Trip Sheet - Load Information

Trip Sheet - Load Information screen 1 of 4

This is the first screen that you will see whenever you start the software. On the Load Information screen driver enters trip pay, load number (trip number) and instructions . As in all older versions the driver can enter as little or as much information as desired. The accuracy of the tax data, the financial totals, the business performance and so on is solely depends on the quality of the information the driver enters in thee screens under the Trip Sheet section. When you enter all including the stops you can print out a load assignment this is what it would look like: (click here)

Remember: Garbage in - garbage out!

However, if driver makes any mistakes in any of the fields anywhere in the program, the driver can go back and change things. There is no penalty and no adjustments necessary to make any corrections to any of the records in this software except the initial odometer setting (Miles / Kilometers) on the [truck record].

When the driver first starts the new trip under Trip Sheets / Load Information tab this screen will be displayed without the additional three tabs:

The tabs [Stops], [Odometer] and [Expenses] are not shown until the trip is saved for the first time.

The only thing needed to save a trip record is a trip number. The software automatically enters a trip number, entered in the field above the calendar that represents the dispatch date. If the driver wants to use his or her own trip numbering the default trip number can be changed to any other number. However the software will not allow to save two trips with the same trip number.

The trip number can be changed at any time without loss of any data.

Once driver saves a trip for the first time the additional tabs will appear and the driver can start entering data on any other tabs in any sequence preferred. For the purpose of this manual we will go from left to right through the screens. But the driver is free to experiment.

Truck and Trailer

If driver runs the software for the first time and does not yet have any equipment records it is a good idea to enter the truck information at this stage. Click on "New" button next to the truck drop down list and the pop up box will appear in which you can specify your truck. The only required information there is the truck number. If the driver enters the license plate data it will appear on the "Load Assignment" printout which is handy to have when pulling refrigerated freight. As we all know the foreman always wants to know what the plate number is, and if driver changes trailers often it is hard to remember all license plate numbers.

If the driver forgets to enter a truck number, and there are no truck records in the system the software will prompt the driver to enter the truck number before the record is saved.

This software has support for Canadian drivers. If the driver have a truck that shows KM on the odometer instead of miles the driver should flag the truck record with KM. This way the driver will not have to convert Miles to Kilometers, the software will do this mile to kilometer conversion automatically. (More Canadian options on other areas of this software will be discussed in the other areas of this manual.)

Pay type

The program allows the driver to select one of the three pay types: "Per trip" (Flat rate), "Per mile" (a rate per mile) and "Percentage".

If the "Per Trip" type is selected all the values have to be entered as a flat rate, the trip pay. The dead head and the fuel surcharge are entered as a flat rate. This is a flexible option because it works just about any pay model including those rare cases when driver gets paid by the hour (drivers pulling for a rock band for example).

If the "Per mile" type is selected all values have to be entered as a per mile fraction including the fuel surcharge and the deadhead. This is most commonly used option.

If the "Percentage" is selected the values should be entered as a flat rate, except that the software will calculate the percentage from the trip pay. The deadhead and the fuel surcharge are counted as 100%

Drivers running with own authority:

If you are running with your own authority and planning on invoicing the customers later, a specially if you are running a LTL trip with multiple stops for multiple customers you may want to leave the Pay type fields blank. (See Invoices)

Estimated Distance

The "Per mile" type will calculate totals properly only if the Estimated Distance is entered. The Estimated distance is the mileage the driver gets paid on. If this field has value that is grater then 0 the statics will be calculated as well such as pay per estimated mile:

Fuel surcharge

The fuel surcharge is entered as a fraction if the pay type is "Per mile" else it is entered as a whole number.

The software will not tell you what the fuel surcharge would be for any given load. It is up to you to figure out what you charge for fuel surcharge. We do not provide any surcharge calculation because there is no standard formula on how to calculate it.

http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/ask/diesel_faqs.asp#diesel_surcharges :
Question: How do I calculate/find diesel fuel surcharges?

The Energy Information Administration does not calculate, assess, or regulate diesel fuel surcharges. EIA cannot tell you how to calculate a fuel surcharge. Fuel surcharges are negotiated privately by the shipper and the trucking company. Every company has its own method for calculating surcharges. Many major carriers have information on how they calculate their surcharges on their web sites. EIA cannot and does not endorse a particular method, but you can perform an Internet search for “fuel surcharge trucking” for more information. EIA collects and disseminates weekly retail diesel fuel price data. Many shippers and truckers use that weekly retail price information in their fuel pricing formulas.

