Do You Track Every Penny?

ATeam · Mar 21, 2009

Out of simple curiosity, I'd like to ask, do you expediters track every penny you make and spend, or do you not?

I'm not looking for a right or wrong answer here. Good cases can be made for both answers. For example, why track food costs since food falls under per-diem and little value comes from keeping track of every Twinkie you buy? On the other hand, why not track food costs, since doing so can help you budget for the year ahead?

So, if I may ask, do you track every penny you make and spend? If so, why? If not, why not?

greg334 · Mar 21, 2009

Phil,
I wonder if you remember what happened the last time this was brought up?

I do agree with you on the budgeting part, I agreed with you last time you brought this up. It is essential to know where you are at and how to control your spending - right?

To answer your question - I try.

ATeam · Mar 21, 2009

greg334 said:
Phil,
I wonder if you remember what happened the last time this was brought up?

No. I don't recall it ever being brought up. That does not mean it did not happen. But if it did, I do not remember it. So, that takes us back to the question at hand. Thank you for your response.

Slo-Ride · Mar 21, 2009

only whats goes to the truck and what I can write off,,
I pack the truck before I leave the house so not much buying while on the road,,really nothing to keep track of other then fuel on a daily basis for me

Doggie Daddy · Mar 21, 2009

ATeam said:
No. I don't recall it ever being brought up.

I remember.

jsbiker · Mar 21, 2009

i give every thing to my book keeper. SHE IS ALWAYS RIGHT

at the end of the year the book keeper and the accounting person tell me make more money and spend less.
NO you cant get a new bike.
No you cant get a new truck.
save all paper you may need it, for something that big brother say you need it for..

broker · Mar 21, 2009

OK Phil, I'll give this a shot.

NO and never have in 35 years as an O/O and now as a driver.

How do I do it?
Just watch every penny spent, not track it. That simple.

Keep records? If keeping all reciepts is the samething, then yes.
This is for tax time and possible audits.

BIG JOHN

aileron · Mar 21, 2009

I track the expenses that are tax deductible on a spreadsheet. Don't see the need to track food, since I would buy food even if I wouldn't be on the road. I rarely eat out. I guess this comes from my not needing a budget at home so far, but I do not spend money on stuff I don't need. I think this is like watching every penny.
And, I always have a reserve of money, never live from check to check. Only one time I came close, and that was when I started in expediting. I was younger then, and didn't know a lot, I used almost all my savings to put a downpayment on my van. I signed on with panther and it took 3 weeks to get the first check. To make matters worse, the week I started, huricane Katrina hit, fuel prices jumped through the roof, plenty of loads and a lot of money spent on the fuel. I almost spent all my savings, but then money started coming in and it was up and up from there. Right now, glad to be debt free.

miker · Mar 21, 2009

I keep all receipts that are work related in an envelope in my truck , when the month is over I break it all down into categories,truck payment, fuel,food,lodging,truck maintenance,and misc. that way I can run those numbers against the gross income and see what was actually made for the month. Then I also keep a spread sheet that I fill in everyday with what city and state that spent the night in, so that come tax time I can weigh it out to see if I will come out better with per diem or actual cost.
And I try to avoid the Twinkies Phil, they are not kind to my girlish figure

davekc · Mar 21, 2009

Doggie Daddy said:
I remember.

I remember something about counting individual q-tips to clean the dash, and the long banter that followed.

aristotle · Mar 21, 2009

My better half (much, much better) keeps track.

redytrk · Mar 22, 2009

I track every penny. Its easy because they are coming in so slowly.

TeamCaffee · Mar 22, 2009

I keep very good records for our business expenses. When we get a receipt I mark on the receipt what category the figures have been entered in and also the amount of the receipt incase of fading. I file all of our receipts by category. I use Quicken and when we have an expense that does not have a receipt such as laundry I make a notation of where we did our laundry in my cash expense area. I though just cannot bring myself to keep track of every penny that is spent to buy a soda, a meal, or for tips. If we have to get cash on the road I do keep track of all ATM fees as a bank fee.

layoutshooter · Mar 22, 2009

Not all expenses, just truck/business related. Mrs. Layoutshooter keeps very good books. We scan in all reciepts into the computer. We keep the books in 3 electronic places on the hard drive, on a "flash" drive and on a data cd. We keep all hard copy reciepts in files at home in case of audit. We did lose 3 years of files at the house when our basement flooded last July. The sump pump quit and the back up system quit too. We took many picture of the files sitting in the water, in case of an audit. We can no longer produce those records so all we have now are the CD's. Our account said that in the un-likely event of an audit that the CD's would be enough for the IRS since our records were so precise and we could prove the flood damage. Layoutshooter

Wingnut · Mar 22, 2009

I am one of those who saves every receipt and keeps track of every $$$ we spend. It makes for interesting reading at the end of the year and also helps us to see where we need to cut back and improve on in order to increase our profit.

Dakota · Mar 22, 2009

I kept very good records when working for FedEx Home Delivery. I plan to do the same working for Ceva.
Quick & Simple Record Keeping System For Owner/Operators
By Tim Brady
The book shows you how to organize every single receipt and expense. I plan on trying it out.

FIS53 · Mar 22, 2009

Don't track exactly every penny but do track all expenses for the most part. I keep a small amount of cash for spending on coffees and such which is like a 20 for the week. Otherwise yes get receipts for meals, maps (should I buy one) and of course truck items. More receipts, the more I've spent, the less tax paid to big brother.
Rob

ATeam · Mar 22, 2009

Dakota said:
I kept very good records when working for FedEx Home Delivery. I plan to do the same working for Ceva.
Quick & Simple Record Keeping System For Owner/Operators
By Tim Brady
The book shows you how to organize every single receipt and expense. I plan on trying it out.

Cool! I was not aware of that book until you mentioned it. Thank you. Please keep us posted on how it works for you. What did you use when you were with FedEx Home Delivery?

This 2005 EO article is also informative.

Dakota · Mar 22, 2009

ATeam said:
Cool! I was not aware of that book until you mentioned it. Thank you. Please keep us posted on how it works for you. What did you use when you were with FedEx Home Delivery?

This 2005 EO article is also informative.

I used a homemade spreadsheet and an expandable/accordion type file. I tried to find the book at the local bookstores but couldn't so I ended up buying it on Amazon. Not cheap for a 90 page small book but there is a code in it to access all the forms and labels for the filing system. The book is small and approx. 90 pages for the filing system PDF file, it is nearly 80 pages.