Building Your Business Plan Spreadsheet
- Thread starter ATeam
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Probably not with real live comparative data to enable the comparison between different compensation methods.
And probably there are at least some expediters, if not many, who haven't really learned how to use spreadsheets, or even know what they are, or what they can do. Personally, I find that thing that is available at OOIDA's website to be lacking in a major way, and perhaps this one that ATeam is trying to get together will be more meaningful for many.
When we first started I downloaded the OOIDA spreadsheet and I played with our numbers. I used the spreadsheet as a guide to get me started on the right path and they redefined the spreadsheet to fit my needs.
Here is the link to OOIDA's spreadsheet with an explanation of each line item:
Figuring Cost Per Mile - Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association
This could help with ATeams spreadsheet as more members will understand why the OOIDA spreadsheet is not geared towards expediters.
Here is the link to OOIDA's spreadsheet with an explanation of each line item:
Figuring Cost Per Mile - Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association
This could help with ATeams spreadsheet as more members will understand why the OOIDA spreadsheet is not geared towards expediters.
That's the thing about people, they are people, and people don't do things the same way. I am not developing a spreadsheet for you. I am developing a spreadsheet for all expediters. There are expediters who do things you don't even dream of, and there are others who don't do things you cannot imagine not doing yourself.
When developing a one-size-fits-all spreadsheet, I need to know things that you may not think are important, and I may set up the sheet in a way that you would not. Kindly keep my purpose in mind. I am not developing a spreadsheet for you. I am developing a spreadsheet for everyone.
Where you may complain about micro-managing postage stamps, I talk about the importance about tracking EVERY PENNY. I believe it is important for expediters to know their actual profits and losses; to the penny. The spreadsheet I am developing will help those who are interested in doing exactly that. It will also help expediter wannabees see on EO, perhaps for the first time ever, a comprehensive, real-world list of the revenue and expenses they will deal with when they enter the business.
Regarding postage stamps. We all use them. One expediter may prefer to document each time one is used for business purposes. Another may prefer list each purchase of a full book or roll. Yet another may buy two rolls of stamps, one for business use that is deductible for tax purposes, and one for personal use (greeting cards to relatives, home cable TV bill, etc.).
Let me worry about how to sort that out and build these individual needs and preferences into a profit and loss statement (spreadsheet) that works for everyone. At this point in the project, those who are interested in seeing this project succeed can best support me by listing the BUSINESS expenses they had in the last month.
I don't need to know about personal expenses like your cable TV bill at home. I do need to know how much you paid to mail or ship your business letters and packages.
Would it be easier to create a more general category like "correspondence" that includes postage stamps, overnight packages and fax fees? Easier yes, but more effective no.
The more detailed your spreadsheet is, the more useful it can be as a management tool. Say a correspondence category shows $50 last month. That's fine. But if a more detailed breakdown reveals that you are spending $35 a month to fax stuff, that expense category can be reviewed to find a better way.
Fair warning: You are talking to the guy who can tell you what shoe polish he used for business purposes and what was not.
The finished product will include more detail than almost everyone will be comfortable with. But it will also tell a story about the true costs of operating your business and how much money you are really making or losing out here.
My finished product will be the STARTING POINT for anyone who wishes to adapt the downloadable spreadsheet to their individual preferences and needs.
If you want to lump two dozen items into a single category called truck supplies, you will be able to easily do so by simply deleting the rows you dislike and naming a remaining row "truck supplies." But to do even that, you -- and especially newbies -- will need to have an idea of what an expediter's truck supply costs include; thus the level of detail in my project.
Again, at this point in the project, people who are interested in seeing the project succeed can support me by listing your expenses items and amounts from the last month.
Did you pay for a DOT inspection? How much was it? Did you have an unscheduled major repair? How much was that? Did you pay tolls? How much did you pay?
You need only look at last month's check book register, fuel card statement, bank statements and credit card statements to find out.