Learn More: EIA's Weekly Retail On-Highway Diesel Prices (Monday’s prices as of 8:00 A.M Eastern)

Last Reviewed: April 17, 2008

If you are dispatched by your broker / dispatcher then he / she will tell you what the surcharge is. Else you have to come up with your own way of determining what you charge for fuel surcharge.

Estimated deadhead

This is the number of miles paid to the driver to run empty to the first pick up location. The value is entered as a fraction only if the pay type is "Per Mile" else it is entered as a whole number.

Region

The "region" field is an optional field to track the general direction of the load. Those regions have nothing do to with established regions of the nation but rather a direction from driver's base, wherever that might be. It is for the driver to define his or her own regions so that later the trips could be searched by region.

For example if driver runs from state of Colorado only to the neighboring states NE and SD would be North east and CA would be South west while Colorado is Central. The driver can use this field in whatever way, or leave it blank altogether. The value in this field does not change any of the financial data.

Additional pay

There are 5 fields for "additional pay", the drop down stores the additional pay type (blank by default) and the value is the total money paid. Those field are up to the driver to define. For instance if driver runs to Canada across the border and the broker (company etc) pay extra to cross the border, or perhaps driver pulls a flatbed and sometime get paid extra for tarping, or perhaps driver have an extra bonus pay for going to NY City or driver wants to record the payment for the detention time or... well You got the idea.

The most common way of using those fields it to offset the lumper cost. Most drivers seem to never use "reimbursable" check box for the lumper, and keep those as an expense until the payment for the lumping comes back. Then the driver enters the reimbursed lumper fees in to extra pay field.

Dispatch Date

That large calendar is the most important date in the whole program. Set the date you are dispatched to that trip. This date will determine whether deductions are made from this trip should you setup any under Accounts, the Maintenance record if charged to running "Cash" account may get assigned to that trip if it is the “closest” date to the maintenance record. The stats will pull the trips based on the date range and so on. This is an important date.

You can always change the date as well as any other information you record in the program, but remember the quality of the calculations, tax reports and totals depends on the quality of the data you enter.

Broker / Dispatcher

You can select a broker or dispatcher (if you wish) in the Broker / Dispatcher field. To add brokers or dispatchers use [Brokers and Customers] tab.

This allows you to do a search and run stats to compare one broker to the other as far as the profit you make running for one versus the other.

Alerts

In the middle of the screen you see the alerts for Next truck PM service, B service, reefer service etc. You can enable or disable any of those alerts under [Tools & Preferences / Driver Information]

The A (PM) and B service alerts work based on your Odometers miles. If you enter your odometer readings under [Odometer tab] this feature will show you the amount of miles (KM) left to your next service. You can setup the interval under the [Preferences / Equipment tab].

The alert will blink red when over due.

The Days pass since last turned in log will increase each day and will blink red once it reaches 13 days pass the last turned in log. To set the date of the last turned in log or to turn off this alert use [Preferences / Driver Information] tab

The Days left to next DOT physical shows the number of days from today until the expiration of your physical card. To change this alter or to turn it off also use [Preferences / Driver Information] tab

Load assignment

When you enter all including the stops you can print out a load assignment this is what it would look like: (click here)

Starting with version III the software automatically calculates the approximate projected fuel cost and amount of gallons necessary to complete the trip as well as the time it takes to drive the distance.

As you enter the estimated (dispatched) mileage for the trip those numbers will change. (If you have more then 5 trips saved in the database). The estimates work of your odometers miles and fuel purchases. If you do not enter either of those values in your last five trips these numbers will not be meaningful. The 55MPH values can be changed under Tools & Preferences / Settings. 55MPH is a good average.

The calculation is done based on the analysis of 5 previously recorded trips.

The calculation is done automatically when user enters the estimated mileage for the trip

TIP:

There is no fuel surcharge for deadhead miles. If you do get surcharge for the deadhead miles you would need to create a deadhead trip and put the D/H miles in to the Estimated Distance field, enter the rest of the pay data as you would for a loaded miles and save the trip with a name that would reflect that this is a D/H trip. (For instance add a "-D" after the number)