Last updated: September 2026
Quick answer: QuickBooks works well as the accounting system for a trucking company, but it doesn't understand loads, driver settlements, IFTA, or cost per mile. The setup most carriers settle on is QuickBooks Online Plus for the books and taxes, connected to a TMS that handles dispatch, load invoicing, and driver pay, with customers, invoices, and payments syncing between the two.
This guide covers which QuickBooks plan to buy, how to build a trucking chart of accounts, how to track profit per truck, how to handle factoring and fuel cards, and the signs you've outgrown running the business on QuickBooks alone.
Can you run a trucking company on QuickBooks?
Up to a point. QuickBooks Online is solid general-ledger software. It handles your chart of accounts, invoices, bills, bank feeds, payroll (as an add-on), and the reports your accountant needs at tax time. Most bookkeepers and CPAs already know it, which saves you money every year.
What it doesn't have is anything built for trucking. There's no load, no lane, no rate confirmation, no driver settlement, no IFTA mileage by state, and no way to tie a fuel card swipe to a specific truck. All of that gets calculated somewhere else, usually a spreadsheet or a TMS, and then typed into QuickBooks.
For an owner-operator running one truck, that's manageable. For a fleet running 10 or more trucks, the retyping becomes a part-time job.
QuickBooks alone vs. QuickBooks + a TMS
| Task | QuickBooks alone | QuickBooks + TMS |
|---|---|---|
| General ledger, P&L, taxes | Strong | Stays in QuickBooks |
| Invoicing customers for loads | Typed in one load at a time | Created from delivered loads with the POD attached |
| Driver settlements | Built by hand outside QuickBooks | Calculated in the TMS, totals sync to QuickBooks |
| Fuel card transactions | One lump sum in the bank feed | Imported per driver and truck, applied to settlements |
| IFTA | Not supported | Miles by state pulled from ELD data |
| Factoring | Manual journal entries | Tracked per invoice in the TMS, then synced |
| Dispatch, tracking, driver app | Not supported | Handled in the TMS |
| Double data entry | Every load | Removed by the sync |
Which QuickBooks plan should a trucking company use?
Intuit raised QuickBooks Online list prices on August 1, 2026. Here's where each plan stands for a carrier:
| Plan | List price (per month) | Good fit for |
|---|---|---|
| Simple Start | $38 | Owner-operator with one truck and simple books |
| Essentials | $85 | Small operation that needs bill tracking and a few users |
| Plus | $140 | Most fleets: class and location tracking for per-truck P&L |
| Advanced | $340 | Larger fleets with more users, approval workflows, and heavier reporting |
Plus is the sweet spot for most fleets because class tracking is what lets you see profit by truck. Intuit runs frequent promos and partner discounts, so check current QuickBooks pricing before you subscribe.
If you're still on QuickBooks Desktop, know that Intuit has been steering small businesses toward QuickBooks Online and has stopped selling most Desktop editions to new U.S. customers. Truckpedia's integration connects to QuickBooks Online.
How to set up QuickBooks for a trucking company
1. Build a trucking chart of accounts
The default chart of accounts is built for a generic small business. Rework it so your P&L reads like a trucking P&L:
- Income: linehaul revenue, fuel surcharge, detention, layover, TONU, lumper reimbursements.
- Direct costs (cost of hauling): driver wages, owner-operator settlements, fuel, tolls, repairs and maintenance, tires, truck and trailer insurance, permits, truck payments or lease.
- Overhead: office payroll, rent, software, factoring fees, professional fees.
Keeping direct costs separate from overhead is what makes cost per mile a number you can trust.
2. Set up products and services to match your charges
Create a service item for each thing you bill: linehaul, fuel surcharge, detention, stop-off, lumper. Map each one to the matching income account. Your invoices will then show the same line items your customers see on the rate confirmation, and your revenue reports will split out accessorials automatically.
3. Track profit per truck with classes
Turn on class tracking (Plus or Advanced) and create one class per truck. Tag every invoice line and every expense with its truck. Your P&L by class then shows which units earn money and which ones are eating it. If you run multiple terminals or divisions, use locations for those and keep classes for trucks.
4. Set up owner-operators and vendors for 1099s
Add each owner-operator as a vendor, collect a W-9, and mark them as 1099-eligible. Their settlement payments then roll into your year-end 1099-NEC report instead of being pieced together in January.