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I have seen several spreadsheets that expediters use and/or developed for their use. Having launched this project, I'd be interested in seeing any additional spreadsheets expediters wish to share. Confidentiality is promised. I will not publish anyone's spreadsheet but will review them for good ideas to build into the profit and loss spreadsheet I am developing here.
If you have a spreadsheet to share, please contact me by private message.
I will if people like you and others share some or all of the expenses you had last month. I'm focusing on a flat-rate, dry box, straight truck now but the finished product can be easily adapted to any kind of truck or van.
I agree. It is important for people to see the spreadsheet as it is being built. Google Docs is an option. I'm waiting to discuss this with Lawrence to see what he may prefer or recommend.
The finished product will be available online free of charge. You will be able to download and modify it to taste. If you screw it up on your computer it will be no problem. Just download it again and start fresh.
I am aware of the differences and will indeed build a spreadsheet that accommodates them all. Again, I am building a spreadsheet for everyone, not just for FDCC flat rate contractors. But I have to start with something so let me carry the FDCC flat rate truck through to the end, OK?
To give you a sense of where I am headed, look at the lines below. Notice that there is no line for unpaid deadhead. This is the revenue section. If something does not produce income, it is not revenue.
MILES THIS MONTH
1. Dispatched miles (FDCC definition)
2. Loaded miles
3. Paid deadhead miles
(Use and delete rows 1-3 as appropriate to your situation. When one or more rows are deleted, the remain rows will automatically be used to calculate your total revenue figure in row 10 below.)
REVENUE (Monthly)
4. Mileage revenue ($1.00 x line 1)
5. Loaded mileage pay (Loaded mile rate x line 2)
6. Deadhead mileage pay (Deadhead mile rate x line 3)
(Use and delete rows 4-6 as appropriate to your situation. When one or more rows are deleted, the remaining rows will automatically be included in your total revenue figure in row 10 below.)
7. Fuel surcharge ($0.306 x line 1)
8. Accessorials (zero assumed in this case)
9. Toll money paid to the truck.
10. TOTAL REVENUE: (Sum of lines 4-9)
Now back to my request. I need to know from as many straight truck drivers who care to share, what your expenses were last month? On what did you spend money and how much did you spend?
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Good luck with that. oh, and you do not need to devolpe a spreadsheet for me, I have one.
So, your spreadsheet sounds( or your way of thinking), like you will be spending a lot of time just putting numbers into it. Why use a avg FSC. I use actual. Once I enter miles rates and any other income, enter fuel, thats it for that run. Keeps a running total for current month, When I buy my yearly "Stamps" I enter into the month they were obtained.
I guess you need a G/L to input your cost by line item, by G/L number you will have to then have "Your" spreadsheet roll it into your P&L. (Good luck with that too)
It will have to be simple But, if you have already closed your mind to suggustions, why even ask?
Some will say, "I don't need no stinking spreadsheet" If they have money left over and in the bank that is good enough for them. Others won't. I need to know this and that. I do not need to know how much I spend on one coke or stamp. I will expense my postage, fax, overnights and copies in one line item as they happen. I start my month out with 200 dollars in cash. at the end of the month, do I have 200 dollars in recepts...no, I enter it in one line item.
Spreadsheets work for us we don't need to work for them.
You have been doing this for a long time, you know your cost, and I'm sure over the years you have accounted for all "off the wall" exspenses. Build it on that, then send it to others to see if you have covered as much as you thought you did.
So, I'm done, you already have it, you use it, you know your cost. It's not going to be that different from mine or others. I just hope you do not need a calculator to work the spreadsheet.
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One thing to take into consideration is fuel discounts. Our fuel discounts are often significant.
I used the months of March and May to get my figures for our fuel costs. We were in the process of moving to the new truck in April.
Our average per gallon cost of fuel for those two months was $3.73
Our fuel discounts plus getting good fuel mileage significantly reduce our operating costs
I used the months of March and May to get my figures for our fuel costs. We were in the process of moving to the new truck in April.
