Though not everyone fully appreciates its importance, freight is an essential part of the economy in our country. Transportation services are more and more needed to deliver the goods to its final destination. But it isn’t just the freight companies, the brokers, or the drivers. It is so much more.
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This industry affects so many, from the manufacturer (those who make the products) to consumer (who actually buys the delivered products). Not to mention the mechanics, diners, and others whose livelihood either directly or indirectly relies in the trucking industry.
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Then when you consider all the liabilities, regulations, and agencies dabbling in the process it can often seem overwhelming. And all of this adds to the cost of doing business and trying to get freight from point A to point B.
The truth be told, this actually it is quite a process that requires a lot of attention, special detail, hands on involvement, and full understanding of the various issues and associated cost. But once you sift through all the official information you’ll see that being a part of this industry is not as overwhelming as it may have looked at the beginning.
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Being an owner of a trucking business requires a lot of experience and a strong support staff. It takes more than just knowing this type of business and the ever-changing laws and regulations.
It also requires knowing the trucking industry expenses and how to cut them. In order to remain competitive, one must think of ways to stay cost effective and follow the legal guidelines, but do this, while at the same time utilizing time management and up to date techniques.
So at the end of the day you bring more profit back to your business, with less money going out to other expenses.
In today’s trucking industry there are numerous factors affecting the way business is conducted. I have touched on several of these in my previous articles; I feel it is important to stress them, whenever I can.
We are all well aware of the obvious concerns and things such as rising truck maintenance costs, unpredictable fuel costs, ever-changing laws and regulations and even industry competition. Not to mention safety and liability issues.
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When it comes to reducing the expenses, effectively saving and cutting cost in your organization, there are few tips, which can help you, improve your business’ profitability. While at the same time save you a lot of undo stress in the long run.
The key topic that I am going to speak about today is Trucking Accounting. If you as an owner maintain a proper accounting, by doing so, you will reduce operating cost; while at the same time raise the profit margin on an enormous scale.
So here are just a few helpful tips to hopefully help make your organization to be prosperous one.
1. Always Be Punctual
In this dynamic world we are living in today, punctuality is quite important. Time is money, so don’t waste yours and somebody else’s time, and use it wisely. Think about it this way. If you go to the doctor’s office they expect you to be on time, if not early.
But what if the doctor is late? How does that make you feel? After about 20 minutes you want to find another doctor. Of course you won’t, mostly because of limited choices. Well in the trucking industry that is not the case. They have options.
Why let showing up late, or always waiting for the last minute, or completely forgetting an appointment, cost your business clients? As a matter of fact it not only just cost you, it can go as far as even losing your business! Being seen as late send a message, that their time is not as valuable as yours or you value your time more than you value theirs.
Regardless if this is true or not, you have to notice how your actions affect other people. If you show up 20 minutes late, now everything else associated with that is going to be pushed back. Your driver might have even missed their unloading time and now must wait.
Source: www.newyork.com
To help you, here is some good advice:
- Make a plan ahead of time about your weekly and daily responsibilities and stick to the plan.
- Make punctuality one of your core values. Because as we stated, if it isn’t you’ll lose more than just clients.
- Anticipate delays before they happen. Be predictive, and always keep the client informed.
2. Collect your Documents in One Place
The funny thing about documentation is that it will disappear when you need it most. This is especially true if you don’t have a set system for proper records keeping and storage.
Regardless if it a paper based or an electronic based system it must be well organized. Keep it as simple as is reasonable to your operation. Records should be handled correctly and kept within their appropriate departments, operations, sales, HR, and other administrative records should all have a special place and a system for tracking them.
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Never let just one person have the full and complete responsibility of keeping track of records. One person should oversee and be in control, but everyone in the administration department should have a strong grasp of the system.
However, if too many people are involved the system will be a mess, because everyone has their way of doing it. But if only one person knows the system, what do you do when they get sick or quite? So have your office manager or other designated person put in charge of all official documents, but make sure your other administrative staff understand the system.
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3. Always Instruct Drivers to Send You Original Documents
Running a fleet can be quite overwhelming and tons of work! But as long as you keep on track of the things that matter, and enjoy what you are doing, it can be a fun and exciting experience too.