The Business of Trucking

Why you need to know the numbers

Somebody once said you can’t improve something unless you can measure it. That is very true, and it is why I have spent so much of my column teaching you how to keep good business records. Now I’m bringing you the ultimate tool for making that process very simple.

I just developed an easy-to-use piece of software called “Gauges” that will track and analyze your business numbers. You can download a copy of the program at www.masterthejourney.com, or call my office at (888) 262-8585 and we will send you a free CD with the program.

You need to track your fuel mileage on every fill-up so you can start to find trends and really learn to understand your fuel mileage and what kinds of factors affect it. With fuel at $3 per gallon, this process will save you thousands of dollars every year. In my last column I told you to start keeping all of your fuel receipts and write down your odometer reading at every fill-up. Now all you need to do is open up a copy of Gauges, click on the fuel mileage calculator and enter each fuel receipt. It will go quickly; in testing we entered an entire month of fuel receipts in less than five minutes.

As you are entering your fuel receipts into the program you will see instant fuel mileage for every fill-up and also a running average. So every time you get fuel you will be able to instantly compare it to your average fuel mileage and see if you are improving or not.

Once you have all of your fuel receipts entered into the program, you will be able to view and print a fuel mileage report. This will show you your mileage on every fill-up, and you can track the trends right down the page. You’ll also see a business report that will show you your fuel cost per mile and also how much of every dollar you earn is spent on fuel.

I have been using a product called TURBO 3000D VADA on my trucks for years, and it will improve your fuel mileage by 5% to 10%. It improves the spray pattern from your fuel injectors, which eliminates smoke, improves horsepower and performance and improves fuel mileage. The product pays for itself in weeks and will save the average owner-operator more than $3,000 per year.

If you have any questions, call my office. In the meantime, be safe, be profitable and “Master the Journey.”