Our average per gallon cost of fuel for those two months was $3.73
Our fuel discounts plus getting good fuel mileage significantly reduce our operating costs
If you go back and read this thread, you will see that I have not asked for suggestions. I have asked for income and expense information that people have kindly started to share.
I am open to constructive criticism like pjjjjj shared above but this is not a project in which I am committed to making everybody happy. I know what I am doing, why I am doing it and who I am doing it for.
People are free to assist as they wish or ignore the project if that suits them. People are also free to take pot shots and make me wrong every step of the way, in which case I will exercise my option of ignoring them.
Spreadsheets are as much art as science. If your goal is to make the spreadsheet effortless, that is an artistic call that can, in the extreme, be reduced to one line for revenue, one for expenses, and the user estimating the values to input.
This artist operates in the other extreme and believes more detail is better than less, because a detailed spreadsheet, while not at all difficult to use, is difficult to approach. It forces you to think about and track every penny you make and spend. That's the part that takes effort, not the spreadsheet itself.
I believe the effort is worth it. Others don't. To each his own.
I prefer to get revenue and expense information from as many expediters as possible. If this spreadsheet is going to work for everybody, I need to account for all variables. I cannot do that by relying on the spreadsheet I use myself.
It's going to be very different from yours and others because for it to work for everybody, it must address all variables. Your spreadsheet does not. Mine does not. The one I am developing will.
Regarding the use of a calculator, a spreadsheet is a calculator. There is no essential difference between adding up a month's worth of fuel receipts and inputing that result in a spreadsheet, or entering individual fuel purchases on an input form that brings the monthly total into a spreadsheet cell.
I am not interested in minimizing keystroke counts or saving 30 seconds of data entry work six times a month. I am interested in producing a resource that expediters and expediter wannabees can use to make fully-financially-informed business decisions.
golfournut
Veteran Expediter
Sounds like a great project that will be useful to anyone that wants.
Do you calculate depreciation monthly or lump sum at year end.
Perhaps an income line for interest earned.
Vehicle payments broken down to show principle and interest.
I like to have a PM, repair and tire expense broken down with accrued totals in each.
I still need from as many expediters as care to share the expense categories and amounts to include in the spreadsheet.
To make things easier and less personal, let me modify the question. Instead of reporting what you spent last month on business expenses, let me ask you to share a list of common expenses items (one or two, or 10 or 50, as you are so inclined). For each item you share, kindly say what you think an ordinary expediter in a dry-box straight truck would generally pay.
Examples:
Tolls: About $150 per month
(Based on our personal experience in 2010 in a Class 8 truck with three axles always on the ground).
Cell phone usage: $80 per month
(Varies by user, of course. May be double that if each team member in the truck has a phone.
Scheduled Maintenance (Lube, Oil, Filter): $250?
(How often?)
We don't need to be spot on here, but I do need realistic numbers with which to begin a model.
To make things easier and less personal, let me modify the question. Instead of reporting what you spent last month on business expenses, let me ask you to share a list of common expenses items (one or two, or 10 or 50, as you are so inclined). For each item you share, kindly say what you think an ordinary expediter in a dry-box straight truck would generally pay.
Examples:
Tolls: About $150 per month
(Based on our personal experience in 2010 in a Class 8 truck with three axles always on the ground).
Cell phone usage: $80 per month
(Varies by user, of course. May be double that if each team member in the truck has a phone.
Scheduled Maintenance (Lube, Oil, Filter): $250?
(How often?)
We don't need to be spot on here, but I do need realistic numbers with which to begin a model.
Send me your email address in a PM and I'll send it to you.
bubblehead
Veteran Expediter
I am confused. Phil haven't you been using your own spreadsheet for years? Can't you provide us with that as a base for building one for others? It might give others ideas to contribute. And unless I'm mistaken, didn't you give Virginia Albanese a program to calculate operational costs some years ago?...perhaps the same program that FDCC used to calculate how low they can go in offering the flat rates. Perhaps a copy of that same program would be more helpful in your desire to contribute a meaningful tool for your fellow expediters. It would at least put us on the same page.
