6 Best Trucking Accounting Software

QuickBooks Online offers four subscription options, all of which come with either a free 30-day trial or 50% off for three months:

• Simple Start: $35 per month for one user
• Essentials: $65 per month for three users
• Plus: $99 per month for five users (our recommendation for truckers)
• Advanced: $235 per month for 25 users

QuickBooks Online offers a free meeting with a QuickBooks ProAdvisor to help new users set up their accounts and provide guidance on getting the most out of the software. This offer is only available when you sign up right away without the 30-day free trial.

Meanwhile, RLS costs $45 per month for one user or $80 per month for eight users. You can sign up for a 30-day free trial without providing your credit card details.

QuickBooks Online has enhanced standard accounting features that can be easily customized for nearly any type of business, making it our overall best small business accounting software. It has no trucking-specific features, but when you add RLS, it becomes a powerful solution for trucking management and accounting.

While QuickBooks Online handles all your accounting processes, RLS helps you accomplish trucking-related tasks. For instance, you can use RLS to manage your loads, dispatch orders, and track delivery status. You can then transfer the load information to QuickBooks to create invoices, track expenses, and generate reports.

Although there are other QuickBooks Online trucking integrations available, RLS stands out because of its direct integration with QuickBooks. The platform can be purchased directly from the QuickBooks App Store and launched from your QuickBooks account. Other QuickBooks trucking integrations require complicated setups and third-party connectors.

QuickBooks Online aced our evaluation of accounting features, while the RLS integration fills the gaps in trucking-specific features, which is how QBO earned another perfect score in this specialized category. We docked a few points for ease of use, as the integrated features may require a steep learning curve for some users. Additionally, we deducted some points for pricing because of the combined cost of the two software programs.

Meanwhile, QuickBooks Online’s notable weakness is customer service, even with the added support from the RLS integration. QuickBooks Online Plus and the lower plans don’t allow you to place a phone call to an agent directly, which is something you can do with other providers like Tailwind TMS and Zoho Books. However, we appreciate that QuickBooks has a vast network of QuickBooks ProAdvisors, making it easy to seek help if necessary.

Axon doesn’t publish pricing information on its website, so you need to contact the provider to request a customized quote or detailed pricing information. You can also request a free demo to see how it works before buying.

Axon has an extensive feature set that is purposely built for mid- to large-scale operations and those that handle complex logistics and admin tasks. The program provides advanced features, such as real-time tracking, which allows trucking businesses to track their vehicle locations and driver activities efficiently. It also has a sophisticated IFTA reporting system to help truckers better manage fuel tax compliance.

One thing we like about Axon is that it provides specialized tools for different types of trucking businesses. For instance, its robust container tracking and chassis management tools are crucial for fleet operations involving multiple transport modes. Specialized transport firms can benefit from its ability to handle unique cargo requirements.

Moreover, Axon provides several integrated tools, such as accounting and driver settlements. This can be a huge advantage for growing trucking companies as it allows them to scale operations without having to purchase additional software or integrations.

The program earned a perfect mark for trucking-specific features and did a great job at general accounting features. However, it took a hit for pricing, as its costs aren’t publicly disclosed on the provider’s website. Also, it has a low score for ease of use since it’s a very complicated software with many features to learn and master. It could have also done better in customer support if it offered a live chat function for users.

• TMS Pro: $135 per user, per month; can handle up to 25 loads
• TMS Enterprise: $195 per user, per month; can manage up to 50 loads
• TMS Unlimited: $265 per user, per month; supports unlimited loads

You can add as many users as needed, but each additional seat is billed a full subscription fee. The Pro and Enterprise plans have a 30-day free trial available with no credit card required.

Most freight brokers will be well served by choosing the Pro plan.

While Tailwind TMS isn’t a complete bookkeeping solution, it’s great for invoicing and bill payment—two major needs of a trucking company. It has comprehensive A/P and A/R features that let you track bills and payments from different personnel involved in your operations, such as vendors, employees, carriers, and customers. The Invoice List and Bill Posting modules are intuitive and comprehensive, and they help you review and track bills and invoices easily.

Tailwind’s TMS billing and invoicing modules provide greater flexibility than those in other trucking-specific software. For instance, trucking companies can post related bills together with the invoice or post the expenses and bills separately. This allows you to customize your billing workflows based on your specific requirements.

You might consider upgrading to the Enterprise plan to offer customer and carrier self-service portals. Customers can log in to view their account information, shipments, and invoices, whereas carriers can access available loads, shipments you have dispatched with them, and amounts you owe them.

Tailwind TMS aced our trucking category and achieved slightly above-average scores for the other categories. It’s not a double-entry accounting software, but we like that it has built-in bookkeeping features, like invoicing and P&L reporting, and that it integrates with QuickBooks Online for enhanced accounting features.

It missed a few points for ease of use because it’s difficult to customize the dashboard. Also, it could have done better in customer service if it offered live chat support and had easy access to professional bookkeepers who are knowledgeable of the software.

