It's a Team's Life

Quarterly Checkup

Quarterly Checkup

Another quarter is in the books. How is your business doing? Are you on track to making a profit? Are you behind? Do you even know? 

If there is one thing that I stress to new owners of a trucking company it is this: “Know your numbers!” What does this mean? Simply, it means that as a business owner you need to know if it is operating at a profit or a loss. How does a business owner do that? They either keep track of every transaction of income and expenses on their own or they hire someone else to do this for them. 

Are you someone who enjoys doing bookkeeping? Or do you find data entry tedious or boring? Do you find bookkeeping to be in the way of working ON the business because you are working too much IN the business. So many businesses have failed because the owner focused on their strengths and forgot to delegate necessary tasks in which they may not find enjoyment. 

Also, new business owners often have to wear many different hats such as CEO, CFO and COO all at the same time. They believe that they cannot afford to hire an accountant or a business attorney or an advertising company to name of few. The truth is that in order for a business to be profitable, the owner needs to determine what is needed to make and keep the business profitable. If a bookkeeper is needed to help you “know your numbers,” hire a bookkeeper and an accountant. While it will cost you to hire this task out, in the end the cost will help you to be profitable as you can see monthly, quarterly and annually how your business is doing. If one month shows a slowdown in income or a rise in costs, you can make quick changes in the next month to reverse the slowdown and possibly show a profit. Also, you can compare month to month, quarter to quarter and annual to annual over many years to plan for future growth as well as slumps that may happen on a regular basis.

In trucking, it is very important for business owners to keep track of certain expenses. Let’s look at one in particular: fuel costs. By keeping track of your fuel and DEF costs you might be able to determine that there is more maintenance costs in your future. If fuel costs have stayed relatively consistent but your fuel expenses are going up; this could be an indication of something going on with your engine. Higher DEF costs might be a sign that your DPF system might require maintenance. By knowing these numbers on a monthly basis you can be proactive in maintaining your equipment. This will save you lost downtime and income.

Here’s to safe, profitable and knowledgeable miles.

Kelly Plumb