5. Handle factoring the right way
If you factor, record the invoice at its full amount. When the factor pays the advance, record the deposit, post the factoring fee to an expense account, and hold the reserve as a receivable from the factoring company until it's released. Recording only the advance as revenue understates your income and makes your books impossible to reconcile. Your accountant can set up the exact entries for your factoring agreement.
6. Clean up fuel cards and bank feeds
Fuel card charges usually hit the bank feed as one weekly lump sum. Set bank rules for recurring vendors, and use your fuel card's transaction export (or your TMS) to split fuel by truck and driver. That detail is also what you'll need for IFTA and for fuel advances on settlements.
7. Connect your TMS
This is the step that removes double entry. A good QuickBooks integration syncs customers, invoices, and payments, so a load is billed once in the system that already knows the rate, the stops, and the POD. Truckpedia's QuickBooks Online integration works this way: a delivered load becomes an invoice, and the invoice and payment show up in QuickBooks without anyone retyping them.
What QuickBooks can't do for a trucking company
- Driver settlements. Pay per mile, per load, hourly, or by percentage, plus fuel advances, escrow, and recurring deductions, all need logic QuickBooks doesn't have. Our driver settlements guide walks through every pay type.
- IFTA. Quarterly fuel tax returns need miles and gallons by jurisdiction. That data lives in your ELD and fuel cards. The IFTA, Inc. site has the filing rules for each member jurisdiction.
- Load-level profit. QuickBooks can show profit by truck or customer, but not by load or lane unless you build that by hand.
- Document tracking. Rate cons, BOLs, and PODs don't belong in your ledger. Missing paperwork is one of the main reasons invoices go out late. See how to fix missing PODs.
- Dispatch and tracking. No load board, no driver app, no check calls.
Signs you've outgrown QuickBooks-only
- Invoicing eats your evenings, and loads sit unbilled for days waiting on paperwork.
- Settlement day takes the whole office a full day.
- Nobody trusts the fuel numbers.
- You can't say which truck made money last month without an hour in a spreadsheet.
- Your bookkeeper spends more time typing than reconciling.
Around 10 trucks, the labor spent re-keying dispatch data into QuickBooks usually costs more than a TMS does. Here's the math on what spreadsheets really cost a fleet.
The fix isn't replacing QuickBooks. Your accountant keeps working in QuickBooks, and your operation stops feeding it by hand. Brown Dog Carriers, a 25-truck fleet, cut roughly 35 hours a week of invoicing and driver pay work by automating exactly this loop with Truckpedia. Truckpedia's Professional plan is $299 a month for up to 10 trucks, with all features included.
FAQ
Is QuickBooks good for trucking companies?
Yes, for accounting: general ledger, bank reconciliation, taxes, and financial reports. It has no concept of loads, driver settlements, or IFTA, so most carriers pair it with a TMS or spreadsheets for the operational side.
Which QuickBooks plan is best for a trucking company?
QuickBooks Online Plus fits most small and mid-size fleets because class and location tracking lets you run a P&L per truck. At the August 2026 list price it costs $140 a month. Owner-operators with one truck can start on Simple Start or Essentials.
Does QuickBooks do IFTA reporting?
No. IFTA needs miles and fuel gallons by jurisdiction, which come from ELD and fuel card data, not your books. A TMS connected to your ELD produces that report; QuickBooks only records the tax payment.
Can QuickBooks handle driver settlements?
Not natively. QuickBooks can pay a bill or run payroll, but it can't calculate pay per mile, per load, or percentage of revenue, or apply fuel advances and escrow deductions. A TMS builds the settlement and syncs the totals to QuickBooks.
What trucking software integrates with QuickBooks Online?
Several TMS platforms do, including Truckpedia, which syncs customers, invoices, and payments with QuickBooks Online. When you compare options, test the sync during a trial, because some integrations only push invoices one way.
Do I still need an accountant if I use QuickBooks and a TMS?
Yes. The TMS removes the data entry, but an accountant still handles tax planning, depreciation on trucks and trailers, and year-end filings. QuickBooks stays the system they work in.
See it with your own loads. Connect QuickBooks Online to Truckpedia and watch a delivered load turn into an invoice without typing it twice. Start with Truckpedia or book a 20-minute demo.