Finally, Tailwind TMS’ pricing falls in the mid-range when compared with other software options on our list. It’s more affordable than the combined cost of QuickBooks and RLS, but it’s more expensive than Rigbooks and Zoho Books.

You need to contact Q7 directly for a free demo and a customized price quote.

Q7 allows you to manage various bookkeeping tasks, such as paying bills, sending invoices, and reconciling bank accounts. It also has a powerful fleet maintenance program that will track your fixed assets and help you schedule routine maintenance, whether it’s based on months or miles driven. Moreover, it includes a payroll module that lets you pay employees and contractors by checks or direct deposit and in any method, such as hourly, fixed salary, mile, or revenue percentage.

Since Q7 doesn’t require integration with accounting systems, you can manage all aspects of your trucking business—from load management to invoicing and financial reporting—without having to purchase and integrate external accounting software like QuickBooks. However, while it’s an all-inclusive software, we still believe QuickBooks Online with RLS integration is generally better, as QuickBooks has more robust accounting features. Also, it’s easier to use and seek professional support, if needed, with QuickBooks.

Our rubric analysis shows that Q7’s biggest strength is trucking-specific features, which is expected from such specialized trucking software. However, while it’s a full-fledged double-entry bookkeeping software, its accounting features are not as robust as those of QuickBooks. For instance, unlike QuickBooks, you can’t customize the chart of accounts and generate recurring invoices in Q7.

Additionally, the platform didn’t do well in pricing as prices are not publicly disclosed on the provider’s website. It also fell short in ease of use, as we found the interface outdated and difficult to master. We recommend at least four to eight hours to familiarize yourself with its features. If you want something easier to use, then our top recommendation is Rigbooks. Moreover, we believe Q7 could improve its customer service by offering phone support and live chat, just like Zoho Books.

• Free: Free for businesses that make less than $50,000 in annual revenue
• Standard: $20 per organization, per month; up to three users
• Professional: 50 per organization, per month; up to five users
• Premium: $70 per organization, per month; up to 10 users
• Elite: $150 per organization, per month; up to 10 users
• Ultimate: $275 per organization, per month; up to 15 users

There is a 14-day free trial for the paid pans. If needed, you can pay $3 monthly per additional user. You may also purchase the following add-ons:

• Advanced auto-scans: $10 for 50 scans per month in all plans
• Snail mails: $2 per credit in all plans

Just like QuickBooks Online, Zoho Books isn’t custom-tailored for trucking businesses. However, it has a powerful mobile accounting app that can help independent truckers in many ways. For instance, you can capture receipts, record expenses related to fuel, tolls, maintenance, and other business costs, and then categorize them for reporting and tax purposes.

Additionally, the Zoho Books app, which leads our roundup of the best mobile accounting apps, allows you to create professional invoices on the go and send them to clients or brokers directly from your mobile device. Self-employed truck drivers needing basic tracking of their income and expenses can even save money with Zoho Books’ free plan.

Zoho Books is a complete bookkeeping solution—explaining the perfect mark in the accounting category. It also aced pricing because of its free plan for trucking companies that make less than $50,000 in annual revenue. It excelled in customer support, but we deducted a few points because its network of Zoho Advisors is not that extensive, especially when compared to QuickBooks Online’s network.

Additionally, Zoho Books has no trucking-specific features, which is completely understandable. What’s more, we didn’t find any integrations that could solve this weakness, unlike QuickBooks, which integrates with trucking software like RLS. Also, we deducted a few points for ease of use because the dashboard is not that organized, with some features concealed within each other, making it a bit difficult to navigate.

• Basic Entry: $19 per month; $19 per additional truck
• Basic Entry: $19 per month; $19 per additional truck
• Leased O/O: $29 per month; 24 per additional truck
• Independent O/O: $49 per month; $29 per additional truck
• Small Fleet: $149 per month for up to five trucks; $29 per additional truck

You can try Rigbooks for free for 30 days.

Rigbooks is ideal for small fleets with one or two trucks. For as low as $19 per month, you can track business expenses, fuel mileage, trips, and orders for a single truck. It’s an affordable option for small trucking companies needing to track costs per mile and understand which of their loads are the most profitable.

As one of our best trucking accounting software, Rigbooks has the simplest user interface (UI) among all the software listed here, making it a great option for trucking owners without an accounting background. If your trucking company doesn’t require accounting features and solely focuses on trucking management, then Rigbooks is a cost-effective solution.

Rigbooks aced the pricing category since it’s the most affordable specialized trucking software on our list. It also earned a perfect mark for tracking features and excelled in ease of use because of its simple user interface that is easy to navigate.

However, we want to see some improvement in terms of accounting features. Just like Tailwind TMS, Rigbooks isn’t a complete accounting solution and therefore lacks some features like balance sheets and bank reconciliation. Also, we hope that the provider considers adding an accounting integration like QuickBooks Online to add bookkeeping features.

Further, Rigbooks’ customer support is on par with that of Tailwind TMS, offering phone and email support. However, it lacks email support, and since it’s not as popular as QuickBooks Online, it might be difficult to find professional bookkeeping support if needed.