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Year-End Bookkeeping Checklist for Owner-Operators

Year-End Bookkeeping Checklist for Owner-Operators

The year ends on December 31 whether your paperwork is ready or not. An hour a week from now to the end of the month is far easier than a long weekend in January with a shoebox of receipts. Here is a checklist for owner-operators and small fleets.

Four year-end bookkeeping steps: close out trips, enter fuel and miles, record expenses, reconcile to statements.
The year-end close in four steps.

Close out the trips

  • Every load delivered this year has its proof of delivery attached.
  • Every invoice has been sent. List the ones still unpaid and follow up on the oldest first.
  • Short pays and disputes are noted on the trip, with what you plan to do about them.

Fuel and mileage

  • All fuel receipts for the year are entered, including DEF, with the state and gallons. Each receipt should show the date, seller, gallons, fuel type, price and the unit number.
  • Miles by state are entered for every trip. This is what the fourth-quarter IFTA return is built from.
  • Check miles per gallon for each truck. A figure far from normal often points to a missing receipt.

Expenses

  • Repairs, tires, tolls, scales, parking, permits and insurance are all recorded and tied to a truck.
  • Large purchases, such as a truck or trailer, have their paperwork filed with the date and price.
  • Recurring bills are all on the books, even small ones.

The money side

  • Compare your records to your bank and card statements for each month and look for anything that is not recorded.
  • Work out your net profit for the year and your cost per mile. Compare to last year.

Paperwork with deadlines

  • The fourth-quarter IFTA return is due January 31. In 2027 that is a Sunday, so expect Monday, February 1. Confirm with your base jurisdiction.
  • Renew annual items such as UCR before the year ends so you are not unregistered on January 1.
  • If you pay drivers, make sure their pay records for the year are complete.

Make January easy

The checklist is short when the records were kept along the way. Trip Sheet Central keeps trips, fuel, expenses and documents together, so profit for the year and the IFTA report come from entries you already made. Our IFTA quarter-end checklist covers the fuel tax part in detail.