Freight, trucking & delivery
Books and taxes for hot shot trucking businesses.
Per-load pay for oilfield and equipment runs, the diesel pickup, the gooseneck trailer, and fuel that adds up fast on short-notice hauls. Your own bookkeeper keeps it sorted, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
May came in at $5,700. The new tires for the gooseneck went in as equipment upkeep, not a supply run, since a full axle service is a real maintenance cost.
- Landstar settlementLoad pay
- Direct oilfield client paymentLoad pay
- Diesel, LovesFuel
- Trailer tire serviceTrailer maintenance
- 123Loadboard subscriptionLoad board fees
Why your books are different
Hot shot books go wrong around one truck and one trailer.
A generalist sees a truck payment and fuel. Your business runs on a pickup and a trailer that both take a beating on short-notice hauls, loads priced per run instead of steady contracts, and a schedule that can turn around same day. When the books do not separate the truck from the trailer, you cannot see what either one is really costing you.
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1
The pickup and the trailer get treated as one asset
A dually pickup and a gooseneck or flatbed trailer wear differently and get financed differently, but lumped into one truck expense you cannot tell which one is eating your margin.
What we doKeeps the truck and the trailer in their own equipment lines, so repairs and depreciation show up against the right asset. -
2
A same-day rush load looks the same as a routine one
Hot shot work often pays a premium for a load that has to move now, but if every deposit lands in one plain revenue line, you lose track of which clients actually pay for speed.
What we doKeeps rush and expedited load pay visible against routine loads, so you can see who is worth prioritizing when two calls come in at once. -
3
Fuel spikes look like a bad month instead of a busy one
A pickup pulling a loaded gooseneck burns fuel fast, and a month full of long oilfield or construction runs can look like costs got away from you when it was really just more miles.
What we doTracks fuel against loads run, so a heavy fuel month tied to real work does not get mistaken for a spending problem. -
4
A new trailer purchase wrecks one month's numbers
A gooseneck or flatbed trailer bought outright can cost more than a slow month's entire revenue, and filed as a plain expense it makes a normal month look like a loss.
What we doFlags a trailer or truck purchase the day it posts, logs it as equipment, and gets the accountant's call on how it gets written off.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a hot shot hauler.
Set up once for how you get paid and what you spend. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Load payPer-load payments from brokers, carriers you run under, or direct clients.
- Rush and expedited payThe premium collected for a load that had to move same day.
- Detention payReimbursement for wait time at a well site or job site.
- Direct client contractsStanding arrangements with oilfield or construction clients.
Money out
- FuelDiesel for the pickup, tracked apart from trailer costs.
- Truck payment and repairsLoan or lease payment, tires, and shop work on the pickup.
- Trailer maintenanceTires, brakes, and deck repairs on the gooseneck or flatbed.
- Load board feesDAT, Truckstop.com, or a hot shot load board subscription.
- InsuranceCargo, liability, and physical damage coverage on truck and trailer.
- Tolls and scale feesRoad tolls and weigh station charges on longer runs.
What we watch for you
- Cost per load
Fuel and wear against what a load paid. It tells you which runs are actually worth taking.
- Rush load share
How much of your revenue comes from premium same-day work versus routine loads.
- Deadhead miles
Empty miles between loads. A rising share quietly eats into what the truck earns.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so filing season is a number already known.
Ask Gus
Things hot shot haulers ask Gus.
Text him like you would text anybody. He answers in plain English, and when a question is above his pay grade, an accountant looks and gets back to you.
No. I kept the trailer tires under trailer maintenance and the toolbox under truck upkeep, so you can see what each one is actually costing you.
I keep it visible as its own category so you can see how much of your income is coming from speed versus routine runs.
Usually it can. I logged it as equipment and flagged it, and the accountant makes the call on how much of it to write off now versus later.
The tax side
The tax side of running a hot shot business.
Most of what trips up a hot shot hauler is treating the truck and trailer as one asset and missing the deduction each one qualifies for on its own.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Writing off the truck and trailer separatelyA pickup and a gooseneck or flatbed trailer bought for the business can often both be written off in the year they are bought, since the lower $32,000 heavy SUV cap does not apply to a trailer or a truck used to haul freight for hire.