Notice, Linda, that you are talking about cost per gallon and mpg. For the purposes of a P&L spreadsheet, it does not matter how much you paid per gallon, how many gallons you bought, how many miles you drive or what your mpg is. For the spreadsheet, it only matters that you enter the dollar amount you paid for fuel in the appropriate cell.
Of course fuel discounts and mpg are important. Indeed, they are of vital importance to every expediter. But before you can know how you stand, you must have the numbers to work with, and that's where the spreadsheet comes in.
With this completed spreadsheet before you, you will be able to do things like compare one carrier's fuel discount program to another. Once you have your fuel costs entered in, you can do something like add seven percent to your fuel cost to instantly see how that affects your bottom line. The seven percent might be the difference between a carrier with a fuel discount program and one without.
Or you could reduce your fuel cost by 1/4 of a percent to also see how that affects your bottom line. The 1/4 percent might come from your belief that changing tire types will produce that improvement.
You can do lots of fun stuff with a fully completed spreadsheet, including comparing a carrier's flat-rate program with a percentage program. But to do any of that you must complete the spreadsheet first. Thus this project.
Yes.
No. My spreadsheet is for me. This project is to build a spreadsheet for everybody.
Ideas are already starting to flow. That will increase once I get the early parts of the spreadsheet online where interested readers can view it.
I'm afraid that you are mistaken. I have never met or spoken to Virginia Albanese and have never given her a spreadsheet or program of any kind. I sent her a book once that I thought she might benefit from reading but that gift went unacknowledged.
The details of the FedEx Custom Critical flat rate business are recent news to me. If anyone provided the program you describe to FDCC, it was someone else.
Where did you get the idea that I produced such a program and shared it in such a way? Whatever your source, it is flat out wrong. It never ceases to amaze me the stuff people make up. Thank you for asking, though, and giving me the chance to refute the false rumor that I did not know existed until now.
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bubblehead
Veteran Expediter
"No. My spreadsheet is for me. This project is to build a spreadsheet for everybody."
Ok, You are the undisputed "Successful Expediter" and you have created a spreadsheet (perhaps the best ever created) and you will not share your numbers or spreadsheet with others yet freely solicit such information under the reason for creating a spreadsheet for the rest of us. I am not sure if the implication is we are of a different standard than you and not deserving? Or you really don't want us to have the best available information that you have in your possession?
Ok, You are the undisputed "Successful Expediter" and you have created a spreadsheet (perhaps the best ever created) and you will not share your numbers or spreadsheet with others yet freely solicit such information under the reason for creating a spreadsheet for the rest of us. I am not sure if the implication is we are of a different standard than you and not deserving? Or you really don't want us to have the best available information that you have in your possession?
The implication is whatever YOU interpret it to be. I have little doubt that most people accurately grasp what I am doing with this spreadsheet project and why.
Newbies, welcome to EO, where no good deed goes unpunished.
If I was looking at a company those fuel discounts are something I would take into serious consideration. The freight rates would have to be pretty high to make up for the deficit of not having a discount program.
NTHEWIND
Seasoned Expediter
The implication is whatever YOU interpret it to be. I have little doubt that most people accurately grasp what I am doing with this spreadsheet project and why.
Newbies, welcome to EO, where no good deed goes unpunished.
I understand Phil.
Keep it up.
In keeping with what the original poster has started, any comments should be on topic.
Of course that's true. But can we stay on topic? We are not talking about which carrier has the better fuel discounts, or whether FedEx Custom Critcal has the best ones, or what factors to consider when considering a carrier change. We are talking about building a spreadsheet.
To restart clean, I created Building Your Business Plan Spreadsheet II. Please go there to continue on topic.
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