you ahead of what you owe. Your weekends stop being about spreadsheets and start being about the rest you actually need.
Operational Decisions Based on Data
Operational Decisions Based on Data
Per-truck profitability reports that show which assets earn their keep and which ones don’t. Cost-per-mile calculations that make load acceptance and rate negotiation straightforward instead of hopeful. Maintenance cost trends that tell you when a truck has passed the point of reasonable repair. Customer profitability showing which brokers and shippers are worth your capacity and which ones aren’t.
Financial Stability and Tax Strategy
Financial Stability and Tax Strategy
Equipment depreciation handled properly with Section 179 applied where it makes sense. Factoring fees tracked and reconciled accurately so your taxable income reflects what you actually received. Quarterly estimated taxes filed based on real numbers instead of last year’s guess. Payroll processed without you spending evenings on it. Clean financials that make conversations with banks straightforward when you need financing for the next truck or trailer.
Your Valley of the Sun Bookkeeper
The Next Step:
A Quick Conversation
Tell us what's going on with your books. We'll listen, ask a few questions, and give you a clear quote with no surprises.