- Self-employment taxRunning the truck and trailer as your own business means 15.3 percent self-employment tax on net profit, up to the Social Security wage base of $184,500. Gus builds the set-aside from your real load pay each month.
- Mileage or actual cost for the truckYou can usually deduct the truck's business use either by the standard mileage rate, 72.5 cents a mile through June 2026 and 76 cents after, or by actual costs like fuel and repairs, whichever the accountant finds better for your year.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operators can take up to 20 percent of business profit off their taxable income. It comes out right when the truck, trailer, and fuel are tracked cleanly all year.
Deductions hot shot trucking businesses miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Diesel fuel
- Trailer tires and brakes
- Truck loan interest
- Load board subscriptions
- Tie-downs and chains
- Tarps and load securement gear
- CDL or medical card renewal
- Cargo and liability insurance
- Scale and weigh fees
- Phone and dispatch app fees
- Truck bed toolbox and equipment
- Trailer registration
General information about 2026 federal rules, not advice for your business. Your accountant looks at your actual numbers before anything gets filed.
All year, not just April
A hot shot year, kept every month.
Rush calls come whenever a job site needs a part or a load moved now. Your taxes come on a schedule. Your team keeps you ahead of both. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
Plan the year
Last year's return gets started, and you get a monthly set-aside built from real loads and fuel, so April is already handled.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been building since January.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether a busy construction or oilfield season changed the number.
- October
Before the year winds down
Gus looks at whether a new trailer or truck upgrade makes sense before December and what still needs doing.
What you get
What you pay depends on what your business needs, and it does not move after that, busy season or slow. No hourly bills, no surprise invoices, no setup fee.
Book a call- Monthly bookkeeping
Every transaction sorted into categories set up for hot shot trucking businesses. You never categorize a thing.
- An accountant checks every transaction
Real review, every month, before your books close. Not a spot check.
- Your business tax return, filed
Prepared, reviewed, and signed by that same accountant every year.
- The monthly number
What you made, what you spent, what to set aside for taxes.
- Your own bookkeeper
A real person assigned to your business, in the app whenever you need them. No hold music.
- On your books all year
Every month, not just in April. Your team speaks up whenever something is worth your attention.
- Cancel any time
No contract. No cancellation call. Your books are yours.
Straight answers
Questions hot shot haulers ask first.
Can the books tell my truck costs apart from my trailer costs?
Yes. The pickup and the trailer are kept as separate equipment lines, so repairs, fuel, and any write-off decisions are tracked against the right asset.
I run under someone else's authority. Does that change anything?
Not much. Gus works from your settlement statements the same way, sorting out load pay, deductions, and fees so you can see what you actually kept.
Do rush loads and routine loads need separate invoices?
No, keep billing however you already do. Gus tags the deposits so rush pay and routine pay are visible separately in your numbers.
I am not CDL required since my rig is under the weight threshold. Does that change my taxes?
Not really. Whether a CDL is required is a licensing question, not a tax one. The truck and trailer write-offs and self-employment tax work the same either way.
Some months I barely run and other months I am flat out. Is that a problem for the books?
No. Gus tracks whatever comes in and goes out each month as it happens, so a slow month and a packed one both show up honestly.
I have not kept receipts, just bank and card statements. Is that enough?
Usually, yes. Gus works from what your statements show, and the accountant tells you if anything specific needs backup for a bigger write-off.
Is a real accountant checking my books?
Yes. You get your own bookkeeper, Gus does the first pass on every transaction, and an accountant checks every one before your month closes. That same accountant prepares, signs, and files your business return. Goatkeeper is not a CPA firm, and we never pretend a person looked when they did not.
What does it cost, and can I cancel?
It starts at $197 a month, depending on what your business needs. No setup fee, no hourly bills, no contract. Cancel any time from the app, and your books go with you.
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What makes a bookkeeper worth paying for Every business we keep books for
Book a call
Pick a time. That's the whole signup.
Fifteen minutes with a real person on our team. They look at where your books are, tell you straight what it takes to get caught up, and get you set up on the spot if it fits.
- $197 a month to start
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever